An Analysis of Backgrounds and Factors of Cholera Outbreak in Hamedan during the Qajar Reign (AD 1848-1925)

During the Qajar period in the 19th century, various epidemics including cholera infected most parts of the country every year. Cholera appeared as a contagious and non-indigenous disease that spread in different parts of Iran including Hamedan province during the Qajar period as the prerequisite unfavorable conditions existed. Hamedan is a province located in the western part of Iran, a mainly mountainous region that is one of the inland foothills of the Zagros Mountains located in the valleys and northern slopes of the Alvand Mountains. It has long been the most important communication route between western cities and central Iran. During the Qajar period, this province was sometimes affected by cholera which is a contagious disease due to the unfavorable political, social and cultural condition in this period and became widely inflicted. The purpose of this study is to analyze the background and factors leading to cholera outbreak in Hamedan since the Nasserite era to the end of the Qajar period (AD 1848-1925) by collecting information in a library and documentary method with a historical and descriptive approach along with the analysis of backgrounds of cholera outbreak in the timeframe (AD1848-1925) and seeks to answer the questions that what are the backgrounds and factors that led to the outbreak of cholera in Hamedan during the Qajar era to see which one had a greater role in the spread of this disease? Findings indicate that the inefficiency and a lack of sense of responsibility of the government of Hamedan due to authoritarianism and self-interest had played the major role in the spread of cholera epidemic in this region compared to other factors.