Military Training in Military and Civilian Schools in the Pahlavi I Period

During the Qajar era, Iran did not have a trained and uniformed army, and the few regularly trained units in the country were under the supervision of foreign commanders and advisors. After the coup d'état of 1921, a new approach was adopted in the structure of the army, serious attention was paid to the formation of the unified army, and the creation of military schools and colleges was prioritized in Reza Khan's plans. During his reign, this policy was followed in civilian schools as well, and the military education of students was approved and implemented in the programs of the Ministry of Education theoretically and practically. This research aims to provide an appropriate answer to the question of the approach, changes, and developments associated with military education in military and civilian schools of the Pahlavi I era, using the historical method and based on library and archival sources. The current research is based on the hypothesis that Pahlavi I's approach was more than anything to strengthen the national identity in the form of creating a national army and to transform and improve discipline in the environment of civilian schools through military training in order to prepare the youth and promote the culture of obedience. To achieve this goal, the Pahlavi government established and reinforced military schools and colleges, hired advisers and sent students overseas, sent trained officers to civilian schools, and provided students with military training.