Ghayenat and superpowers during Quajar era (1210-1344 Q) Surveying the political condition of Ghayenat

During the Quajar era, Iran underwent a lot of change regarding its political, economical, and social life due to the policies of the superpowers Russia and Britain and the impact of the Western World. The area of Ghayenat, too, as a faraway land in the south of Khorasan and in the neighborhood of Afganistan and close to the India of Britain was not and exception. For Britain whose principal worry during the 19th century (A. D.) was to prevent the influence development of Russia and (from the beginning of the 20th century A.D.) Germany toward India, it was not possible for Ghayenat area not to have crucial importance. Thus, Ghayenat, because of its especial geographical position, was a domain of rivalry of the two great colonial powers; i.e. Britain and Russia, during the whole period of Quajar. This coincided with the fact that the Iranian government of the period, too, for territorial integrity and the interests of the country and the General Treasury followed its policies in the area. These conditions, which were undoubtedly an unprecedented experience, affected the local changes. According to the findings of the present study Ghayenat faced the significant rivalry of the superpowers Russia and Britain during the final years of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. From political point of view, the everyday increasing of the influence of these powers was associated with the appointment and dismissal of Khozeimeh rulers, which - while decreasing the authority of the central government – was followed by the dependence of the rulers of the area on one of these two powers. Moreover, some of their measures, especially during the World-War I left a lot of destruction behind them in the area. The present study, while discussing the political condition during the period, surveys the effect of the foreign powers on the policy of the area.