فصلنامه تاریخ
پیاپی 6 (پاییز 1386)

The Mongolians attacked civilized and populated Islamic countries in the eighth century and committed crimes so rare in the history of mankind. They exceeded Assyrians who were notoriously known for their ruthlessness. Remembering such ruthless crimes is heartrending and unimaginable for every conscientious soul. It seems so strange that the Mongolian government is attempting to find the grave of the man who caused such immense crimes. They have employed some foreign opportunists to search mountains and fields in Mongolia by airplanes and helicopters to fined this grave of Ganges Khan. I am not attempting to search Mongolian adventures in detail and talk of the advantages and disadvantages of what they had done. But I try to explain some of the crimes committed by Ganges Khan and his children and rulers.

Kufe is one of the cities that had inserted an immense influence on the socio-political reforms I the reigns of the four ideal caliphs and Umayyad dynasty. It is worth to study the influence of the class structure of the population of this city and its socio-political structure on various riots happening there. The writers of this essay have attempted to study the socio-political structure of this city.

One of the most important institutions and elements that have played a crucial role in headsman ship power structure of Bakhtiari society in the institution of the kinsmen and relatives. Bakhtiari headmen needed a lot of support on the part on the relatives for the continuation and expansion of its rule. Every headman in Bakhtiari society had his own dependants and used the forces of these blood relatives and other kinsmen, who became relatives through marriage, in peace and war time. The relatives provided the headman with soldiers and proved their faithfulness to him in hard times. The relatives, then, were granted financial and spiritual support in return and received gifts and rewards. These relatives were so important and beneficial for the headman that they sometimes rose wars against each other to gain and preserve the support of these relatives. However, the headman gave up his support for these relatives due to the disarmament policies of the central government at the end of Qajarid dynasty and the beginning of Pahlavi Era. The headmen managed to disarm their relatives and as a consequence the relatives lost their faith in the headmen.

Analysis and criticism of the subjects on Iran in reference books of other countries in languages apart from Farsi is a crucial subject which has not been dealt with in our country. The very article shows how reference books such as Britannica’s New Concise Encyclopedia, with over two centuries of publication, and Larose, with over a century of publication, each concerning its volume has made numerous mistakes in their entries. Most of the readers of these two reference books in different countries have never doubted their authenticity. These two reference books are well-known and admired worldwide; what is unknown is their criterion to choose the writers of the entries for these two reference books.

Amir Timur Gourkani managed to found a mighty empire with Samarqand as its capital from 771 to 807 A.H. he managed to put an end to the 36-year rows between the feudal aristocrats and the looting and exploitative militaries in Iran. His empire extended from India to the Mediterranean Sea and from Moscow to the Persian Golf. Though his empire did not last more than 36 years and depended on Timur himself, Shahroukh his only heir could maintain and protect most parts of this empire for 43 years. Due to the wealth gathered in Samarqand, decline of domestic wars in Iran and establishing security all around Iran in Timur and Shahroukh’s era, it made the trade routs secure. Granting farming lands to princes and depending governors put these lands under the supervision of the owners in order to produce farming produce. Cities, especially those in Khorasan, blossomed and made improvements in irrigation. Timurid after Mongolian raid managed to create a stable economy and economic progress for the large and resourceful country of Iran

One of the modern achievements after the constitutional movement was Pahlavi’s gradual institutionalization of traditionalism and its anti-religious and traditional standing which aimed at weakening of moral religious values or deislamization in the East following Salfi Vahabi movements and the advent of contemporary Iranian identity crisis and western thought and their economic, political and cultural colonization made Arab, Turkish and Iranian intellectual reflect on these issues. This atmosphere which started with the works of some of the intellectuals and reach its peak during Reza Sha’s period, there came into being some whose those and ideas inclined towards humanism and secularism. In the light of government’s moderation and panmodernist intellectuals such as Kasravi, Shariat Sangalaji, Hokmizadeh and etc attacked Islam and traditional representations through their speeches and their innovative and critical writings. Because they thought that they would be able to apply scientism principles and European rationalism to the eastern traditional society through their superficial and sever criticism of legal (Shariat) frameworks. In such a situation Reza Shah’s government made some changes in Iranian society based on his patterns from western modern society such as the establishment of bureaucracy, the establishment of modern schools, the establishment of the house of justice and the abolition of religious legal courts and etc. finally modern western beliefs were executed through king’s worldview. The main issue of this article is to analyze the attempts of some of anti-religious modernists or modern religions thinkers to replace western rationalism with religious faith or new and up to date interpretation of religion and also it offers Reza Shah’s religious policy results and the main problem with contemporary intellectual movement.

This article concerns Seyed Jamal-al-Din Asad Abadi’s views on the changes of power structures in the Qajarids. Seyed Jamal, like other intellectuals, pursued reformations that could occur from top to bottom. But, though his close contact with Naser-Al- Din Shah’s court, he came to this conclusion that top to bottom reformations would not come about. His experiences of various Islamic countries confirmed this thought. His exile in 1308 AH paved the way to establish and plan the notion of changes in Qajarid power structures depending on mass movements. His letters to Mirzaye Shirazi and other clerics manifest such reflections. He supposed that if he wished for the abolition of the absolute power structure by mass movements, he would use the eloquence and influence of the clerics. He not only played a great role in Tobacco Movement, but also he regarded this movement as a verification of his vision. Subsequently, he urged the clerics to prolong their struggle till the absolute renunciation of the king and the amendments in the structure of his autocratic regime. He did not deem the assassination of individuals. Rather, he believed that Iranian intellectuals should put their attempt in mass awakening to topple down totalitarian regimes and not individual elimination.

Prince Nosrat Al-Dollah Firouz was one of the most influential political figures in late 19th and early 20th century in Iran. Like other politicians he served Qajarids and witnessed the reign of Reza Khan and his son. He got educated in France and learned politics from his father, Abol Hussein khan Farmanfarma. He became famous for the 1919 treaty as a signer of that treaty. This endangered his fame and he ventured to regain his lost face by attending the Fourth Parliament election. He overcame most of his problems at the parliament due to his education in law and his eloquence. Ayattollah Modares supported him greatly. The fourth parliament had a short life and he played crucial roles in the two year time of the Qajarids and Reza Shah afterwards. The Fourth parliament is the beginning of Nosrat Al-Dollah Firouz’s political life and possesses a great importance.