2,500 years after the Purim story, a Jewish person has again married into the Persian royal family.
Princess Iman, daughter of the Iranian Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, married Jewish-American tech CEO Bradley Sherman in Paris last weekend, having previously registered their marriage at a courthouse in New York. The 31-year old princess met the businessman, who comes from Arizona, through mutual friends, and news of their engagement was reported in 2023.
The Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran between 1925 and 1979, when it was overthrown during what became known as the Khomeinist revolution. The royal family went into exile in America, where Princess Iman was born and raised. The wedding was attended by the extended Pahlavi family, including Queen Farah, the widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
The ceremony was not believed to have been a religious one – there has been no indication that the princess will convert to Judaism – although the traditional Jewish ‘chair dance’ was reportedly performed during the celebrations in the French capital.
