Evaluating Mourning Ceremonies of Aristocrats and Ordinary People ‎Based on Travel Writers’ Reports in the Qajar Period

Mourning ceremonies related to Muharram have had a special place in the Qajar period, but the views of the Qajar aristocracy and nobility with ordinary people about these ceremonies cannot be considered the same. These two classes have had different traditions in holding mourning ceremonies. In this article, this issue was studied based on the reports written by the foreign travel writers of the Qajar period and it was tried to answer the question of what differences there have been between the mourning traditions of the Qajar aristocracy and nobility and ordinary people based on these travelogues. This hypothesis was followed that the aristocracy and nobility probably held mourning traditions at a different level from that of ordinary people in terms of rituals, luxuries, and expenses because of having greater access to wealth resources. Hence, by examining 22 travelogues, which were based on the travel writers’ objective observations, it was concluded that the aristocracy and nobility differed from ordinary people in terms of their mourning places and forms, as well as expenses. They followed different rituals and customs when holding these ceremonies.