Famine in Khorasan in 1288 AH: background, process and economic consequences

The 1288 AH famine in Khorasan has been the subject of numerous studies having examined the event with special focus on its causes and short-term effects as well as the reaction of the people and the state to it. This approach has led to general statements and unjustified generalization of the results of such research to the whole Iran. The present article is a case study of the 1288 AH famine in Khorasan and examines, in addition to the famine itself, its consequences on the local economy of the province. The findings of this research prove the fallacy of generalizing the results of general investigations of the famine to the whole country; and in addition it shows that all areas of Khorasan were not equally affected by the famine. Instead, the catastrophe increased the wealth and population in the northern provinces at the expense of the loss for central and southern provinces. Furthermore, the famine was associated with mortality, migration and population displacement, which in turn leads to more skepticism as regards the validity of the statistical data of some resources. Moreover, the local economy, apart from the damages it received, soon experienced transformations in the pattern of land ownership at the expense of private property and the type of cultivation, whereby each of these developments were the origin of subsequent changes in Khorasan.