A Comparative Study of Military Iconography in the Period of Fath Ali Shah and Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar

During the Qajar period, power was the focus of court iconographic paintings. One of the official subjects of court paintings to show the power of Shah Qajar is military paintings which have valuable information as a historical document. This type of painting was commissioned by the court during the reigns of Fath Ali Shah and Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar. In military paintings during the reigns of Fath Ali Shah and Nasser al-Din Shah, the king and crown prince are seen on military visits to war scenes. This type of military paintings is one of the official subjects of the court and has a historical reality in the first Qajar period due to the Iran-Russia wars. Considering the importance of military paintings in the Qajar period as a military and visual document of this period, the purpose of this study is to study military paintings and their characteristics and their similarities and differences. The method of the present research is qualitative and the method of collecting information is documentary-library and deals with the hypothetical analysis of the research. The results of the research indicate that this type of painting is a kind of formal painting and court iconography that has been used as a historical document to record events in the first period and to show power in the second period. The presence of the Crown Prince in the military images of both periods emphasizes the legitimacy of the second person of the monarchy.