Could mummy found in Iran be the former shah?
TEHRAN, Iran — Deep in the pit, liberated from its tomb beneath a thick slab of concrete, lay a mud-colored mummy. It was discovered near the shrine to a Shiite saint, Shah Abdol Azim, where kings and noblemen have been laid to rest. An excavator working nearby suddenly fell silent, and workers could be heard crying out in amazement.
Had this been Cairo, it hardly would have merited a mention in the local news media. But while Egypt is known for its mummies, Iran certainly is not. Here, the dead are buried in loose white cloth, and the bodies quickly decompose.
The operator of the excavator snapped a selfie with the mummified corpse last month and posted it on social media, where it spawned an enticing theory that spread widely: The remains must be those of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Cossack officer whom the British helped install as shah in 1925, beginning a family dynasty that lasted 54 years.
The excitement built as news of the mummy spread across the country, becoming a popular rallying point against Iran’s clerical government and quickly setting off alarms in high places. People started gathering at the shrine, calling out for Reza Shah. One video shows supporters of the Tehran soccer club Persepolis shouting, “Long live Reza Shah” during a game.
Persianlanguage satellite channels operating from abroad heralded the discovery of the mummy as a sign that the Islamic republic’s days were numbered. Reza Shah’s grandson, the crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the Washington suburbs, wrote a statement calling for an independent investigation. In all corners of Iran, at supermarkets, bus stops, clinics or wherever, the return of the shah was hotly debated.
“This is Reza Shah, no doubt,” said Akbar, who was selling Islamic jewelry in the bazaar near the shrine and who refused to give his family name to an inquisitive foreigner whose intentions were unclear. “We Iranians are superstitious, and I personally believe his return is a message. That message is: ‘Correct the mess.’ ”
In recent months, Iran has had protests over the lagging economy and against compulsory Islamic headscarves. At the same time, President Donald Trump has hinted he wants to revisit the Iran nuclear agreement, which many Iranians had hoped would put the country on a “normal” path.
Instead, Iranians are caught in limbo. There is nostalgia for the days before the Islamic Revolution, when President Jimmy Carter came to Iran to meet with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi — the son of Reza Shah — instead of weapons experts haggling over nuclear centrifuges. Of course, there is also a bit of amnesia about the shah’s despotic tendencies, and the abuses by his secret police, which fueled the uprising that overthrew him in 1979.
While the authorities refused to say whether the recent discovery was, in fact, the mummified remains of Reza Shah, many Iranians took the official reluctance, the location of the find and the virtual absence of mummies in the country as proof positive.
The mausoleum where Reza Shah was laid to rest was inspired by Napoleon’s. Over 80 feet high, it rivals in size the shrine to Abdol Azim. But after the revolution, the firebrand cleric Sadegh Khalkhali, known as “the hanging judge” for ordering the execution of hundreds, had the mausoleum torn down. Reza Shah’s body was lost.
On a recent sunny day, and Zakeri and his friend were discussing the enhanced police presence that had accompanied the crowds swarming the normally peaceful area around the shrine, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mummy.
“When I saw the mummy, I knew this was Reza Shah,” said the friend, Farman Hemati, of the photograph that had circulated on social media. He then proffered a theory as to why the mummy had generated such excitement.
“I lost most of my money after the revolution,” he said, adding that things in Iran had since gone downhill. “We need a strong leader, to set things straight here, someone like Reza Shah. The discovery of his body is a sign that change is coming.”
For Iran’s authorities, one thing was clear: The mummy, regardless of who was wrapped inside, could not be in the public eye.
Measures were taken. Plainclothes officers started roaming the shrine, seeking out Reza Shah aficionados and sending them home. One recent evening, after a large group gathered, several people were arrested. The construction site where the mummy was found has been cordoned off and the excavator driver who took the selfie was questioned, family members have said.
Early on, Hassan Khalilabadi, the chairman of the cultural heritage committee of the Tehran City Council, floated the idea that the mummy could be Reza Shah’s. But such remarks from officialdom quickly disappeared from local news sites. The mummy was reburied or taken away. Or perhaps, as one official said, the whole thing was Photoshopped. From an official perspective, it never happened.