The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...
, which was of
Turkic origin,
[Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power'', I. B. Tauris, 2000, , p. 1][William Bayne Fisher. ''Cambridge History of Iran'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 344, ][Dr Parviz Kambin, ''A History of the Iranian Plateau: Rise and Fall of an Empire'', Universe, 2011, p.36]
online edition
specifically from the
Qajar tribe, from 1789 to 1925. The Qajar family played a pivotal role in the
Unification of Iran (1779–1796), deposing
Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last
Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
of the
Zand dynasty
The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...
, and re-asserted Iranian sovereignty over large parts of the
Caucasus. In 1796,
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar seized
Mashhad with ease, putting an end to the
Afsharid dynasty
The Afsharid dynasty () was an Iran, Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar people, Afshar tribe, ruling over the Afsharid Empire.
List of Afsharid monarchs
Family tree
...
. He was formally crowned as Shah after his
punitive campaign against Iran's Georgian subjects.
[ Michael Axworthy]
''Iran: Empire of the Mind: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day''
Penguin UK, 6 November 2008.
In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost much territory to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day eastern
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Dagestan,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, and
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
.
[Timothy C. Dowling]
''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''
pp 728–730 ABC-CLIO, 2 December 2014 Despite its territorial losses, Qajar Iran reinvented the Iranian notion of kingship and maintained relative political independence, but faced major challenges to its sovereignty, predominantly from the Russian and
British empires. Foreign advisers became powerbrokers in the court and military. They eventually partitioned Qajar Iran in the 1907
Anglo-Russian Convention, carving out Russian and British influence zones and a neutral zone.
In the early 20th century, the
Persian Constitutional Revolution created an elected parliament or
Majles, and sought the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, deposing
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar for
Ahmad Shah Qajar, but many of the constitutional reforms were reversed by an
intervention led by the Russian Empire.
Qajar Iran's territorial integrity was further weakened during the
Persian campaign of World War I and the invasion by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Four years after the
1921 Persian coup d'état, the military officer
Reza Shah took power in 1925, thus establishing the
Pahlavi dynasty, the last Iranian royal dynasty.
Name
Since the
Safavid era, (
Guarded Domains of Iran) was the common and official name of Iran. The idea of the Guarded Domains illustrated a feeling of territorial and political uniformity in a society where the Persian language, culture, monarchy, and
Shia Islam
Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
became integral elements of the developing national identity. The concept presumably had started to form under the
Mongol Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
in the late 13th-century, a period in which regional actions, trade, written culture, and partly Shia Islam, contributed to the establishment of the early modern
Persianate world. Its shortened variant was ''mamalik-i Iran'' ("Domains of Iran"), most commonly used in the writings from Qajar Iran.
History
Origins
A late legend holds that the Qajars first came to Iran in the 11th-century along with other
Oghuz Turkic clans. However, the Qajars neither appear in the Oghuz tribal lists of
Mahmud al-Kashgari nor
Rashid al-Din Hamadani. It has been speculated that the Qajars were originally part of a larger tribal group, with the
Bayats often considered the most likely tribe from which they later separated. According to the same late legend, the Qajar tribe's namesake ancestor was Qajar Noyan, said to be the son of a
Mongol named Sartuq Noyan, who reportedly served as
atabeg to the Ilkhanate ruler
Arghun (). This legend also claims that the
Turco-Mongol ruler
Timur () was descended from Qajar Noyan. Based on the claims of the legend,
Iranologist Gavin R. G. Hambly reconstructed the early history of the Qajars in a hypothetical manner, suggesting that they immigrated towards
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
or
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
following the collapse of the Ilkhanate in 1335. Then, during the late 15th-century, the Qajars resettled in the historical region of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, becoming affiliated with the neighbouring
Erivan,
Ganja and
Karabakh. Like the other Oghuz tribes in Azerbaijan and eastern Anatolia during the rule of the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
, the Qajars likely also converted to
Shia Islam
Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
and adopted the teachings of the
Safavid order.
The
Qajar tribe first started to gain prominence during the establishment of the Safavids. When Ismail led the 7,000 tribal soldiers on his successful expedition from
Erzincan to
Shirvan in 1500/1501, a contingent of Qajars was among them. After this, they emerged as a prominent group within the
Qizilbash confederacy, who were made up of
Turkoman warriors and served as the main force of the
Safavid military. Despite being smaller than other tribes, the Qajars continued to play a major role in important events during the 16th-century.
The Safavids "left
Arran (present-day
Republic of Azerbaijan) to local Turkic khans",
[K. M. Röhrborn. Provinzen und Zentralgewalt Persiens im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Berlin, 1966, p. 4] and, "in 1554
Ganja was governed by
Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, whose family came to govern
Karabakh in southern
Arran".
Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16–17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by
Shah Abbas I throughout Iran. The great number of them also settled in Astarabad (present-day
Gorgan,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
) near the south-eastern corner of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
,
and it would be this branch of Qajars that would rise to power. The immediate ancestor of the Qajar dynasty, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja, married into the Quvanlu Qajars of Astarabad. His son,
Fath Ali Khan
Fath-Ali Khan Qajar () was the chieftain of the Ashaqa-bash branch of the Qajars (tribe), Qajar tribe at Astarabad during the collapse of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran.
Background
Born in 1685/86, Fath-Ali Khan was the son of Shahq ...
(born –1693) was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs
Sultan Husayn and
Tahmasp II. He was killed in 1726. Fath Ali Khan's son
Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar (1722–1758) was the father of
Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan (Jahansouz Shah), father of "Baba Khan," the future
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of
Karim Khan of the
Zand dynasty
The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...
.
Within 126 years between the demise of the Safavid state and the rise of
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Qajars had evolved from a shepherd-warrior tribe with strongholds in northern Persia into a Persian dynasty with all the trappings of a Perso-Islamic monarchy.
Rise to power
"Like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of
Turkic tribal forces, while using educated
Persians in their bureaucracy".
Among these Turkic tribes, however,
Turkmens of Iran played the most prominent role in bringing Qajars to power. In 1779, following the death of
Karim Khan of the
Zand dynasty
The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...
,
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, the leader of the Qajars, set out to reunify
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Agha Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the standards of 18th-century Iran.
In his quest for power, he razed cities, massacred entire populations, and blinded some 20,000 men in the city of
Kerman because the local populace had chosen to defend the city against his
siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
.
The Qajar armies at that time were mostly composed of
Turkoman warriors and
Georgian slaves. By 1794, Agha Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including
Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. He reestablished Iranian control over the territories in the entire
Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, a town near the ruins of the ancient city of
Rayy. In 1796, he was formally crowned as
shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
. In 1797, Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated in
Shusha
Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...
, the capital of
Karabakh Khanate, and was succeeded by his nephew,
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.
Reconquest of Georgia and the rest of the Caucasus
In 1744,
Nader Shah had granted the kingship of the
Kartli and
Kakheti to
Teimuraz II and his son
Erekle II (Heraclius II) respectively, as a reward for their loyalty. When Nader Shah died in 1747, they capitalized on the chaos that had erupted in mainland Iran, and declared ''de facto'' independence. After Teimuraz II died in 1762, Erekle II assumed control over Kartli, and united the two kingdoms in a personal union as the
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, becoming the first Georgian ruler to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia in three centuries. At about the same time,
Karim Khan Zand had ascended the Iranian throne; Erekle II quickly tendered his ''de jure'' submission to the new Iranian ruler, however, ''de facto'', he remained autonomous. In 1783, Erekle II placed his kingdom under the
protection of the Russian Empire in the
Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become a more important element in
Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Iran, such as
Mazandaran or even
Gilan. Unlike
Peter the Great,
Catherine the Great, the then-ruling monarch of Russia, viewed Georgia as a pivot for her Caucasian policy, as Russia's new aspirations were to use it as a base of operations against both Iran and the Ottoman Empire, both immediate bordering geopolitical rivals of Russia. On top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the
Black Sea would be ideal. A limited Russian contingent of two infantry battalions with four artillery pieces arrived in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
in 1784, but was withdrawn in 1787, despite the frantic protests of the Georgians, as
a new war against Ottoman Turkey had started on a different front.

The consequences of these events came a few years later when a strong new Iranian dynasty under the Qajars emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Iran. Their head,
Agha Mohammad Khan, as his first objective, resolved to bring the
Caucasus again fully under the Persian orbit. For Agha Mohammad Khan, the resubjugation and reintegration of Georgia into the Iranian empire was part of the same process that had brought
Shiraz,
Isfahan, and
Tabriz under his rule. He viewed, like the Safavids and Nader Shah before him, the territories no different from the territories in mainland Iran. Georgia was a province of Iran the same way
Khorasan was. As ''
The Cambridge History of Iran'' states, its permanent secession was inconceivable and had to be resisted in the same way as one would resist an attempt at the separation of
Fars or Gilan. It was therefore natural for Agha Mohammad Khan to perform whatever necessary means in the Caucasus in order to subdue and reincorporate the recently lost regions following Nader Shah's death and the demise of the Zands, including putting down what in Iranian eyes was seen as treason on the part of the ''
vali'' of Georgia.
Finding an interval of peace amid their own quarrels and with northern, western, and central Iran secure, the Iranians demanded Erekle II to renounce the treaty with Russia and to reaccept Iranian suzerainty, in return for peace and the security of his kingdom. The Ottomans, Iran's neighboring rival, recognized the latter's rights over Kartli and Kakheti for the first time in four centuries.
[Donald Rayfield]
''Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia''
Reaktion Books, 15 February. 2013 p 255 Erekle appealed then to his theoretical protector, Empress Catherine II of Russia, asking for at least 3,000 Russian troops,
but he was ignored, leaving Georgia to fend off the Iranian threat alone.
[ Lang, David Marshall (1962), ''A Modern History of Georgia'', p. 38. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.] Nevertheless, Erekle II still rejected Agha Mohammad Khan's
ultimatum.
[ Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', p. 59. ]Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
,
In August 1795, Agha Mohammad Khan crossed the
Aras River, and after a turn of events by which he gathered more support from his subordinate khans of
Erivan and
Ganja, and having re-secured the territories up to including parts of
Dagestan in the north and up to the westernmost border of modern-day
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
in the west, he sent Erekle the last ultimatum, which he also declined, but, sent couriers to St.Petersburg.
Gudovich, who sat in
Georgiyevsk at the time, instructed Erekle to avoid "expense and fuss",
while Erekle, together with
Solomon II and some Imeretians headed southwards of Tbilisi to fend off the Iranians.
With half of the troop's Agha Mohammad Khan crossed the Aras river with, he now marched directly upon Tbilisi, where it commenced into a huge battle between the Iranian and Georgian armies. Erekle had managed to mobilize some 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 from neighboring
Imereti under its King Solomon II. The Georgians, hopelessly outnumbered, were eventually defeated despite stiff resistance. In a few hours, the Iranian king Agha Mohammad Khan was in full control of the Georgian capital. The Iranian army marched back laden with spoil and carrying off many thousands of captives.
By this, after the conquest of Tbilisi and being in effective control of eastern
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Agha Mohammad was formally crowned
Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
in 1796 in the
Mughan plain.
As ''
The Cambridge History of Iran'' notes; "Russia's client, Georgia, had been punished, and Russia's prestige, damaged." Erekle II returned to Tbilisi to rebuild the city, but the destruction of his capital was a death blow to his hopes and projects. Upon learning of the fall of Tbilisi General Gudovich put the blame on the
Georgians
Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...
themselves. To restore Russian prestige, Catherine II
declared war on Iran, upon the proposal of Gudovich, and sent an army under
Valerian Zubov to the Qajar possessions on April of that year, but the new
Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Paul I, who succeeded Catherine in November, shortly recalled it.
Agha Mohammad Shah was later assassinated while preparing a second expedition against Georgia in 1797 in
Shusha
Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...
. Reassessment of Iranian hegemony over Georgia did not last long; in 1799 the Russians marched into Tbilisi, two years after Agha Mohammad Khan's death. The next two years were a time of muddle and confusion, and the weakened and devastated Georgian kingdom, with its capital half in ruins, was easily
absorbed by Russia in 1801.
As Iran could not permit or allow the cession of
Transcaucasia and
Dagestan, which had formed part of the concept of Iran for centuries, it would also directly lead up to the wars of even several years later, namely the
Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and
Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), which would eventually prove for the irrevocable forced cession of aforementioned regions to Imperial Russia per the treaties of
Gulistan (1813) and
Turkmenchay (1828), as the ancient ties could only be severed by a superior force from outside. It was therefore also inevitable that Agha Mohammad Khan's successor,
Fath Ali Shah (under whom Iran would lead the two above-mentioned wars) would follow the same policy of restoring Iranian central authority north of the
Aras and
Kura rivers.
Wars with Russia and irrevocable loss of territories

On 12 September 1801, four years after Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's death, the
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
capitalized on the moment, and annexed
Kartli-Kakheti (eastern Georgia). In 1804, the Russians
invaded and sacked the Iranian town of Ganja, massacring and expelling thousands of its inhabitants, thereby beginning the
Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813. Under
Fath Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834), the Qajars set out to fight against the invading Russian Empire, who were keen to take the Iranian territories in the region. This period marked the first major economic and military encroachments on Iranian interests during the colonial era. The Qajar army suffered a major military defeat in the war, and under the terms of the
Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, Iran was forced to cede most of its Caucasian territories comprising modern-day
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Dagestan, and most of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
.
About a decade later, in violation of the Gulistan Treaty, the Russians invaded Iran's
Erivan Khanate
The Erivan Khanate (), also known as , was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most o ...
. This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two; the
Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828. It ended even more disastrously for Qajar Iran with temporary occupation of
Tabriz and the signing of the
Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, acknowledging Russian sovereignty over the entire
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...
and Dagestan, as well as therefore the ceding of what is nowadays
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and the remaining part of
Republic of Azerbaijan;
the new border between neighboring Russia and Iran were set at the
Aras River. Iran had by these two treaties, in the course of the 19th century, irrevocably lost the territories which had formed part of the concept of Iran for centuries. The area to the North of the river Aras, among which the territory of the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, eastern Georgia, Dagestan, and Armenia was Iranian territory until they were occupied by Russia in the course of the 19th century.
As a further direct result and consequence of the Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties of 1813 and 1828 respectively, the formerly Iranian territories became part of Russia for around the next 180 years, except Dagestan, which has remained a Russian possession ever since. Out of the greater part of the territory, six separate nations would be formed through the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991, namely Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and three generally unrecognized republics
Abkhazia,
Artsakh and
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...
claimed by Georgia. Lastly and equally important, as a result of Russia's imposing of the two treaties, It also decisively parted the
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...
and
Talysh ever since between two nations.
File:Battle Between Persians and Russians - State Hermitage Museum.jpg, Battle of Sultanabad, 13 February 1812. State Hermitage Museum.
File:Russian troops storming Lankaran fortress, January 13th, 1813..jpg, Storming of Lankaran, 13 January 1813. Franz Roubaud.
File:%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4_%D0%95%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BC.jpeg, Battle of Ganja, 1826. Franz Roubaud. Part of the collection of the Museum for History, Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
.
Migration of Caucasian Muslims
Following the official losing of the aforementioned vast territories in the Caucasus, major demographic shifts were bound to take place. Solidly Persian-speaking territories of Iran were lost, with all its inhabitants in it. Following the 1804–1814 War, but also per the 1826–1828 war which ceded the last territories, large migrations, so-called
Caucasian Muhajirs, set off to migrate to mainland Iran. Some of these groups included the
Ayrums,
Qarapapaqs,
Circassians
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
, Shia
Lezgins, and other
Transcaucasian Muslims.
Through the
Battle of Ganja of 1804 during the
Russo-Persian War (1804–1813), many thousands of Ayrums and Qarapapaqs were settled in Tabriz. During the remaining part of the 1804–1813 war, as well as through the
1826–1828 war, the absolute bulk of the Ayrums and Qarapapaqs that were still remaining in newly conquered Russian territories were settled in and migrated to
Solduz (in modern-day Iran's
West Azerbaijan province
West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia.
It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey ( Ağrı, Hakkâri, Iğdır and Van Provinces), Iraq ( Erbil and Sula ...
).
As ''
The Cambridge History of Iran'' states; "The steady encroachment of Russian troops along the frontier in the Caucasus, General
Yermolov's brutal punitive expeditions and misgovernment, drove large numbers of Muslims, and even some
Georgian Christians, into exile in Iran."
In 1864 until the early 20th century,
another mass expulsion took place of Caucasian Muslims as a result of the Russian victory in the
Caucasian War. Others simply voluntarily refused to live under
Christian Russian rule, and thus disembarked for Turkey or Iran. These migrations once again, towards Iran, included masses of Caucasian
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...
, other Transcaucasian Muslims, as well as many North Caucasian Muslims, such as Circassians, Shia Lezgins and
Laks.
Many of these migrants would prove to play a pivotal role in further Iranian history, as they formed most of the ranks of the
Persian Cossack Brigade, which was also to be established in the late 19th century.
The initial ranks of the brigade would be entirely composed of
Circassians
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
and other Caucasian Muhajirs.
This brigade would prove decisive in the following decades to come in Qajar history.
Furthermore, the 1828
Treaty of Turkmenchay included the official rights for the Russian Empire to encourage settling of
Armenians
Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
from Iran in the newly conquered Russian territories. Until the mid-fourteenth century, Armenians had constituted a majority in
Eastern Armenia.
At the close of the fourteenth century, after
Timur's campaigns, Islam had become the dominant faith, and Armenians became a minority in Eastern Armenia. After centuries of constant warfare on the Armenian Plateau, many Armenians chose to emigrate and settle elsewhere. Following
Shah Abbas I's massive relocation of Armenians and Muslims in 1604–05, their numbers dwindled even further.
At the time of the Russian invasion of Iran, some 80% of the population of
Erivan Khanate
The Erivan Khanate (), also known as , was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most o ...
in
Iranian Armenia were Muslims (
Persians,
Turkics, and
Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
) whereas Christian
Armenians
Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
constituted a minority of about 20%. As a result of the
Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), Iran was forced to cede Iranian Armenia (which also constituted the present-day
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
), to the Russians. After the Russian administration took hold of Iranian Armenia, the ethnic make-up shifted, and thus for the first time in more than four centuries, ethnic Armenians started to form a majority once again in one part of historic Armenia.
Development and decline

Fath Ali Shah's reign saw increased diplomatic contacts with the West and the beginning of intense European diplomatic rivalries over Iran. His grandson
Mohammad Shah, who fell under the Russian influence and made two unsuccessful attempts to capture
Herat, succeeded him in 1834. When Mohammad Shah died in 1848 the succession passed to his son
Naser al-Din, who proved to be the ablest and most successful of the Qajar sovereigns. He founded the first modern hospital in Iran.
During Naser al-Din Shah's reign, Western science, technology, and educational methods were introduced into Iran and the country's modernization was begun. Naser al-Din Shah tried to exploit the mutual distrust between Great Britain and Russia to preserve Iran's independence, but foreign interference and territorial encroachment increased under his rule. He was not able to prevent
Britain and Russia from encroaching into regions of traditional Iranian influence.
In 1856, during the
Anglo-Persian War, Britain prevented Iran from reasserting control over
Herat. The city had been part of Iran in Safavid times, but Herat had been under
Durrani rule since the mid–18th century. Britain also extended its control to other areas of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
during the 19th century. Meanwhile, by 1881, Russia had completed its conquest of present-day
Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, bringing Russia's frontier to Persia's northeastern borders and severing historic Iranian ties to the cities of
Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
,
Merv and
Samarqand. With the conclusion of the
Treaty of Akhal on 21 September 1881, Iran ceased any claim to all parts of
Turkestan and
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
, setting the
Atrek River as the new boundary with Imperial Russia. Hence
Merv,
Sarakhs,
Ashgabat, and the surrounding areas were transferred to Russian control under the command of General Alexander Komarov in 1884. Several trade concessions by the Iranian government put economic affairs largely under British control. By the late 19th century, many Iranians believed that their rulers were beholden to foreign interests.
Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, was the young prince Naser al-Din's advisor and constable. With the death of Mohammad Shah in 1848, Mirza Taqi was largely responsible for ensuring the crown prince's succession to the throne. When Nasser ed-Din succeeded to the throne, Amir Nezam was awarded the position of the prime minister and the title of
Amir Kabir, the Great Ruler.
At that time, Iran was nearly bankrupt. During the next two and a half years Amir Kabir initiated important reforms in virtually all sectors of society. Government expenditure was slashed, and a distinction was made between the private and public purses. The instruments of central administration were overhauled, and Amir Kabir assumed responsibility for all areas of the bureaucracy. There were
Bahai revolts and
a revolt in Khorasan at the time but were crushed under Amir Kabir. Foreign interference in Iran's domestic affairs was curtailed, and foreign trade was encouraged. Public works such as the bazaar in Tehran were undertaken. Amir Kabir issued an edict banning ornate and excessively formal writing in government documents; the beginning of a modern Persian prose style dates from this time.

One of the greatest achievements of Amir Kabir was the building of
Dar ol Fonoon in 1851, the first modern university in Iran and the Middle East. Dar-ol-Fonoon was established for training a new cadre of administrators and acquainting them with Western techniques. It marked the beginning of modern education in Iran.
Amir Kabir ordered the school to be built on the edge of the city so it could be expanded as needed. He hired French and Russian instructors as well as Iranians to teach subjects as different as Language, Medicine, Law, Geography, History, Economics, and Engineering, amongst numerous others.
Unfortunately, Amir Kabir did not live long enough to see his greatest monument completed, but it still stands in Tehran as a sign of a great man's ideas for the future of his country.
These reforms antagonized various notables who had been excluded from the government. They regarded the Amir Kabir as a social upstart and a threat to their interests, and they formed a coalition against him, in which the queen mother was active. She convinced the young shah that Amir Kabir wanted to usurp the throne. In October 1851, the shah dismissed him and exiled him to
Kashan
Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
History
Earlies ...
, where he was murdered on the shah's orders. Through his marriage to Ezzat od-Doleh, Amir Kabir had been the brother-in-law of the shah.
Qajar Iran would become a victim of the
Great Game between Russia and Britain for influence over central Asia. As the Qajar state's sovereignty was challenged this took the form of military conquests, diplomatic intrigues, and the competition of trade goods between two foreign empires.
Ever since the 1828
Treaty of Turkmanchay, Russia had received territorial domination in Iran. With the
Romanovs shifting to a policy of 'informal support' for the weakened
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...
— continuing to place pressure with advances in the largely nomadic Turkestan, a crucial frontier territory of the Qajars — this Russian domination of Iran continued for nearly a century.
The Iranian monarchy became more of a symbolic concept in which Russian diplomats were themselves powerbrokers in Iran and the monarchy was dependent on British and Russian loans for funds.
In 1879, the establishment of the
Cossack Brigade by Russian officers gave the Russian Empire influence over the modernization of the Qajar army. This influence was especially pronounced because the Iranian monarchy's legitimacy was predicated on an image of military prowess, first Turkic and then European-influenced.
By the 1890s, Russian tutors, doctors and officers were prominent at the Shah's court, influencing policy personally.
Russia and Britain had competing investments in the industrialisation of Iran including roads and telegraph lines, as a way to profit and extend their influence. However, until 1907 the Great Game rivalry was so pronounced that mutual British and Russian demands to the Shah to exclude the other, blocked all railroad construction in Iran at the end of the 19th century.
In 1907 the British and Russian Empires partitioned Iran into spheres of influence with the
Anglo-Russian Convention.
Constitutional Revolution

When
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar was assassinated by
Mirza Reza Kermani in 1896, the crown passed to his son
Mozaffar al-Din. Mozaffar al-Din Shah was a moderate, but relatively ineffective ruler. Royal extravagances coincided with an inadequate ability to secure state revenue which further exacerbated the financial woes of the Qajar. In response, the Shah procured two large loans from Russia (in part to fund personal trips to Europe). Public anger mounted as the Shah sold off concessions – such as road building monopolies, the authority to collect duties on imports, etc. – to European interests in return for generous payments to the Shah and his officials. Popular demand to curb arbitrary royal authority in favor of the rule of law increased as concern regarding growing foreign penetration and influence heightened.

The shah's failure to respond to protests by the religious establishment, the merchants, and other classes led the merchants and clerical leaders in January 1906 to take sanctuary from probable arrest in mosques in Tehran and outside the capital. When the shah reneged on a promise to permit the establishment of a "house of justice", or consultative assembly, 10,000 people, led by the merchants, took sanctuary in June in the compound of the British legation in Tehran. In August, the shah, through the issue of a decree promised a constitution. In October, an elected assembly convened and drew up a constitution that provided for strict limitations on royal power, an elected parliament, or
Majles, with wide powers to represent the people and a government with a cabinet subject to confirmation by the Majles. The shah signed the constitution on 30 December 1906, but refusing to forfeit all of his power to the Majles, attached a caveat that made his signature on all laws required for their enactment. He died five days later. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws approved in 1907 provided, within limits, for freedom of press, speech, and association, and for the security of life and property. The hopes for the constitutional rule were not realized, however.

Mozaffar al-Din Shah's son
Mohammad Ali Shah (reigned 1907–1909), who, through his mother, was also the grandson of Prime-Minister Amir Kabir (see before), with the aid of Russia,
attempted to rescind the constitution and abolish parliamentary government. After several disputes with the members of the Majles, in June 1908 he used his Russian-officered
Persian Cossack Brigade (almost solely composed of
Caucasian Muhajirs), to
bomb the Majlis building, arrest many of the deputies (December 1907), and close down the assembly (June 1908). Resistance to the shah, however, coalesced in
Tabriz,
Isfahan,
Rasht, and elsewhere. In July 1909, constitutional forces marched from Rasht to Tehran led by
Mohammad Vali Khan Khalatbari Tonekaboni, deposed the Shah, and re-established the constitution. The ex-shah went into exile in Russia. Shah died in
San Remo, Italy, in April 1925. Every future Shah of Iran would also die in exile.
On 16 July 1909, the Majles voted to place Mohammad Ali Shah's 11-year-old son,
Ahmad Shah on the throne. Although the constitutional forces had triumphed, they faced serious difficulties. The upheavals of the Constitutional Revolution and civil war had undermined stability and trade. In addition, the ex-shah, with Russian support, attempted to regain his throne, landing troops in July 1910. Most serious of all, the hope that the Constitutional Revolution would inaugurate a new era of independence from the great powers ended when, under the
Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, Britain and Russia agreed to divide Iran into spheres of influence. The Russians were to enjoy exclusive right to pursue their interests in the northern sphere, the British in the south and east; both powers would be free to compete for economic and political advantage in a neutral sphere in the center. Matters came to a head when
Morgan Shuster, a United States administrator hired as treasurer-general by the Persian government to reform its finances, sought to collect taxes from powerful officials who were Russian protégés and to send members of the treasury gendarmerie, a tax department police force, into the Russian zone. When in December 1911 the Majlis unanimously refused a Russian ultimatum demanding Shuster's dismissal, Russian troops, already in the country, moved to occupy the capital. To prevent this, on 20 December, Bakhtiari chiefs and their troops surrounded the Majles building, forced acceptance of the Russian ultimatum, and shut down the assembly, once again suspending the constitution.
British and Russian officials coordinated as the Russian army, still present in Iran, invaded the capital again and suspended the parliament. The Tsar ordered the troops in Tabriz "to act harshly and quickly", while purges were ordered, leading to many executions of prominent revolutionaries. The British Ambassador,
George Head Barclay reported disapproval of this "reign of terror", though would soon pressure Persian ministers to officialize the Anglo-Russian partition of Iran. By June 1914, Russia established near-total control over its northern zone, while Britain had established influence over
Baluch and
Bakhtiari autonomous tribal leaders in the southeastern zone.
Qajar Iran would become a battleground between Russian, Ottoman, and British forces in the
Persian campaign of World War I.
World War I and related events
Though Qajar Iran had announced strict neutrality on the first day of November 1914 (which was reiterated by each successive government thereafter), the neighboring
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
invaded it relatively shortly after, in the same year. At that time, large parts of Iran were under tight Russian influence and control, and since 1910 Russian forces were present inside the country, while many of its cities possessed Russian garrisons. Due to the latter reason, as Prof. Dr.
Touraj Atabaki states, declaring neutrality was useless, especially as Iran had no force to implement this policy.
At the beginning of the war, the Ottomans invaded
Iranian Azerbaijan. Numerous clashes would take place there between the
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
, who were further aided by the
Assyrians under
Agha Petros as well as Armenian volunteer units and battalions, and the Ottomans on the other side. However, with the advent of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
of 1917 and the subsequent withdrawal of most of the Russian troops, the Ottomans gained the upper hand in Iran, occupying significant portions of the country until the end of the war. Between 1914 and 1918, the
Ottoman troops massacred many thousands of Iran's Assyrian and Armenian population, as part of the
Assyrian and
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
s, respectively.
The front in Iran would last up to the
Armistice of Mudros in 1918.
Battle of Robat Karim
In late 1915, due to pro-CP actions by Iranian gendarmerie (encouraged by Ahmad Shah Qajar and the Majlis), Russian forces in northwest Iran marched toward Tehran. Russian occupation of Tehran would mean complete Russian control of Iran.
[ Bahar, Mohammad Taghi (1992). ''A brief history of political parties in Iran: the extinction of the Qajar dynasty''. J. First. Amir Kabir Publications. ]
Local irregular forces under Heydar Latifiyan blocked the Russian advance at Robat Karim.
The Russian force won the
Battle of Robat Karim on 27 December, and Heydar Latifiyan was killed, but the Russian advance was delayed, long enough for the Majlis to dissolve and the Shah and his court to escape to Qom. This preserved the independence of Iran.
Fall of the dynasty
Ahmad Shah Qajar was born 21 January 1898 in
Tabriz, and succeeded to the throne at age 11. However, the occupation of Persia during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
by
Russian, British, and
Ottoman troops was a blow from which Ahmad Shah never effectively recovered.
In February 1921,
Reza Khan, commander of the
Persian Cossack Brigade, staged a
coup d'état, becoming the effective ruler of Iran. In 1923, Ahmad Shah went into exile in Europe. Reza Khan induced the
Majles to depose Ahmad Shah in October 1925 and to exclude the Qajar dynasty permanently. Reza Khan was subsequently proclaimed monarch as ''
Reza Shah Pahlavi'', reigning from 1925 to 1941.
[Abrahamian, ''History of Modern Iran'', (2008), p.91]
Ahmad Shah died on February 21, 1930, in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
, France.
Government and administration
Iran was divided into five large provinces and a large number of smaller ones at the beginning of Fath Ali Shah's reign, about 20 provinces in 1847, 39 in 1886, but 18 in 1906. In 1868, most province governors were Qajar princes.
Foreign influence and economic concessions
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Qajar dynasty granted extensive concessions to foreign powers, particularly the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, in exchange for loans, technical expertise, or diplomatic support. The dire economic conditions of the Qajar government forced it to give preferential treatment to foreign powers and allow them to access profitable industries, such as the Iranian oil and tobacco industries.
The Reuters Concession was the first major concession between foreign powers and the Qajar state. The concession was established between the Qajar state and British entrepreneur Baron Julius de Reuter.
The oil concession, established between Nasr el-Din Shah and Englishman William Knox D'arcy allowed Britain to explore for oil in the southern part of Iran.
These agreements eroded Iran's sovereignty and became a focal point of nationalist resistance, most notably during the
Tobacco Protest (1891–1892) and the
Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911).
Major concessions
Political repercussions
Foreign concessions intensified the
Great Game rivalry between Britain and Russia, culminating in the 1907
Anglo-Russian Convention, which partitioned Iran into:
* A **Russian sphere** in the north (including
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
and
Tabriz).
* A **British sphere** in the southeast (protecting approaches to
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
).
* A neutral "buffer zone" in central Iran.
The concessions also fueled the
Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911), as intellectuals and merchants demanded an end to Qajar corruption and foreign domination. The 1906
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
established the
Majlis (parliament), which attempted to annul the D'Arcy oil concession in 1908 but was suppressed by
Mohammad Ali Shah.
Legacy
Historian
Nikki Keddie argues:
Military
The Qajar military was one of the dynasty's largest conventional sources of legitimacy, albeit was increasingly influenced by foreign powers over the course of the dynasty.
Irregular forces, such as tribal cavalry, were a major element until the late nineteenth century, and irregular forces long remained a significant part of the Qajar army.
At the time of Agha Mohammad Khan's death in 1797, his military was at its apex and counted 60,000 men, consisting of 50,000 tribal cavalry (''savar'') and 10,000 infantry (''tofangchi'') recruited from the sedentary population. The army of his nephew and successor Fath-Ali Shah was much larger and from 1805 onwards incorporated European-trained units. According to the French general
Gardane, who was stationed in Iran, the army under Fath-Ali Shah numbered 180,000 men in 1808, thus far surpassing the army of Agha Mohammad Khan in size. The modern historian
Maziar Behrooz explains that there are other estimates which roughly match Gardane's estimate, however, Gardane was the first to complete a full outline of the Qajar army as he and his men were tasked with training the Qajar army. According to Gardane's report of Fath-Ali Shah's contemporaneous army, some 144,000 were tribal cavalry, 40,000 were infantry (which included those trained on European lines), whilst 2,500 were part of the artillery units (which included the zamburakchis). Some half of the total amount of cavalrymen, that is 70,000–75,000, were so-called ''rekabi''. This meant that they received their salaries from the shah's personal funds during periods of supposed mobilization. All others were so-called ''velayati'', that is, they were paid for and were under the command of provincial Iranian rulers and governors. They were mobilized to join the royal army when the call required to do so. Also, as was custom, tribes were supposed to provide troops for the army depending on their size. Thus, larger tribes were supposed to provide larger numbers, whilst smaller tribes provided smaller numbers. After receiving payment, the central government expected military men to (for the greater part) to pay for their own supplies.
During the era of wars with Russia, with crown prince
Abbas Mirza's command of the army of the Azerbaijan Province, his segment of the army was the main force that defended Iran against the Russian invaders. Hence, the quality and organization of his units were superior to that of the rest of the Iranian army. Soldiers of Abbas Mirza's units were furnished from the villages of Azerbaijan and according to quotas in line with the rent each village was responsible for. Abbas Mirza provided for the payment of his troops' outfits and armaments. James Justinian Morier estimated the force under Abbas Mirza's command at 40,000 men, consisting of 22,000 cavalry, 12,000 infantry which included an artillery force, as well as 6,000 ''Nezam'' infantry.
Russia established the
Persian Cossack Brigade in 1879, a force which was led by Russian officers and served as a vehicle for Russian influence in Iran.
By the 1910s, the Qajar Iran was decentralised to the extent that foreign powers sought to bolster the central authority of the Qajars by providing military aid. It was viewed as a process of defensive modernisation; however, this also led to
internal colonisation.
The
Iranian Gendarmerie was founded in 1911 with the assistance of Sweden.
The involvement of a neutral country was seen to avoid "Great Game" rivalry between Russia and Britain, as well as avoid siding with any particular alliance (in the prelude to World War I). Iranian administrators thought the reforms could strengthen the country against foreign influences. The Swedish-influenced police had some success in building up Persian police in centralizing the country.
After 1915, Russia and Britain demanded the recall of the Swedish advisers. Some Swedish officers left, while others sided with the Germans and Ottomans in their intervention in Persia. The remainder of the Gendarmerie was named ''amniya'' after a patrol unit that existed in the early Qajar dynasty.
The number of Russian officers in the Cossack Brigade would increase over time. Britain also sent
sepoys to reinforce the Brigade. After the start of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, many
tsarist supporters remained in Iran as members of the Cossack Brigade rather than fighting for or against the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
The British formed the
South Persia Rifles in 1916, which was initially separate from the Persian army until 1921.
In 1921, the Russian-officered
Persian Cossack Brigade was merged with the gendarmerie and other forces, and would become supported by the British.
At the end of the Qajar dynasty in 1925, Reza Shah's Pahlavi army would include members of the gendarmerie, Cossacks, and former members of the South Persia Rifles.
Art
Demographics
In the late 18th century, during the final period of
Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
Agha Mohammad Khan's reign, Iran (including the
Khanates of the Caucasus) numbered some five to six million inhabitants.
In 1800, three years into Fath-Ali Shah's reign, Iran numbered an estimated six million people. A few years later, in 1812, the population numbered an estimated nine million. At the time, the country numbered some 70,000
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, 170,000
Armenian Christians, and 20,000
Zoroastrians. The city of
Shiraz in the south numbered circa 50,000, while
Isfahan was the largest city at the time, with a population of about 200,000 inhabitants. More to the north,
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, which became the capital of Iran under the Qajars in 1786 under Agha Mohammad Khan, resembled more-so a garrison rather than a town prior to becoming the capital. At the time, as a developing city, it held some 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, but only when the Iranian royal court was in residence. During summer, the royal court moved to a cooler area of
pasture such as at
Soltaniyeh, near Khamseh (i.e.
Zanjan), or at Ujan near
Tabriz in the
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
Province. Other Tehrani residents moved to
Shemiran in Tehran's north during summer, which was located at a higher altitude and thus had a more cool climate. These seasonal movements used to reduce Tehran's population to a few thousand seasonally.
In Iran's east, in
Mashhad, holding the
Imam Reza Shrine and being Iran's former capital during the
Afsharid era, held a population of less than 20,000 by 1800.
Tabriz, the largest city of the Azerbaijan Province, as well as the seat of the Qajar ''vali ahd'' ("crown prince"), used to be a prosperous city, but the
1780 earthquake had devastated the city and reversed its fortunes. In 1809, the population of Tabriz was estimated at 50,000 including 200 Armenian families who lived in their own quarter. The Azerbaijan province's total population, as per a 1806 estimate, was somewhere between 500,000 and 550,000 souls. The towns of
Khoy and
Marand, which at the time were no more than an amalgam of villages, were estimated to hold 25,000 and 10,000 inhabitants respectively.
In Iran's domains in the
Caucasus, the town of
Nakhchivan (Nakhjavan) held a total population of some 5,000 in the year 1807, whereas the total population of the
Erivan Khanate
The Erivan Khanate (), also known as , was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km2, and corresponded to most o ...
was some 100,000 in 1811. However, the latter figure does not account for the
Kurdish tribes that had migrated into the province. A Russian estimate asserted that the Pambak region of the northern part of the Erivan Khanate, which had been occupied by the Russians
after 1804, held a total population of 2,832, consisting of 1,529 Muslims and 1,303 Christian Armenians. According to the Russian demographic survey of 1823 of the
Karabakh Khanate, its largest city,
Shusha
Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...
, held 371 households, who were divided in four quarters or parishes (''
mahaleh''). The province itself consisted of 21 districts, in which nine large domains were located that belonged to Muslims and Armenians, 21 Armenian villages, ninety Muslim villages (both settled and nomadic), with Armenians constituting an estimated minority. In the
Ganja Khanate, the city of
Ganja held 10,425 inhabitants in 1804 at the time of
the Russian conquest and occupation.
In 1868, Jews were the most significant minority in Tehran, numbering 1,578 people.
By 1884, this figure had risen to 5,571.
See also
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Qajar (tribe)
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Qajar dynasty
The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...
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Selected Collection of Qajar Era Maps of Iran
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Russo-Iranian War 1804–1813
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Ottoman–Iranian War 1821–1823
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Russo-Iranian War 1826–1828
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Anglo-Iranian War 1856–1857
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Treaty of Paris 1857
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Treaty of Gulistan
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Treaty of Turkmanchay
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Iranian famine of 1870–1872
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Iranian famine of 1917–1919
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Amir Kabir
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Dar ul-Funun
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Constitutionalization attempts in Iran
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Iranian Constitutional Revolution
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1st Iranian Majlis
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Morteza Gholi Khan Hedayat (1st
Speaker of the Majlis of Iran)
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Mirza Nasrullah Khan (1st
Prime Minister of Iran)
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Iranian Constitution of 1906
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Treaty of Saint Petersburg 1907
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1908 bombardment of the Majlis
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Minor Tyranny
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Occupation of Iran In World War I
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British occupation of Bushehr
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Iranian coup d'état 1921
Notes
References
Sources
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* Gvosdev, Nikolas K.: ''Imperial policies and perspectives towards Georgia: 1760–1819'', Macmillan, Basingstoke 2000,
* Lang, David M.: ''The last years of the Georgian Monarchy: 1658–1832'', Columbia University Press, New York 1957
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Further reading
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External links
The Qajar (Kadjar) PagesThe International Qajar Studies AssociationDar ol-QajarQajar Family WebsiteWomen's Worlds in Qajar IranDigital Archive by Harvard University
Qajar Documentation Fund Collectionat the
International Institute of Social History
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
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