Iranians’ First Acquaintance of US Military Weapons during the Qajar Period and Its Achievements

One of the topics that increasingly draw the attention of rulers and modernists during the Qajar period and after the defeats of Iran by Russia concerned the military and weapons. During this period, they came to the conclusion that in order to compensate for Iran's backwardness, Western scientific and technological advances must be achieved. One of the countries that received special attention after the Constitution was the United States. The present descriptive-analytical study by relying on the press and unpublished documents, sought to shed light on the tools and elements through which the Iranians become acquainted with US military weapons, and the effect this knowledge had on the Iranian military arena. The findings of the study indicate that the Iranian press and political representatives in Washington at that time reported extensively on the country's armed and military achievements and developments, convincing many Iranian politicians and modernists that the United States was the right model for Iran to consider and, and to prefer this country to other European countries to buy military weapons, recruitment of specialists and advisers, and sending students to study in military fields.