Decadence and ruin: The world's most expensive party.

In 1971, the Shah of Iran, the self-proclaimed 'king of kings', celebrated 2,500 years of Persian monarchy with the biggest celebration in history.

Money was no problem: a lavish tent city, using 37 km of silk, was built in a specially created oasis. The top restaurant in the world at the time, Maxim's, closed its doors for two weeks to cater the event. A five-course banquet was served to more than sixty of the world's kings, queens and presidents, and was washed down with some of the rarest wines known to the world. man. Over a decadent period of five days, guests were treated to a spectacle of thousands of soldiers dressed in ancient Persian costumes, a 'son et lumiere' at the foot of the Temple of Darius the Great, and the opening of Tehran's Azadi Tower , designed to honor the Shah himself.

Every party leaves a few hangovers. This left a country reeling and never recovering. It crystallized the opposition, led by Ayatollah Khomeini. More than any other event, this festival marked the rupture between the king of kings and the people of Iran over which he ruled.