Political and Social Evolution ofYazd in the Constitutional Era

In the first decade of the constitutional revolution, Yazd was in utter disorder. During the kingdom of Mozaffaredin Shah and before the constitutional revolution, the rulers of Yazd were very overbearing. They imposed an intolerable tax burden on the citizens of Yazd. Their overbearing attitude was due to the physical and mental weakness of Mozaffaredin Shah. Yazd inhabitants protested, but each new ruler imposed new hardships on them. Shortages, drought and the spread of cholera aggravated the situation. Religious minorities such as Zoroastrians also suffered from the situation. After the constitutional decree was issued, the constitutional movement was formed in Yazd. Haj Mohhamadtaghi Mazar played a major role in the movement. Zoroastrians of Yazd were also in favor of the constitution. Yet there were some severe disputes, because the rulers ofYazd remained unchanged. Haj Mohhamadtaghi Mazar was killed and Parviz Shahjahan, a Zoroastrian trader, was assassinated as a result of these disputes. Other subjects studied in this research are: the protest of Yazd inhabitants against the imposition of taxes, the institution of provincial societies, the election of Yazd’s representative to the first parliament, the surrounding ofYazd by thieves of Faraghe, and its conquest by Bakhtiarian soldiers while their Bakhtiarian rulers governed Yazd, also the arrest and imprisonment of Farrokhie Yazdi, the defiant poet.