Mirza Hossein Khan Sepahsalar and reflexive traditionalism

Mirza Hossein Khan Sepahsalar (1828-1881) was the Iranian reform politician and Grand Vizier of Iran in the second half of the 19th century. The aim of the paper is to examine the possibility of applying the concept of “reflexive tradionalism” with the empirical study of the political life of Sephasalar. Reflexive traditionism is the response of tradition in dealing with Western modernism. The type of research is qualitative, its methodology was implemented in the framework of the "theorist theory". Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1868-1896) became the king of Iran after the death of his father Mohammad Shah. Mohammad Shah opposed the actions of his father Abbas Mirza to reform his battalion and bureaucracy with the example of the West. He was one of the first Iranian proprietors to propagandize the anti-reform movement in the first half of the nineteenth century. His son Naser al-Din Shah changed his father's policy again, following Abbas Mirza's grandfather. By placing Mirza Hussein Khan Sepahsalar in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Chancellor intended to proceed with the actions of Mirza Taghi khan Amir Kabir. The Sepahsalar's actions led him to the dismissal of the court, the aristocracy and the clergy in public opposition to him. The installation and dismissal of the Sepahsalar is a turning point in Iranian history, as during his period of his office, the conflict between the two reformist movements with the Western pattern and anti-reform with an internal orientation became public. Findings of the research show that the anti-reform movement, in contrast to the reform movement, was of domestic origin and evolved into a social movement.