فصلنامه مطالعات تاریخ فرهنگی
پیاپی 2 (زمستان 1388)

Western Arabia(Magrib) is a country which is called Efrighiah (Tunisia) in historical texts. Since the eighteenth century, this country like other parts of the Islamic world was exposed to modernism and its consequences. The social elites sought to pave the way for the impact of this phenomenon, however their attempts like those of Khair al-Din Pasha were in vain as France conquered Tunisia at the end of the 19th century and occupied it for over half a century. This article shows the first efforts made in the north of Africa for comformation with modernism.

This article discusses IranShahri thought according to Siyar al-Moluk mostly. The ideas of Khajeh Nezam al-Molk as exposed in Siyar al-Moluk are in compliance with the political pradigms of Muslim thinkers in the Middle Ages other than influanced by IranShahri theary. The analysis of Siya al-Moluk justifies this hypothesis.

At the beginning of the Safavid Period a number of scientists and men of letters emigrated to India, the Ottoman Empire and other neighboring countries for various reasons. Their emigration affected the cultural life of the period. The works of two emigrants, Mo`in al-Din Mohammad and `Emad al-Din Mahmud, known as Dehdar, are discussed in this article. The case study of the two personalities throws light on the cultural, religious and economic life of Iran during this period

During the years before ascending the throne, Reza Khan made certain social reforms which assured the security of the country. By the Coup d’Etat on the 22nd February 1920 he established a military dictatorship. He could not bear any criticism by the liberals, therefore he established a strict censorship of the mass media especially of the press. Reza Shah and his agents believed this was an effective means of control. This research is based on the existing records as well as comparative studies which proves the uselessness of censorship. The dictator and his control of the press collapsed with the invasion of the Allied forces as no social or cultural group supported the regime.

The struggle for the position of the Caliphate lead the brothers Amin and ma`mun and their supporters fight each other. When Amin was killed in the fight the political history of the Abbasid Caliphate changed. This article discusses the reason and the manner this change took place. It also points out the struggle between the Persians and the Arab elits. The theory of the “logic of power struggle” helps to have a better understanding of the challenge of persain and arab elits in this struggle.

Near the end of the reign of Naser al-Din Shah and during the reign of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, the traditional historiography of Iran changed into a more modern form. This change occurred thanks to contact with modern European scholarship. Mirza Fath Ali Akhundzadeh and Mirza Agha Khan Kermani were the first learned men who applied modernism in historiography, others followed in their steps. In this article this trend has been explained in detail.

Mohammad Reza Shah’s personality affected the foreign policy of Iran. This presupposition is based on the theory of James Rosena according to which in under developed countries personality affects decision making. This article examines this phenomenon which in combination with internal social factors accelerated the decline of the regime.