AHC/WI: Persia enters WWI on Allies side.

Just another front for the Ottomans, which may lead to an early collapse of the Ottoman Empire. But after WW1 the Persians will receive no gains... If Japan and Italy just gained minor territories then Persia who is just one or two levels higher than an Indian princedom will receive nothing.

The best what they get is maybe some cash and modernisation of the army to 1918 level technology.

However if the Russian Civil war still happens...Maybe with the blessing of British Empire may expand into central asia and the Caucasus. It depends of course of the British and Persian leaders. If the British see the Persians as an extension of the empire(British oil companies:rolleyes:) they might favour the Persian expansion towards Baku and off course parts of Central Asia.

A strong Persia, which is dependant on British financing and support, and provides a good buffer between the sovjets and British India....
 
I could see Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in WWI (*maybe* Armenia and Uzbekistan if the Russian Civil War goes in a different direction) with Afghanistan and Iraq in WWII. Iraq had some anti-British resistance while the Persians would offer valuable assistance. Persia becomes a solid second-tier nation by 1950 and may exist as a monarchy into the present day. Would be interesting to see how such a country might/not expand after the Cold War or deal with local insurgencies.
 

katchen

Banned
I could see Lenin backing the Persian Soviet Socialist Republic (Socialist Republic of Gilan), which was established in 1920, to the hilt and helping it to overthrow the Qajar Shah, if the British had not moved toward a treaty of friendship with the USSR (which they later broke). A Communist or divided Iran and/or Iraq from the 1920s on would be a very interesting tTL indeed, with repercussions stretching all the way to the Persian Gulf and Palestine.
 
Suicide.
They've got Russia and India to either side, the entente would take them down rather easily.
Pretty unlikely they'd make this decision too. Germany didn't have too much to do with Persia. Britain, France and Russia were rather involved there however.
 
Suicide.
They've got Russia and India to either side, the entente would take them down rather easily.
Pretty unlikely they'd make this decision too. Germany didn't have too much to do with Persia. Britain, France and Russia were rather involved there however.

wrong side.
 
Could this butterfly the Armenian/ Assyrian Genocide, and if so could there be an Assyrian state or even just a larger Armenia including some Assyrian/ Syriac areas?

On another note, a successful Iran would dramatically shift the power balance in the Middle East. I think Iran could have gained a good chunk of land as well as potentially gaining some influence in some of the states that come out of the former Ottoman Empire.
 
A distinction without a difference

Persia did not have a strong central government in this period which is pretty much how the Russians and British wanted things. They had resolved the Great Game by dividing Persia into spheres. In the north the Russians had exercised a heavy hand causing considerable resentment. In the south the British exercised a softer touch playing favorites with certain tribes and rulers. One very good example is Kha'zal al-Ka'bi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaz'al_al-Ka'bi who ruled the semiautonomous Sheikdom of Mohemmerah. He was very helpful to the British during the Mesopotamian campaign.

The Shah was only a boy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaz'al_al-Ka'bi and the Majlis had trouble reaching a decision and when they did had trouble executing policy. Perhaps you could get a nominal declaration of war but that means little more than the Persian Cossack Brigade and the South Persia Rifles fight the Ottomans which is what they did OTL. Oh and Wassmuss will still have some success stirring up discontent amongst the tribes that were not favored http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Wassmuss
 
Persia did not have a strong central government in this period which is pretty much how the Russians and British wanted things. They had resolved the Great Game by dividing Persia into spheres. In the north the Russians had exercised a heavy hand causing considerable resentment. In the south the British exercised a softer touch playing favorites with certain tribes and rulers. One very good example is Kha'zal al-Ka'bi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaz'al_al-Ka'bi who ruled the semiautonomous Sheikdom of Mohemmerah. He was very helpful to the British during the Mesopotamian campaign.

The Shah was only a boy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaz'al_al-Ka'bi and the Majlis had trouble reaching a decision and when they did had trouble executing policy. Perhaps you could get a nominal declaration of war but that means little more than the Persian Cossack Brigade and the South Persia Rifles fight the Ottomans which is what they did OTL. Oh and Wassmuss will still have some success stirring up discontent amongst the tribes that were not favored http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Wassmuss

OTL doesn't count. It needs to be a unified central government declaring war on the Central Powers.
 
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