The Role of Shiist Marjaeyat against the Enemie's Soft and Hard Threats from Safavid to the Persian Constitutional Revolution

Iran’s territorial integrity, which was recognized from Safavid Era on, was increasingly challenged by the West and East. In Ghajar Era, Iran’s cultural and political independence came to face a soft threat as well. In both cases, the Shiite authorities played a remarkable role by their presence. This article tries to highlight and interpret some perspectives of this important role in Iran’s history, from the time when the Safavid State was established until well before the Constitutional Revolution, by a descriptive-analytical method using library sources. Ultimately, it proves that the institution of Shiist authorities who serve as one of the most peerless capacities in Shiist soft power, has managed to defeat the enemies’ hard and soft threats. In times when the country was segmented or its independence became demolished, it was due to the shortcomings, inefficiencies, and treasons on the part of the kings and statesmen and their ignorance of the statements made by the guidelines given by the Shiist authorities.