Health Status in Tabriz from the Rise of Qajar to the Persian Constitutional Revolution

 Before having been selected as the residence of Crown Prince Abbas Mirzai, Tabriz was not in a good condition in terms of health due to various factors; in addition, the process of its fall intensified in the Qajar era. Despite the favorable weather conditions, the city was not in a good position in the field of urban health. Contrary to the presence of many skilled physicians familiar with conventional and modern medicine, their presence also the applying new medicine did not have much effect on improving the situation due to the prevalence of superstitions and infectious diseases as well as the lack of hospitals.

 The main material of the current study is the data from historical sources, particularly, European travelogues. European travelers were always present in different aspects of Iranian social life as political-military delegations and tourists since the early Qajar era; therefore, they depicted them in their travelogues. Besides, it is attempted to use recent research in the field of health and medicine status during the Qajar period. The method used in this paper is descriptive-analytical and it was carried on through data collection by library method.

Ethical Considerations: 

During the writing of this article, while observing the authenticity of the texts, honesty and fidelity have been observed.

 According to the available information, despite the favorable weather conditions, the absence of pollutants and gradual familiarity with modern Western medicine, there was a lot of problems in field of health due to factors such as the prevalence of infectious diseases, lack of hospitals, the prevalence of superstition and the decline of civilization.

 In the present article, first, the health status of the city is discussed, and then, doctors and medical centers are examined to evaluate the positive and negative factors affecting the health status of Tabriz in the period between the rise of Qajar and the Persian Constitutional Revolution. The findings indicate a serious disregard for personal and public health, which has been exacerbated by the problems caused by the spread of some infectious diseases, natural disasters and famine. On the other hand, the continuation of the old ways along with the spread of superstitions caused not much change in the field of health and treatment despite the gradual spread of medicine and new developments.