Khamseh Bread Crisis (Zanjan) at the End of the Qajar Period; Interventions and Policies of Influential Elders and Groups

The crisis of bread in the Qajar era was directly linked to social, economic and political goals and programs. Khamseh province with central Zanjan was one of the most important points of production and distribution of cereals; But in the constitutional years until the late Qajar, it was very difficult. At this time, despite the few years of rainfall, cereals were produced as needed in the region; But the bread didn’t get to the people or was offered at a high price and barely. What is clear was that the role and position of different elders and groups in this regard was not ineffective. So the issue of research is what was the interference and policies of the elders and groups of influence in the Khamseh bread crisis? And what were the consequences and results? It Seems that with Naser al-Din Shah’s decree regarding the sale of Governmental lands, the upper class got a lot of land, On the other hand, with the absence of permanent army and precise law on militarization, some urban groups, such as the bakers, entered the military, which created numerous crises in Khamseh with hoarding and expensive. In the constitutional years and after, due to the weakness of the government and the possibility of cooperation between the landowners and the army of Khamsa with the agents of the deposed Shah Muhammad Ali and the presence of weak agents, the obstacles and problems continued. This led to the famine and death of some people with the arrival of foreign forces and the revelation of World War I.  The present study, using the original sources and documents, examines the subject in a descriptive-explanatory way.