The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

by Daniel Yergin

On January 8, the British ambassador went to say farewell to the Shah. The monarchy that had survived all sorts of vicissitudes for almost half a century was at its end. The pomp of the celebration at Persepolis of the twenty-five hundredth anniversary of the Persian monarchy was gone. So was the power. Alexander the Great had captured Persepolis in 330 B.C. and burned the royal palace; now the Ayatollah Khomeini was making a mockery of the self-proclaimed heir to Persepolis. Like the Wizard of Oz, Mohammed Pahlavi was revealed to be, after all, but a mere mortal. The show was over. Talking to the ambassador, the Shah was calm and detached. He spoke about events as though they had no relevance to him personally. That made it all the more emotional for the ambassador, who, despite all his years of steeling himself to be a self-disciplined professional, found himself crying. Awkwardly trying to comfort him, the Shah said, “Never mind, I know how you feel.” Considering their relative circumstances, it was a very strange remark. The Shah talked about the conflicting advice he was continuing to receive. Then, in an odd gesture, he looked at his watch. “If it was up to me, I would leave—in ten minutes.” The show was indeed over.