پژوهشنامه خراسان بزرگ
پیاپی 33 (زمستان 1397)

A number of historians and scholars have reported on the extent of the killing and looting of the Mongols by describing them as a savage, vicious, bloodthirsty, predatory, cursed, and far from all human morality with no purpose but to kill people. The extent to which such characteristics can be attributed to the Mongols is in keeping with their historical realities and practices, and the question whether the Mongols were the only culprit in attacking and destroying Iran, are the focus of the present study. Descriptive-analytical research method was used for this purpose. An examination of the situation in Iran on the eve of the Mongol invasion and their behavior during the invasion and rule in Iran show that not only the situation in Iran before the Mongol invasion was calm and with no war and bloodshed, but also the Mongols were not so savage and bloody and were not the only culprit in destruction. it is also believed that Iran, as some historians say, was not so devastated by the Mongol invasion so that it could not find itself in good situation until a thousand years later. In fact, the political and social situation in Iran was very agitated on the eve of the Mongol invasion because of the conflict between the claimants of power, and the Mongols invaded a land where murder and looting had already initiated, and they accelerated the intensity and extent of the killings and destruction with their attacks. Keyword: Mongols, Khorasan, Transoxiana, Looting, Brutality

Before the Mongol invasion, Muslim historians and geographers viewed Transoxiana to be part of the Iran and in historical, political, and geographical connection with Greater Khorasan. They sought the convergence and deep historical connection of this region with historical Khorasan. Nomads such as the Kushans, the Hephthalites, and especially the nomads who ruled these areas after Islam, such as the Qarakhaniyan, Seljuks, Qara Khitai and Khwarezmian, never cut off historical ties between these areas and the interior of Iran, and sometimes even formed powerful states. It stretched from the borders of Seyhan River to Baghdad. They sought West, and this perspective created a permenant political, social and economic connection. It seems that Transoxiana, and especially Khwarezm, has lost its historical connection with Iran after the Mongol invasion. In fact, the non-Iranian rulers were not indeed responsible for this historical segregation before the Mongol invasion, despite the Mongol-like political, social, and economic structure. This segregation was the result of the Mongol invasion. The Mongol invasion and following that, the method of separating the conquests of Genghis Khan had profound historical consequences. The cornerstone of these outcomes began with geographical demarcations. This division was important because the border was an identity issue. In the meantime, Khwarezm, which was geographically separated from both Iran and Transoxiana, took a different path in terms of identity, an identity that has changed in political, social, and economic terms. In this research, with the method of historical analysis, an attempt has been made to explain aspects of the historical convergence of Khwarezm, Iran and Transoxiana, and then to examine the consequences of the Mongol invasion.

"Bākharz" is the name of one of the ancient and authentic Rastāq of Khorāsān that has always been mentioned in the historical texts of the Islamic era. This Rastāq, had extended from the north to Rastāq-e Jām, from the west to Rastāq-e Zāveh, to the south to Rastāq-e Zuzan, and from the east to the province of Poushang, and the center of this historic city is Mālin, whose massive ruins today appear on the southern edge of the current city of Bākharz. According to the historical texts, Rastāq-e Bākharz has been of great importance due to the presence of Herāt – Nishapur, and Merv-Herāt, as well as the favorable climate conditions and a variety of agricultural production these factors all led to the development of Rastāq-e Bākharz in this period. This process was transformed in the late Islamic centuries following the invasions of Uzbeks, and with the separation of Herāt from Iran and with the drawing of modern political boundaries, Bākharz also lost his crucial role in historical transformations, and changed to a small, low-profile township on the fringes of the current border of Afghanistan and Iran. The present research seeks to present a comprehensive picture of the relations of this era in the Islamic period with the analysis of historical texts and archaeological findings. It also seeks to analyze its political, social and cultural status in the political-administrative geography of Khorāsān. 

The aftermaths of the First World War (1914-1918) which originated in Europe, gradually influenced many countries including Iran. Although the Iranian central government declared its neutrality to avoid entanglement in the First World War, the allied powers, dismissed Iran’s stance and imposed military occupation on considerable parts of Iran’s territory, including Mashhad. The presence of these occupying forces in Iran damaged national security and economy; moreover, it led to famine and incidence of several diseases causing the death of numerous people in Mashhad. Mashhad was initially occupied by Russian forces, though, after the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian forces left Mashhad and British forces replaced them. During this period a serious famine occurred in Mashhad and people encountered critical life. Meanwhile, national and foreign charities began to control the economic problems and reduce life pressure. The present research aims to seek the role of national and foreign charities in resolving the famine crisis in Mashhad during the years of World War I. A descriptive-analytical approach was adopted for the historical research methodology along with the use of documentary and press sources; the findings revealed that both national charities like Dar-ul-Ajazah And Dar-ul-Masakeen, along with foreign charities like Caucasian Huscar community, American mission, and British consulate, through providing shelter, collecting donations and feeding a large population of poor and needy people, had a significant effect on decreasing, controlling, and partly eliminating the famine crisis in Mashhad during world war I. 

One of the outstanding issues in Contemporary History of Iran, is the effect of Hirat separation (from Khorasan Province) based on Paris Peace Treaty (1273Lunar /1858A.D) on the political situations of Khorasan district through decades afterwards. So, this study tries to answer the following question” " What effects had this separation had on Khorasan district from the political viewpoints". To anwere this question, historical methodology through historical documents and evidence is employed . Despite the lack of resources in this regard and just based on specific details and analytical _descriptive approach, the findings of the study suggest that the most important consequence is the invasion of Torkman tribes to Khorasan, causing insecurity in this district which led to looting of different parts of Khorasan by Torkman tribes and endangered and security of the region . In addition, the effect of Hirat separation on the bordering of the South of Khorasan and the effect of Paris Peace Treaty on Akhal agreement is regarded as the other political consequence which is studied in this research. Keywords: Khorasan, Hirat, Qajar era, Paris Peace Pact, boederment

Comparative literature is a science that deals with the history of international literary relations and is able to bring the two countries closer through some sort of national psychoanalysis. In the meantime, travelogues are one of the most important sociology references and components of literary universalism through which we can gain a clear image of the conditions that existed in communities of “the Self” and “the Other”. Among the western travelers who have traveled to Iran so far, Henry René D’ALLMAGNE is one of the few French travelers who visited Khorasan province of Iran in the 20th century and presented a macro imagological research from Mashhad and its inhabitants in his travelogue entitled from Khorasan to Bakhtiari. This research as a branch of comparative literature survey examines the image of foreign countries and personalities, in particular, by an imagology approach of an author’s works, or an era or school in its context. It intends to answer the two questions by analytical-descriptive method as follows: what images of Mashhad has Henry René D’ALLEMAGNE represented for the readers? and what effect has the traveler conception had on its transferring mode? The results of this research showed that the narratives of this tourist are related to the topics of weather conditions, urban planning, architecture of places, post office, transportation conditions, industry, economy, security, politics, beliefs, culture, customs, and people's habits and the tourist intends to illustrate (positively, negatively, and neutrally) the contrast between 'European self' and 'Eastern Other'.