Fath-Ali Shah Qajar's Measures for Achieving Political Legitimacy Based on Current Methods in the Islamic Era

Legitimacy is the change of naked power into the authority accepted by individuals in a society. Resources of legitimacy in each society can be defined as justified regarding culture and traditions dominating that society. In the history of Iran, mostly the military force determined the victorious side enjoying the right to govern, after the establishment of its government, each dynasty tried to legitimate its government by resorting to historical traditions. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, as the founder of the Qajar Government in Iran, did not find much chance to legitimate Qajar; therefore, after taking the throne, Fath-Ali Shah tried to legitimate his government by utilizing current traditions in the Islamic Era. Accordingly, the present study seeks to investigate legitimizing efforts of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar based on criteria such as relative and natural privileges, utilizing royal traditions in Iran, and religious legitimacy through using a descriptive-analytical method and employing library research.