History of Ayatollah in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 25, 2026

Ayatollah is an honorific title given to high-ranking Twelver Shia Muslim clergy. It signifies expertise in Islamic sciences like jurisprudence and principles, typically demonstrated through teaching in seminaries. The title gained prominence in the 20th century and is exclusively held by men. The rank below Ayatollah is Hojjatoleslam.

1905: Persian Constitutional Revolution

During the 1905-1911 Persian Constitutional Revolution, Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi used Ayatullah term for the sources of emulation in Najaf, especially Akhund Khurasani.

1911: Ayatullah term used for sources of emulation in Najaf

In 1911, Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi used the term Ayatullah for the sources of emulation in Najaf, especially Akhund Khurasani, to distinguish them from lower-ranked clerics in Tehran, during the Persian Constitutional Revolution.

1937: Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi May be the first to bear the title

Hamid Algar maintains that the title Ayatollah entered general usage possibly as a result of the reform and strengthening of the religious institution in Qom, Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi (1859–1937) who founded Qom Seminary, may be the first to bear the title according to Algar.

1979: Association of Ayatollah title with the Supreme Leader of Iran

Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the title Ayatollah became associated with the Supreme Leader of Iran, particularly Ruhollah Khomeini, who was often referred to as "The Ayatollah" in the Western world.

1979: Inflation of the title Ayatollah following Iranian Revolution

In 1979, following the Iranian Revolution, the title Ayatollah began to be used for any established mujtahid, leading to an inflation of the title.

1987: Publication of Israel's Ayatollahs

In 1987, the English translation of Raphael Mergui and Philippe Simonnot's book Israel's Ayatollahs: Meir Kahane and the Far Right in Israel was published, using the term "Ayatollah" to describe fundamentalism.

1989: Ali Khamenei bestowed the title Ayatollah

In 1989, Ali Khamenei, who was addressed with the title Hujjat al-Islam as President of Iran, was bestowed the title Ayatollah immediately after being elected Supreme Leader of Iran, without meeting regular criteria.

2015: Further Expansion of the title Ayatollah

By 2015, the title Ayatollah was further expanded to include any student who had passed their Mujtahid final exam, leading to thousands of Ayatollahs.

2015: Emergence of thousands of Ayatollahs

Moojan Momen wrote in 2015 that the post-revolutionary bureaucratization of Shia seminaries under the Islamic Republic led to every cleric who finished his training calling himself an Ayatollah, resulting in the emergence of "thousands of Ayatollahs". This inflation led to invention of a new title, Ayatollah al-Uzma.