The Position of Social Currents in the Developments Leading to the Decline and Fall of the Qajar Dynasty

Apart from external factors and subsidiary influential forces, five main social currents have been involved in the Iranian political scene in every historical event from the Constitutional Revolution to the coup d’etat of 1299/1921. Princes, nobility, and supporters of the monarchy; intellectuals and libertarians; leftists; tribal leaders and nomadic chiefs; and the clergy. These five forces, who were different in character and influence and had conflicting but sometimes converging agendas and interests, lived in competition and conflict for the most part but were able to maintain their existence toward the end of the Qajar dynasty in the Fall of 1304/1925. Since the situations of these actors and the influence of their positions in the process of ousting Qajar have not been accurately studied; then, the present study attempts to answer this question: what were the circumstances and the status of the major social currents in Iranian politics during the overthrow of the Qajar and which were more influential than others. Based on the mentioned topic and by using the method of historical analysis as a coherent scrutiny of the documents in the historical course of events, the research concludes that the clergy realized the prospect of fundamental changes sooner than the other actors and by strengthening its credibility through the re-emergence of the seminary of Qom and the migration of religious leaders to Iran from Karbala and Najaf achieved organized and balanced relations with Sardar Sepah during the transfer of power. Other currents, however, were less aware of the facts of the day and the nature of their fierce rival or had lost their credibility altogether -either had to surrender to the will of Reza Khan- or by the beginning of the process of changes, they couldn’t cope with the situation and gradually had to crawl into a corner.