These negative aspects of the shah’s rule became markedly accentuated after Iran began to reap greater revenues from its petroleum exports beginning in 1973. Widespread dissatisfaction among the lower classes, Shiʿi clergy, bazaar merchants, and students led in 1978 to the growth of support for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shiʿi religious leader living in exile in Paris. Rioting and turmoil in Iran’s major cities brought down four successive governments as the Iranian Revolution gained momentum. On January 16, 1979, the shah left the country, and Khomeini assumed control. Although the shah did not abdicate, a referendum resulted in the declaration on April 1, 1979, of an Islamic republic in Iran.
