Iranian Jewish during the Qajar: A Socio-economic Study

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when the Iranian government turned to European powers for the development of the country, the influence of these powers in Iran grew more and more. One of the most famous ways of these powers in increasing influence was to support religious minorities and expand missionary activity. Following this widespread relationship with Europeans, the government launched a modern and westernized reformist program that paved the way for significant social change in Iran. In this regard, the Iranian Jews, by utilizing the international situation and affecting the internal situation, took effective steps to develop their social life. In the other side, The Qajar government under pressure of European powers and Judaist world organizations agreed with significant changes in the lives of Jews in Iran. The establishment of new educational institutions and granting new social opportunities and privileges have greatly improved the situation of the Jews. The article seeks to find the answer to this question how the social life of the Jews during the period from 1264 to 1324AH and under these newly international and domestic conditions was improved. The hypothesis of the article is that the Jews, with the help of Judaist world institutions and European powers, urged the Qajar government to provide more opportunities for improving their social life in different fields.