Ayatollah Khomeini.

Ruhollah Khomeini entered the world on September 24, 1902, in Khomein, Iran. His father, Seyyed Mostafa Khomeini, was a religious scholar, and the family traced its lineage to the Prophet Muhammad, marking Khomeini as a sayyid. He began his religious education early, studying in Qom, a center of Shia learning.

By the 1930s, he had become a distinguished teacher of Islamic jurisprudence and ethics. His opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty grew during the 1960s, leading to his first exile in 1964.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution, which Khomeini led from exile in France, culminated his political career. After the Shah departed, he returned to Iran on February 1, 1979, and became supreme leader. The new constitution granted him ultimate authority over the state.

The Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988 consumed most of his tenure and ended in a stalemate. In 1988, he issued a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie over the novel The Satanic Verses.

He received the Time Person of the Year award in 1979. He died on June 3, 1989, in Tehran, Iran.

Khomeini married Khadijeh Saqafi in 1929, though details are scarce. He had four children: sons Mostafa and Ahmad, and daughters Zahra Mostafavi and Farideh Mostafavi. His son Mostafa died under mysterious circumstances in 1977, which fueled opposition to the Shah.

His siblings included Seyed Nooruddin Hindi and Seyed Morteza Pasandideh. His father died when he was a child, and he was raised by his mother and aunt.

Khomeini’s revolution established a Shia Islamic theocracy that reshaped the Middle East. His fatwa against Salman Rushdie sparked global controversy and remains a symbol of religious authority. He inspired Islamist movements worldwide, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.

At his funeral in 1989, millions of mourners flooded Tehran; the crowd’s frenzy caused his body to fall from the bier. He was buried in a metal coffin. Today, he is remembered as the architect of modern Iran and a central figure in 20th-century politics.