Examining the Religious Displays of Taziye During the Qajar Era and Its Prevalence in Naseri's Era

The religious display of Taziye is one of the ancient cultural phenomenon in history of Iran which is known as one of the mourning ceremonies of Muharram in Shia culture. The history of this religious display dates back to the ancient period. Display of Taziye was of great importance in Qajar period. Qajar government, specially Naserodin Shah, payed a particular attention to this matter. In this period, Taziye was so significant to take the title of “Golden Era of Taziye”. The question is: What was the reason behind such a great progress of Taziye in Qajar era, especially in Naseri era? The study showed that the support and interest of court in the performance of Taziye and the policy that Naserodin Shah adopted to maintain a kind of tyranny in ceremonial dress, in performing Taziye and showing interest in the family of prophet Muhammad, and under the folk art in order to attract public attention in the society could be considered as one of the reasons. In this paper, in addition to the religious display of Taziye in Qajar period, the social and political reasons for turning to this art and its popularity will be examined.