Abstract
Mohammadreza Shah Pahlavi, who returned to power with the coup d'état on August 19, 1953, was severely challenged by his legitimacy, and in order to legitimize his kingdom, he tried to promote the long-standing imperial tradition in Iran, and by connecting his government with this long-standing tradition Connecting the Pahlavi government with the Achaemenid dynasty to legitimize its own government. The design of the 2500-year celebrations and its grand celebration in 1971 was also done in this direction. Upon realizing the government's wishes, the opponents of the government expressed various reactions, which this research intends to deal with with the help of historical and descriptive analytical methods and with the help of archival documents and original sources, and to answer the question that the opponents of the government in How did they react before the 2500 year celebrations? The findings of this research show that the opponents showed two categories of negative and positive actions. Disobedience to the government's requests for cooperation in holding celebrations is included in the category of negative actions, and the positive actions of the opposition include protesting and criticizing the celebrations, preparing and distributing leaflets against the celebrations, sending letters and telegrams to the country's officials and officials. Foreigner, speech against celebrations and also violent actions. The action of the government in holding celebrations and the reaction of the opposition in opposition to it created a conflict, the focus of which is the legitimacy of the government and its delegitimization by It was the opponents that this struggle led to the theoretical and intellectual coherence of the opponents, the manifestation of which success can be seen in the collapse of the political structure in 1979 from the opposition.
Keywords: 2500-year celebration, reaction, legitimacy, monarchy, religious forces, Pahlavi rule
 
Introduction
The 2500-year-old imperial celebrations were one of the government's policies to link it with the Achaemenid dynasty and consolidate the foundations of the legitimacy of the monarchy based on ancient symbols and the government's largest propaganda program to give authenticity to the monarchy. In fact, the Shah sought to gain a kind of legitimacy for the government with this action; because in Iranian history, the legitimacy of the ruler does not simply come from representation by the people and God, but rather originates from the relationship between the ruler and the Iranian tradition of ruling in history. Therefore, with this action, the Shah tried to give his monarchy a legitimate inheritance aspect by building a bridge between himself and the ancient kings of Iran. By relying on ancient values and traditions and promoting them in Iranian society, the government, whether it wanted to or not, was going against Islamic values and weakening them. The Shah did not mean by great civilization the issue of improving the material living standards of the Iranian people, and this term was accompanied by a strong psychological concept that Iranians should be removed from the traditional Islamic way of life and take steps towards adopting Western European civilization. Therefore, the Shah's policies of Westernization and archaism were considered an attempt to weaken Islamic values, which caused discomfort and concern among the opponents and caused negative reactions among them. The militant religious forces were also among the opponents of holding the coronation celebration, and their opposition to holding the coronation celebration was due to its conflict with Islamic traditions.
 
Materials & Methods
This article is written using a historical and descriptive analytical method, using archival documents published in books and primary sources. The article is based on SAVAK documents.
 
 
 
 
Discussion and Results
The Shah's goal of holding the 2500-year-old celebrations and returning to the ancient era of Iran was never accepted by the clergy. For this reason, measures were taken against it from the moment the celebrations were announced. Since one of the goals of holding the celebrations was to create a link and connection between the Pahlavi government and the ancient empire, reviving the name and memory of ancient Iranian kings, including Cyrus, caused reactions among groups of people. On the other hand, religious forces, especially the clergy, considered holding the celebrations to be equivalent to reviving the Zoroastrian religion and ceremonies and in opposition to Islamic traditions. One of the goals of the 2500-year-old celebrations was to strengthen the cultural and ideological foundations of the imperial system, and it was necessary that its memory and name would not be erased from people's memories after the celebrations. Therefore, memorial buildings, including memorial schools, memorial columns and tablets, etc., were built and placed in public view, and public benefit foundations named after Cyrus the Great were also established. Another issue that the opposition emphasized was that the Shah did not hold these celebrations for the people, but rather focused on the leaders of other countries. They were the Shah's guests, while the Iranian people were not invited to these celebrations at all, so the Iranian people reacted to these celebrations with their pent-up anger. In general, the 2500-year celebrations caused numerous reactions from the clergy, especially the clergy supporting Ayatollah Khomeini and the seminaries. Opposition to holding the 2500-year celebrations was not limited to religious forces, but other opposition movements also expressed their opposition to holding these celebrations in various ways. The main action of the religious forces was to prepare, reproduce, and distribute declarations, especially those of Ayatollah Khomeini. Another action of the clergy in opposing the holding of the 2500-year celebrations was to send telegrams to important heads of state, including the Shah and the Prime Minister. Despite the restrictions on speaking out against the 2500th anniversary celebrations, some clerics in their assemblies subtly criticized the 2500th anniversary celebrations. Students reacted strongly to the 2500-year celebrations, and there were many strikes and protests months before the celebration. In order to legitimize his government, Mohammad Reza Shah sought to promote the long history of the monarchy in Iran and gain legitimacy by connecting his government with the Achaemenid dynasty. Therefore, he organized the 2500-year-old celebrations, which were held in the most magnificent way in 1972. The opponents reacted to this in two ways. One group included negative measures such as not participating in or cooperating in the celebrations. The second group of actions of the opponents was positive: protesting and criticizing the celebrations, preparing and distributing declarations against them, sending letters and telegrams to Pahlavi officials and leaders and officials of other countries, giving speeches against the celebrations, and also violent actions. All of these actions were carried out by all opponents, including religious opponents and leftist groups. Clerics, intellectuals, students, and journalists were among the main groups of opponents who carried out these actions.
 
Conclusion
The government's action in holding the celebrations and the opposition's reaction in opposing it created a conflict, the focus of which was the government's legitimization of itself and its delegitimization by the opposition. This conflict led to the opposition's theoretical and intellectual cohesion; the manifestation of whose success can be seen in the collapse of the political structure in 1979 by the opposition.