دکتر زهرا علیزاده بیرجندی

The title of work has a special place among identity-related components of a historical text. The title of historical work is a critical factor for identifying and distinguishing from other works and can act as a criterion to introduce its themes. Studies on title selection in historical sources can open new horizons for researchers in this field. The present study offers a hermeneutic reading of title selection in historical sources of Islamic Iran to analyze factors contributing to selecting the title of these texts. The primary purpose of this reading is to show factors and elements affecting the process of title selection. This study explores texts from 11 to 20 Century CE (5-14 Century AH). Results of this study show that the selection of titles in Iranian historical sources after Islam was affected by certain textual and hypertextual factors, the most influential factors being the use of stylistic devices, imitation of existing titling methods, the role of state ideology, and the perceptions of the historian.

In the first part of introduction in the literatures of the history of Islamic Iran, Tahmidiehs (praising Allah statements) can be seen that are similar in shape and structure, meanwhile there are some differences are in their contents. These differences are made by various factors. This paper aims to consider the reasons why differences are there in contents, descriptions and interpretations used in Tahmidiehs presented in the literature of the history of Islamic Iran. To explain these differences, some factors, namely religious policies of governors, common religious beliefs and their impacts on the writing methods of Tahmidieh are considered.  The results of this study show that Tahmidiehs are under the effect of the theoretical foundations of governments, cultural-social status, and generally discursive space related to the time they are written.

Imperial Bank of Persia which had been founded under concession of Reuter in Iran had established numerous branches in various cities. Form the establishment of the British Imperial Bank in different cities of Iran, there were some relationships between the bank and various social classes in a different status according to the rank of the class and the situation of the peoples. Birjand Royal Bank is amongst of these branches. This branch of the bank in Birjand performed commercial-mercantile, financial and credit matters of this region. Therefore, it formed the relationship of this branch with three social classes of local governors, merchants and ordinary people. This bank had a friendly relationship with governors and agents of this region and assumed the financial and credit matters of these persons and provided their custom-made goods, while local governors supplied the security of guard, employees and caravans of the bank. The bank also operated the cash and illiquid transitions of the merchants and ordinary people with other branches. Apart from these credit relations, sometimes bank interfered as a mediator in the personal, proprietary and financial conflicts between people and the governors. This article will study and analyze the relationship of the bank with local governors, merchants and ordinary people and evaluate the essential factors in these interactions.

Having been established in Iran, the Imperial Bank of Persia had it slicencegranted to Britain by Naser al-Din Shah, with the headquarters located in London, and the shareholders and most agents being English. It was under Britain’s support through the British Royal Charter. British government sought particular aims through the establishment of the Imperial Bank which acted as leverage by the British government to exert pressure on Iran, thus playing roles in its political and military affairs as well as have such economic functions as loaning, theissue of banknotes, controlling foreign and domestic trade, etc. The political and militaryactivities included CoupD’étatof 1921, the reigning of Reza Shah, intervening in Iran’s foreign affairs with other countries such as the United States, payroll of the army and spies, giving financial aids to the British troops in Iran, etc. The establishment of the bank branches in cities, even, indicates this political approach, such as the establishment of one branch in Birjanddue to its strategic location, and the short distance of this region to India in order to prevent the advancement of Russians and Germans. In the present article the political functions of the Imperial Bank of Persia as well as its structure and organization have been studied. The objective has been to show that the political aims played a major role in establishing the bank and its branches, and Britain used it as a tool to exert pressure on Iran.

The merchant class, because of their effect on social and economical life of the society and their role in the process of social development, are worth studying and consideration. Merchants, as a social class and because of their interaction and relationship with other social classes including religious preachers and government officials, have had social influence and a variety of functions. Having a capital, too, has been a significant measure for the credit of this class. This factor has been important in presenting merchants as an influential class. In the present paper, first an outlook of the trade situation of 13th and 14th hejri centuries of Birjand has been drawn to study the role and function of merchants. In this outlook merchandise pieces, roads, cities, trade exchanging countries, and other effective factors on the trade of the region have been discussed. Following this, while mentioning the most important characteristics of the merchant class, their economical and non-economical functions have been taken into account.

The changes those occurred in the second half of Qajar Era in the economy of Iran, changed many fields of the country. Agriculture also influenced by those changes, like other economical and social fields of the country.To survey on the influence of economical changes of Ghaenat in the second half of Qajar Dynasty on the agriculture of this Velayat and its consequences is the problem of this research.Due to this research after the development of domestic and foreign trade in the end of nineteenth and the beginning of twentieth century, the Ghaenat remote and border Velayat turned to a hub in the trade of Russia, Britain India and Iran in the eastern part of country. Thus the agriculture of Velayat experienced of the process of commercialization. Increase in the production of export products like Opium, Saffron and Silk, and in the other hand, decrease in the production of essential products like Wheat and Barley were one of the character of this new process.