Georgians in Tabriz and Rasht: a historical study on the role of Georgian militias in Iranian Constitutional Revolution

Constitutional Revolution, as a significant turning point in the history of Iran, shook Iranian society. What has been more or less neglected in examining this movement is the role of non-Iranian forces. The Caucasian, especially, the Georgians should be considered as the most passionate and self-sacrificing pro-constitutional forces who spared their lives for the victory of the Iranian movement. The question of this paper is what was the role and performance of the Georgian forces in Constitutional Revolution? The hypothesis is that, despite the persecution of the Russian Tsarist government, Georgian revolutionaries organized by parties such as Hemmat and Ejtema'iyun Amiyuun, presented in the battlefields of Tabriz and Guilan and, due to their precious experiences, played vital role in the success of the constitutionalists. On the other hand, Georgian press could form public opinion in favor of the revolution, inform about Iran's events, and create a stir among the Iranian Mojahedin by focusing on news of the events in Iran. It should not be neglected that Iranians presence in the Caucasus cities, especially Tbilisi, also helped to transfer revolutionary concepts to Iran and to fan the flames of the revolution.