A Language Account of Travelogues of Early Qajar and their Impact on Modernization under Nasir Al-Din Shah

Simultaneous with the Qajar rule in Iran and the expansion of Iran’s foreign relations with the wider world, their acquaintance with new civilizations and cultures and the opportunity for Iranian travelers to familiarize with modernity a new discourse emerged imbued with modern intellectual and political notions, which contributed to the transfer of knowledge in written or oral form and materialized a picture of modern civilization for Iranians. Travelogues pertaining to this era herald the emergence of modern Iranian reason, i.e. raw and descriptive perception and observations of the modern societies of that era and created a modern narrative for Qajar kings. To the authors of this article the study of these travelogues and implementation of their recommendations could have contributed to the modernization and prosperity of Iran. In the current article descriptive-analytical method and library resources have been employed to render analyses of early Qajar travelogues (from the establishment of the Qajar rule to early Nasir era) in order to better understand Iranians’ mindset of the new civilizations and Western prosperity, and also to assess the level of influence these writing wielded upon Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar.