مجله تاریخ ایران
سال پانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 90، بهار و تابستان 1401)

The present article aims to investigate the stances taken by the clergy during the process of power transition from the Qajar to the Pahlavi dynasty. The purpose of this study is to delve deep into the causes for the involvement of this long-lasting social class in the Iranian political arena from the rise of the Sardar Sepah to the emergence of the Pahlavi dynasty. The main question is whether the clergy played a significant and essential role in the deposition of the Qajar dynasty. Using the historical analytical method and based on the findings of this study, it can be argued that Reza Khan went through three stages in the process of overthrowing the Qajar dynasty. In the first two phases, the clergy mainly adopted an essentially neutral or, at most, critical stance. However, since the conclusion of the Khuzestan crisis, i.e. the beginning of the last phase, the clergy fundamentally changed its attitude. The viewpoint held by religious authorities (marājiʿ) which considered a central power necessary for preserving the religion, prevailed. Furthermore, the improvement of the relationship with Seyyed Hasan Modarres gave Reza Khan the upper hand in the political struggle. The two factors, together, significantly contributed to Reza Khan’s impending success.

Since the distant past, Mesopotamia, as a crossroad of civilizations, has provided ample ground for the emergence of various belief systems. Due to geographical location, Mesopotamia also had an important role in Iranian history. At the end of the Sassanid period, among diverse religious groups residing in Mesopotamia, some were known as pagans. In this study, the term pagan refers to the people who worshiped deities rather than the one god and the Nature was the center of their attention. Since the Islamic Conquests, including in Mesopotamia, had underlying religious implications, it is necessary to know the interactions among the adherents of various religions in Mesopotamia during this period. Moreover, because of the distinct presence of Christianity in Mesopotamia at that time, the manner of interaction between the Pagans and the Christians on the verge of Islamic conquest is important in understanding the current of events. This study aims to define the Mesopotamian pagans and the way in which they interacted with Christian communities. Based on a descriptive-analytical approach and using historical sources and archaeological evidence, this article seeks to determine the characteristics of Mesopotamian pagan communities and their influence on the neighboring Christians by the time of Islamic conquest. The results show that the cities of Harran, Edessa, and Hirah were the pagan religious centers of the pagans in Mesopotamia. Furthermore, witchcraft, astral fatalism, and sacrifice were prominent characteristics of Mesopotamian paganism. This religion was able to influence Christianity. In contrast, Christian monks tried to convert pagans to Christianity.

The Publishing Organization of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults was established in March 1967. To a large extent, the Institute managed to improve children’s literature, quantitatively and qualitatively, by bringing the best writers, translators and illustrators together. The main question here is to determine the approach taken by the Institute for the publication of its books. Based on the historical method and using a descriptive-analytical approach, this article aims to explain this matter through archival documents and reports. The findings of this study show that the Institute published 146 books during its thirteen years of activity. The books covered a wide range of topics, such as archaicism, patriotism, monarchism, pro-Pahlavi tendencies, introductory knowledge of other lands, including Europe, Africa, and Asia, and scientific subjects. Most of the books were published as fiction, short story, novel and scientific, non-fiction, and documentary.

The present article is a report on the problem, research method, basic concepts, and results of a study on the predominant linguistic form of historiographical texts. This formalist study examines the undisputable diversity of historiographical texts under three basic and, at least seemingly, irreducible genres: chronicle, historical research, and historical novel. By assessing the linguistic form in thirteen randomly selected historical writings based on the proposed formalist criteria, certain noteworthy results can be obtained as to whether the historical language, in its broadest and most diverse sense, has a romancesque or novelesque form. The romance and the novel are recognized as two fundamental linguistic forms in fiction and other literary genres. Bearing this, as well as settling on this point that a romancesque work (such as the tales of “One Thousand and One Nights” or chivalric romance) is not concerned with human reality, identifying any trace of romancesque work in historiographical traditions should be considered a precarious endeavor. Through negative and critical considerations of the three main genres mentioned above, the present report seeks to evoke an image - albeit a vague one - of a transformation beyond the existing situation in historiography.

The state founded by Genghis Khan in Mongolia at the beginning of the 7th century AH (13th century AD) cannot be compared with the previous period of tribal conflicts and discords in terms of the judicial system. During his rule, Genghis Khan addressed not only military matters but also paid attention to the legal and judicial basis of Mongol society. Based on a descriptive-analytical approach and using documentary sources, this article aims to examine the Mongol basis and the perception of the concepts of rightness and justice in Ilkhanid Iran. The study shows that the most basic source of law in the Mongol judiciary and legal system was the “elimination of deprivation”. In other words, from a Mongol perspective, the concept of rightness corresponded with the elimination of deprivation rather than justice. This perception was in contradiction to the worldviews of conquered nations, particularly the Muslim Iranians. Even after their conversion to Islam, the Mongols continued to view Genghisid Yasa and Yusun as the primary source of rightness and justice. From this perspective, they both were “the embodiment of the law”. At the same time, the Genghisid dynasty conceived tribal obedience as the realization of justice.

Two important notions, after Constitutionalism, were developed on the basis of an important "background": the creation of a "sovereign state" and "national unity". Among many intellectuals, these two grew as modern "motives" and "intentions" and emerged from the heart of the turbulent post-constitutional era. Security, meanwhile, was one of the main demands of the intellectuals and statesmen of the day, demanding both "sovereign state" and "national unity." Hence, in the writings of the transition period from Qajar to Pahlavi, much attention was paid to this issue. The main question in this article is to find the relationship between these two through a review of one of the most important press of the late Qajar and early Pahlavi, namely "Ayandeh" and the speeches of its founder Mahmoud Afshar Yazdi. This article seeks to answer the question: What is the relationship between "national unity" and the notion of " sovereign state " in "Ayandeh" magazine?  Skinner's intentional hermeneutics. "Ayandeh", emphasizing the need for "national unity" and explaining its characteristics, considers the "powerful national constitutional government" as one of the basic tools for its realization. Moreover, "national unity" in "Ayandeh", as a "systemic" thinking, is closely related to categories such as security and education.

Tehran’s air pollution is not a recent issue and goes back to the early period of the second Pahlavi monarchy. The increasing use of fossil fuels and other air pollutants in big cities such as Tehran caused many problems. Hence, a long-term strategy was deemed necessary more than ever. For the first time, an environmental protection program was introduced as a separate chapter in the fifth development plan, which dealing with air pollution was one of its specific purposes. Improving public health, providing adequate environmental conditions, and reducing economic losses and social damages due to air pollution. Using the historical research method and based on archival documents and other historical sources, this study aims to investigate Tehran’s air pollution in the last decade of the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. The results show that despite the increase in oil revenues in the second Pahlavi monarchy, the construction of subways and urban trains was not one of the government’s priorities, insofar as the problem of Tehran’s air pollution became a tangled web. On the other hand, the results from Iranian and foreign research at the time showed that vehicle pollutants played an important part in air pollution. Subsequently, as one of the most important proposals for controlling pollution, a traffic control program was proposed and then put on the government’s agenda.

Bastani Parizi, the Persian historian, had his own particular style in historiography, especially in the field of social history. In his historiography, several fields of study, including social history, the role of women in history, and local historiography, are of utmost importance. In his thought and writings, local historiography, with an emphasis on Kerman and his homeland Pariz, has a significant place. In Bastani Parizi’s approach, the role of women in history – which is the aim of the present article – is the joining link between his local historiography and social history. He has demonstrated the women’s historical role in his works, such as the collection of articles and books including Woman’s footprint in History (Jay-e Pay-e Zan dar Tarikh) and Passage of the women from the Pass of History (Gozar-e Zan az Godar-e Tarikh). His studies on this matter are embedded in the context of local history in which he even expands his subject matter from Kerman to other places in the search of evidence. Bastani Parizi is opposed to the kind of historiography which has neglected to investigate the role of women in history. Accordingly, he attempts to illustrate the women’s historical role in local and national history.

The establishment of Iraq in the third decade of the 20th century and the annexation of the Kurdish areas to this country made Kurds disappointed in the promises made by Britain and the League of Nations for the creation of an independent state in the Kurdish parts of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the basis was laid for the formation of Kurdish nationalist movements and associations for autonomy and independence. One of these associations, “The Zardusht Society”, was founded by some Kurdish intellectuals in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah. The present study aims to examine the Society’s relationship with Iran. Furthermore, the article tries to explain the roots and the manner of its formation and to answer the question of how the Society tried to obtain Iranian support, and lastly Iran’s response. The findings of the study indicate that the Zardusht Society tried to gain Iranian support during the reign of Reza Shah by emphasizing the common historical past and cultural affinity between Kurds and Iranians. The Iranian government, for its part, after initial support for the Zoroastrian Committee, withdrew its support for political reasons.

The Mamasani tribal, as one of the Lor ethnic groups settled in the northwest of Fars province and the foothills of the Zagros, has played a significant role. Varying views regarding the origin of the Mamasani tribal are the main purpose for investigating its emergence, its historical and geographical background, its political structure, and the establishment of its tribes in their different territories. In regard to the research hypothesis, it seems that the Mamasani tribal, having a long-lasting historico-geographical background, gradually migrated to the region of Shulistan in the late Safavid period and formed a political structure with a 4 + 1 + 1 pattern (4 Mamasani Lor tribes, 1 Shul tribe, and 1 Qashqai tribe), based on characteristics of power, authority, shrewdness, and type of livelihood, apart from the position of the chieftain (Ilkhan). The present study is a basic data mining research based on the descriptive-analytical method by collecting archival documents (primary sources, local histories, and reliable historical texts) and field data (interview and observation). Based on in-depth and extensive studies, eight new hypotheses have been proposed about the origin and historico-geographical background of the Mamasani tribal confederation, its migration to Shulistan in the late Safavid period, and its political structure. Based on these hypotheses, the results show that in the aftermath of the late Safavid collapse of Mamasani chieftainship in Posht-e kuh in Kohgiluyeh, Mamasani tribes (Baksh, Javid, Rostam, Doshmanziyari) gradually entered to the region of Shulustan. After an early peaceful coexistence with Shuls, They overcame them and formed a new territory under their own chieftains. Consequently, the structure of the Mamasani tribal confederation was shaped, consisting of four Mamasani tribes, one Lor tribe of Shul, and one Turkic tribe of Qashqai but due to lack of a single leadership, socio-political disintegration, and intratribal and extribal (with other tribes and the central government) conflicts were intensified.

In September 1941, Iran was occupied by the allied forces. The Iranian government was forced to convey economic resources to the Allies. This appropriation was achieved only through a monetary policy, which resulted in a devaluation of the Iranian Rial against British and Soviet currencies. Subsequently, this led to the rise of notes in circulation and a forced agreement between the Iranian government and the Allies, according to which they had to reimburse the Iranian government for the used facilities only after the end of the war, which in turn, had an increasing effect on the inflation. To solve the issue, the government hired Dr. Arthur Millspaugh on 12 November 1942 as the Administrator General of the Finances with executive authority for reform. One aspect of the reforms undertaken by Millspaugh was concerned with the government’s administrative offices and salaries of the employees, which had suffered the most from the increasing inflation. Based on an analytical method and using archival documents and economic-historical sources, the present study aims to examine the impact of the reformist programs devised by Millspaugh and the government on the livelihood and the conditions of the government employees and the reduction in the rate of inflation, considering that a significant part of those programs was concentrated on the government human resources. The results show that the government and Millspaugh did not agree to the demands for a salary increase on the ground of its increasing effect on inflation. Furthermore, in order to carry out the reforms in the administrative offices, they initiated a redundancy plan, including the replacement of native human resources with American experts with a US Dollar-based salary. This, in turn, led to widespread opposition and strikes, which ended up in the reversal of the reforms, their politicization, and the failure of inflation control.

Iran in the Qajar period is a period of transition from traditional society to modernity. This issue can also be seen in the study of different dimensions of women's social history of this period. Prior to the Nasserite era, women had a lesser and more hidden presence in society, but in the Nasserite era, due to the existing economic and social conditions and with the increase of women's awareness due to their connection with the West and Western ideas, was discussed clear requests from them for Improving the current situation. What is important in this article, is why and how did women in the Nasserite era express their protest against the government performance? The findings of a descriptive-analytical study based on library resources indicate that women have protested against the current situation, due to internal oppression, poor economic conditions, and familiarity with Western ideas, that became aware of their deceptive rights, they first petitioned the king and princes, but because this method did not work, in the next stage, by participating in economic and religious gatherings and riots, they tried to make their voices heard by government officials.