Reza Shah Mausoleum

Ray County, Iran

No longer standing

Demolished or destroyed.

Built in Ray, south of Tehran, the Mausoleum of Reza Shah was a grand Pahlavi-style complex designed by architects Keyghobad Zafar and Mohsen Foroughi and completed in 1950. Constructed in marble and concrete, the structure served as a burial ground for Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), penultimate emperor of Iran, alongside his son Prince Ali Reza, a pilot killed in a 1954 crash. The complex functioned not merely as a mausoleum but also housed a history museum and madrasa, situated near the Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine. Recognized as part of Iran's national heritage in 1977, the structure was demolished in 1980 during the immediate aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, when Revolutionary Guards under Sadegh Khalkhali destroyed it with considerable difficulty given its solid construction. The fate of Reza Shah's remains became disputed; in 2018, a mummified body possibly belonging to him was discovered during later expansion work at the nearby shrine.