An Analysis of the Settlement Policy of the Qashqai Tribe by the First Pahlavi Government

With the coming to power of Reza Shah, the plans of the Pahlavi government to establish security, centralism, reform, progress, and new order came into conflict with Illyrian life. One of the Pahlavi government’s plans for the tribes was settlement policy, an issue of which the Qashqai tribe was no exception. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the settlement policy of the Qashqai tribe by the First Pahlavi government. In the political-economic relations of the Qashqai tribe with the first Pahlavi government, the question is: what were the purposes of the settlement program in the Qashqai tribe and how was it implemented? And what was the result of their settlement? Based on this issue, this study seeks to answer two questions: how was the housing policy implemented in the Qashqai tribe? And What were the consequences of the settlement policy in the Qashqai tribe?

Considering the goals of Reza Shah and his entourage in establishing security, centralism, reforms, and new order, the first Pahlavi state in the history of Iran was the first government that tried to abolish nomadism and settle tribes, and the Qashqai tribe was no exception. The plans of the first Pahlavi government towards the tribes include the policy of disarmament, deprivation of power from the heads of the tribes, the policy of decentralization and culturalization, and the strategy of settlement of the tribes. In the relations of the Qashqai tribe with Reza Shah, there were three stages of cooperation, confrontation, and war. The first Pahlavi government sought to infiltrate and disintegrate the Qashqai tribe, and the Qashqai sought to preserve its existence and identity. In the relations of the Qashqai tribe with the first Pahlavi government, one of the tribal policies of the government was the settlement program, which was implemented in the 1310s AH (1931-1932s). Therefore, since no independent research has been done on the settlement of the Qashqai tribe, the present study seeks to determine the settlement policy of the Qashqai tribe and its failure.

This research was conducted using the historical research method and compiling and writing descriptive-analytical based on the documents of the Documents Organization and the National Library of the Islamic Republic of Iran) NLAI ( with the origin of Fars province and supplementing the library resources. 

The settlement of the Qashqai tribe, which was carried out in the 1310s (1931-1932s) by the Qashqai military government and the Persian settlement administration, aimed at establishing security, taxation, and civilizing the Qashqai community. The construction of the Qashqai tribe was based on the two pillars of settlement and livestock management. The Persian Housing Authority, with the help of the military, settled Qashqai families in their summer and winter areas based on the settlement system. In this process, all the titles and positions of the tribes became obsolete and only the position of Kadkhoda was recognized. By giving letters of commitment, Kadkhoda was obliged to resettle the families under his care and prevented them from moving, and committed them to construction and to engage in agriculture. Simultaneously, with the settlement of the tribe, in order to feed thousands of cattle and livestock, shepherding licenses were issued to the herdsmen, which was the main place for controlling licenses and taxation in the Strait of Beida.Although the settlement of the Qashqai tribe and other sub-tribes were the right goals for centralism, progress, and modernization of Iran, in practice, the settlement of the Qashqai tribe was a hasty policy without considering the socio-economic conditions of the tribal society. The settlement of the Qashqai tribe resulted in defeats with the expulsion of Reza Shah from Iran. The most important reason for this defeat was the economic blow to the Qashqais, because the settlement caused the loss of a large part of their livestock, while with their settlement, agriculture was not very economical. Also, living in sheds and crypts that did not resemble the building, bribery, and coercion by military and government officials, short-living time and maintaining tribal life, and preserving tribal identity, the good fortune of the family of Solat al-Dawla Qashqai Other were among factors causing this failure.