The Effect of Theoretical and Practical Training on the Growth of Military Knowledge and the Status of Militaries in Iran during the Qajar Period

The aim of military training in the Qajar period (1794-1925) was to change the military and to provide new knowledge. This training took place both in practical and, with the opening of Dār-al-Fonūn in 1852, in theoretical aspects. The present study aimed to understand to what extent this training brought about the military development in the Qajar era. It used a statistical and descriptive-analytical method to answer the question that how the theoretical and practical training of the military influenced the growth of military knowledge and the position of the military in the Qajar period. The findings indicate that the Qajar system was subject to practical and theoretical training for more than 130 years, but the methods of recruiting and holding military posts were not based on the educational system. The highest recruitment of foreign teachers was in the military field, with a frequency of 26.26%. Of the 104 students who entered the artillery and Dār-al-Fonūn infantry, none achieved an important position in the system, and most graduates of both fields were attracted to executive jobs, particularly as operators of electrical telegraphs, with a frequency of 34.34 percent. Above all, among them, only 3% (2.88 %) reached Dār-al-Fonūn's infantry rank.