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Khomeini was born to a devout Shia Muslim family, with a high-ranking cleric father.

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Khomeini began to study under Abd al-Karim Ha’iri, which led him to study ethics and philosophy. By the 40s and 50s, he had become a very well respected and revered cleric.

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Pahlavi took over the Iranian nation in succession to his father, with hopes that he would be more efficient. However, his relationship with foreign powers, and their influence on the inner workings of Iran would soon prove worrisome for nationalists within the country.

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With western support, the Shah began passing a series of reforms geared towards Iran's economy. Its goal was to fortify and rebuild the nation's infrastructure with a modernized and westernized mindset. Some of these reforms included voting rights for women and land redistribution which effectively shifted Iran's economy to a capitalized system. However, these reforms proved to be a hinderance to the very people who they were meant to benefit, as peasants found themselves paying installments on land. Khomeini, along with other clerics, loathed these reforms, deeming them to be in support of imperialistic powers.

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Khomeini began to oppose the Shah's newest reforms through a series of speeches and pamphlets that condemned the beliefs of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It was not until 1962 that Khomeini began to publicly express his distaste for the Shah. More specifically he disagreed with the reforms that introduced women's suffrage and began to abolish religious divisions.

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The Ayatollah Khomeini was exiled to Najaf, Turkey, as the Shah didn't appreciate the cleric's open opposition against him. Even when abroad, Khomeini continued to spread his negative views of the Shah through telephone calls and, most famously, through cassette tapes. For those in Iran whose opposition to the government could not be vocalized, the Ayatollah's influence, despite his physical distance from his supporters, quickly turned him into the face of revolutionary thought. During this time, he also continued to teach and solidify his position as a religious leader.

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The Iranian economy collapsed, leaving the people in a state of inflation and unemployment. This catalyzed the citizen's anger towards their leader, who in his attempt to modernize and westernize the Iranian economy too fast, had left the people with broken hopes for a better future.

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Khomeini’s patriotism was questioned by a state newspaper, causing citizens to riot. The Savak, Palavi's secret police, responded with violence. This conflict quickly escalated, and came to mark the beginning of the Iranian Revolution. Protestors were killed by the dozens, or even by the hundreds, causing the country to fall into chaos.

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The Cinema Rex fire occurred in the midst of six months of riots against the government. It was a time in which an array of opposing political and religious parties came together with a common goal: to kick Pahlavi out of office. This incident, which resulted in the death of over 400 Iranian civilians, was pinned by many as a government conspiracy against Khomeini. The quick escalation of this situation displayed the extent of public dissatisfaction with their leader. Though the actual cause of the incident is unknown, people have speculated that the clergy might have had a hand in inciting the fire with the motivation of catalyzing opposition to the government.

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The Shah and his family fled Iran as a result of the hateful and violent riots made against his leadership. This effectively ended the streak of Persian monarchy which had been maintained for over 2,500 years.

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Islamic Republic of Iran was formally put into place under Khomeini. By now, the drumhead trials and informal executions ordered by the Ayatollah had eliminated all opposition from former government officials. As a result Khomeini's subsequent rise to power was accepted with open arms by the diversely opinionated Iran. This was made easier by the cult of personality that the cleric had created from afar during his sixteen years of exile.

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Over 3,000 university students overtook a US embassy in Tehran, taking hostage over 63 US employees for over 444 days. Though Khomeini did not organize it, the anti-American sentiments that he promoted, combined with chronic frustration caused by the former Shah's influence, was the last straw for Iranians. The US Embassy, a symbol of remaining US presence in Iran, became the common target to express their frustrations. In light of the situation, the Iranian government demanded that the U.S. return "financial assets," formerly belonging to Iran, that had been redirected during Pahlavi's rule. This action prompted the U.S to file a lawsuit with the international court of justice, in which they refused to return any of the aforementioned assets.

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Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran with the support of the US which caused the Iran-Iraq War. Throughout its duration, there was immeasurable bloodshed on both sides. Known as the longest war in the 20th century, the relationship between Iran and American understandably worsened during this time. For Iran, immense US profit made off of selling arms to both sides of the conflict painted America in a bad light.

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Khomeini died at age 86. Despite him becoming power hungry over the course of his rule, many mourned him. According to his granddaughter, he helped shape modern Islam and effectively propelled progress in the modern world. Khomeini was able to unite different groups of people and create a reputation for himself that warranted public appreciation and admiration, similarly to many other leaders who had created a cult of personality.

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Iran is still a theocratic government, under the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Events since the Iranian revolution still show remnants of Khomeini's ideologies to this day. For example, this is shown through the use of religion to cause chaos among Iranian citizens in 2008, which received much criticism. Similarly, through the Shia religion and unspecific promises of a republic, Khomeini was able to manipulate people's beliefs and implement ideologies, such as the guardianship of the jurist, which neglected regular religious rules and gave him the right to rule absolutely. Khomeini therefore set the precedent for subsequent leaders to do the same.