Introducing the First Modern Physics Books Written During the Qajar Period

It was in the Qajar period that the Iranins first became aquainted with some basic concepts of modern Newtonian physics. This article introduces and comments upon some general characteristics of the first books of modern physics written and translated till the year 1300 AH. Most of these texts are preserved in unique manuscripts and have often been written with the intentions such as donating the king or other governmental officials, or by the order of some state authorities. So they have not been used as a textbook in educational institutions, including Dār al-funūn. Among these works, a book entitled Jar al-Thaqīl wa Ilm-i Ḥikmat-i Ṭabīʿ ī, written by Kriziz Namsavi (one of the first teachers of Dār al-funūn) and translated by Mīrzā Zakī Māzandarānī is the first book that has been published for the teaching of in modern physics at 1274 AH. Ḥikmat Ṭabīʿ īʾUṣul-i Ilm-i Fīzīk,written almost twenty years later (at 1295 AH) by an Iranian author, Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm, is the second book that was published in modern physics for teaching at Dār al-funūn. These two books deserve special attention because of their large circulation.