فهرست مطالب mahdi vazini afzal

During World War I, Iran was hit by the deadly Spanish flu, which is considered the worst disease of the 20th century. Three to four waves of Spanish Flu from the spring of 1918 to the summer of 1919/ Rabi al-Thani 1336 to Rajab 1337 AH hit Iran and most countries in the world. The disease came from outside Iran's borders, and foreign factors such as the presence of British, Russian, and Ottoman forces played an important role in accelerating its spread. Domestically, political and economic disintegration and worn and inefficient health infrastructure contributed to the disaster. As a result of this disease, between 10 and 20 percent of Iran's population lost their lives, and its psychological and social effects will cast a shadow over Iranian society for years to come. The question of the article is: How did the Spanish flu spread in Iran and what impact did it have on Iranian society during the Qajar period?The present research was conducted using a library method. Historical sources, memoirs, travelogues of Europeans and archival documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were used in the research. The results of this research show that the deplorable conditions in Iran during World War I and the high mortality rate were not only due to famine, drought, and the occurrence of historical diseases, but that the three deadly waves of the Spanish flu brought the living conditions of Iranians to a very acute stage.

In the Caucasian wars during the reign of Fath Ali Shah, the difficult field and diplomatic conditions of Iran against Russia led to the idea of the closeness of two regional rivals, that is, Iran and Ottomans, against Russians. France initially proposed this plan in the form of a diplomatic structure, but its turning toward Russia foiled the plan. Abbas Mirza tried to advance this plan with the Ottomans under the slogan "Islamic Alliance" and pursued this policy until the signing of the Golestan Agreement, making numerous efforts to fulfill this alliance. With a descriptive-analytical approach and using Turkish sources, the present study answered the question of the obstacles encountered by the Iranian-Ottoman plan of alliance. The results showed that the deep-rooted problems between Iran and the Ottoman Empire did not allow the two powers to build mutual trust in order to create a common front against Russia. The Turks were also very suspicious of Abbas Mirza and his plan and viewed the idea of a military union against Russia more as a superficial move to impress Russians and gain the upper hand in future peace negotiations. This lack of trust eventually led to the failure of a field alliance.

Various writings about chess were written by people from different classes of society, including clergymen, princes, and intellectuals with religious, educational, and political purposes, which became known as "Rasāʼīl šaṭranǰīya"(chess treatises) during the Qajar period. The purpose of this study based on manuscripts and historical sources is to answer the question of what place chess had in the people's general culture in the Qajar period. For what purpose were the letters of chess written? And what are the differences between them? The findings of the research show that during the Qajar period, the culture of playing chess became popular among the ruling class and then the general public. The extent of this game led to the opinions of different people in different fields regarding this game and short and long treatises were written on the rejection, education, and acceptability of it. These works have differences in their content, form, and purpose, which shows the intensity of opinions and ideas towards chess in the Iranian society of the Qajar era. The origin of different views about chess goes back to jurisprudence, history, culture, and politics, which are discussed in this article.

This paper reports the work of Austrian Albert Gasteiger, who came to Iran in mid 19th century to help with the development of roads.

Archival documents are examined to collect data for this paper.

The Qajarid government viewed construction of roads essential for further the development of the nation. Following lengthy negotiations with the Iranian diplomatic delegation in Europe, Albert Gasteiger, an Austrian civil engineer, and Baron Donnermann from France were recruited to draft plans for construction roads and railroads in Iran. Albert Gasteiger traveled to   Iran and visited different parts of the country. He drafted general policies for the Iranian government oversaw the construction of Tehran-Kermanshah, Tehran-Amol, and Mashhad- Quchan roads. Also, he proposed the construction of a number of railway and dams project to  Nasser-al-Din Shah. However, inefficiency of the political system, corruption,  local influences, and insecurity caused by Russian and British interference led to the failure of the government to implement the palns fully.

One of the most important areas which the governments of the Safavid and Nader Shah disputed with the Ottomans was the city of Kars. In the foreign policy of regionally-rival governments like Iran, the Ottomans and Russia, Kars held an important position because this city was the crossroads of the Caucasus and Asia Minor, and the domination of any government over it, strengthened the economic and military status in this complex geography. Given this fact, the questions the present analytical-comparative research, that emphasizes studying Turkish sources, tries to answer concern the political, military and economic goals the Safavids and Nader Shah pursued to capture Kars, and the reason for the importance of this city for the Ottomans. The findings indicate that politically, domination of Kars could change the balance of power in the western region of Iran and the Caucasus, and economically, the passing of the trade line between the Caucasus and the east of the Ottoman Empire and the Black Sea through Kars and hence controlling it could have a huge impact on the revenues of the Safavid, the Afsharid and Ottoman states. Therefore, the conflict with the Ottomans over Kars spread through the Safavid dynasty, and reached its peak in the era of Nader Shah.

One of the most important issues in tribal genealogy is studying the position of Bayat tribe as an effective element in the developments of western Iran.  The purpose of this study, which is based on a descriptive-analytical method, is to answer the question of how Bayats settled in Ilam. And what social-political roles did they play in the region?  The findings suggest that in the fifth century AH when Iran was conquered by the Seljuks, a branch of the Oguz Turkmens named Bayat settled in the western parts of today’s Ilam province. After the fall of the Atabaks of khouzestan, Bayats managed to form a small settlement in their area, but were then overthrown by the Atabaks of Lorestan. In the Safavid era, the Bayat tribe played a major role in military confrontations of Iran and the Ottomans, but were finally marginalized due to serious damages to the tribal structure.

One of the most neglected issues in Khorasan after the Akhal Treaty is Russia's policies of influence on the northern borders of Khorasan and Kalat-e-Naderi. With regard to archival documents, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical study is to answer the following questions: what political and economic goals the Russians were seeking in northern Khorasan, especially in Kalat-e-Naderi? And what diplomacy and policy did the Qajar government pursue against these Russian logistics policies? In a detailed and analytical-comparative approach, the findings represent that after the Merv defeat and the end of Iranian influence in Central Asia, the Qajar government on the northern borders of Khorasan faced many challenges and crises. The Russians' advance in the Central Asian region and their new claim of ownership of new parts of the border, such as Sarakhs and their involvement in the Kalat-e-Naderi and Dargaz affairs, aroused the anger of Nasser al-Din Shah. For this reason, at the behest of the Shah of Iran and the efforts of the State Department, Iran's international diplomacy became more active, and Iran used British influence in the region to pressure the Russian government. Also, by strengthening its military power in Khorasan, increasing the power of local rulers, dispatching mapping engineers and using spies, the Qajar government sought to maintain or balance the power in the region in its favor.

The challenging framework of the old political power in the Constitutional Revolution led to many changes in the social and economic structures of Iran, which became part of urban renewal and renaissance. But due to political crises after the Constitutional Revolution and the outbreak of the World War I, practically new ideas in the physical change of cities were interrupted. With the reign of Reza Shah and the new order in which the Majles, the Army and the emerging bureaucracy formed its foundations, modernization was found in urban plans and designs. The ideas within the head followed the changing faces of the cities, whose type of structure was a symbol of backwardness and tradition, and which had to be quickly adapted to other parts of society, a new, and regular appearance. The existence of urban management infrastructure, such as Baladiah, was binding on such plans, so rules were quickly drafted to establish such institutions. The city of Yazd entered the changes relative to its population and history, although later than many other cities, but with the formation of Baladieh of Yazd in the year 1310, urban renewal projects, which symbolized cross-streets, were applied to various parts of that city, which an example was the construction of two main streets of Pahlavi and Shah and the passage of these streets right in the middle of the historical urban fabric.