The socio-political role of the newspaper Suresrafil in the modernization process and in the developments of the constitutional period

The press has played an important role in leading public opinion in all human societies, which is why the press is considered the fourth pillar of democracy. The press also played an important role in the constitutional revolution. Although the history of the press in Iran dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, it was mainly during the Constitutional Revolution that Iranians realized the role of informing the press. One of the famous and popular presses of this period was Suresrafil newspaper, which was published under the management of Mirza Jahangir Khan Shirazi and in collaboration with Mirza Ghasem Khan Tabrizi and Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Qazvini known as Dehkhoda. The publication of Suresrafil newspaper started with the victory of the Constitutional Revolution and lasted until the coup d'etat of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. During this period, 32 issues of this newspaper were published. The present study, by looking at the role of the press in the constitutional revolution, seeks to examine and express the role of this newspaper in raising public awareness. The method of this research is content analysis which in this research has been used to examine the content and objectives of the publication. The findings of this study show that during the Constitutional Revolution, by promoting liberal ideas and criticizing the authoritarian system, the publication played an important role in enlightening public opinion and modernizing Iran during the constitutional period. The final result of the research shows that political and social newspapers like Souresrafil played a decisive role in Iran's constitutional revolution.