A Demographic Study of Nadjaf and Karbala's Ulama During 1205 Until 1322 Lunar Hidjri

In this piece, in order to enlighten the structure and characteristics of demography of scholars in Iran and particularly in Iraq, the author tries to provide a clear demographic picture of the clergy population in Iraq, during the Ottoman Empire era, and particularly in the thirteenth and fourteenth Lunar Hijri centuries. Drawing upon historical works and biographies, the author employs a sociological and demographic approach in order to explain how Najaf and Karbala became the centre of Shiite scholarship after the Safavids. In this research, the clergy studying in the two cities are divided into eight groups, on the basis of eight generations of distinguished scholars. An examination of the clergy's ethnic origin indicates that those of Iranian origin were much more numerous than the Arab clergy.