فصلنامه تاریخ
پیاپی 5 (تابستان 1386)

Soufist Inclinations of Muhammad Shah were special among Qajarid kings. Most of the king of this dynasty possessed some sort of religious bigotry. However, due to their despotic power structure specifically till the end of Nasser-al-Din Shah, the common political behavior of all of them used to be despotism and absolutism. As its aftermath, Muhammad Shah murdered Ghaem Magham Farahani, who was the most deserved minister of the Qajarids, at the beginning of his reign. This was what Fath-ali Shah did to Etemad-al Dollah before hin and what Naser-al Din hah did to Amir Kabir after him. They established a tradition of murdering ministers. Consequently, Mirza Agha Khan Nouri, who was the most undeserving minister with English inclinations, asked for a guarantee of his life in case of betrayal, wrongdoing and abdication. Thus Muhammad Shah’s Suffist manners made him choose his master and teacher Hajj Mirza Aghassi as his chancellor for the 12 remaining years of his reign in order not to let himself or the others to oppose him. Unlike Ghaem Magham, Hajj Mirza Aghassi was devoid of any abilities in managing a country. As a result of these two decisions – dismissing and then murdering Ghaem Magham and the assignment of Hajj Mirza Aghassi- the decline of the country on its path to backwardness, which started by the previous king, sped up. Hajj Mirza Aghassi’s character was not all to blame and can not be judged as clearly as the other ministers as we can not judge the character of Muhammad Sha’s character as the other kings. These two have been defended by those who believe in [Suffist] thoughts. In this article, I have embarked on explaining the deep and stable relationships between these two and their ignoring the country and its people.

Mirza Ghazi Jafar Yazdi, Known as Zo-al Riasatain, is a Sufist moral writer in Nasser-al Din Shh’s era. He defended the absolute monarchism of Nasser-al Din Shah in his book called On the obligation of Praing the King. Zo-al Riasatain necessitated the obedience to the king and considered any objection or revolt against the king as breaching the [relioug] Law. Politico-economical crises of Nasseri era, which were directly related to his absolute power, caused a lot of revolts. A dominant manifestation of that was the Tobacco revolt. Zo-al Riasatain tried to defend the royal foundations and the king himself to react against these revolts but these attempts lacked ant credits.

This article analyzes Morteza Gholi Khan Sani-al Dolle’s economic and industrial thoughts and practices. Sani-al Dolle studied in germany and upon his return to Iran in Nasse-al Din Shah’s time tried to put his scientific knowledge in practice to improve his country’s industry both theoretically and practically. Reflecting on the weaknesses and backwardness of the country, he expressed his economical thoughts based on his country’s basic needs. In his article called the Path to Deliverance the explained the advantages oh the railway for the country and as the finance minister he showed the way to provide its expenses. He is the founder of industrializing Iran and the wisest and greatest thinkers of the reformation of financial system in his own time. He is also one the pioneers of the development and advancement of Iran for its national and cultural independence.

After the establishment of the Safavids in iran and the construction of the Gurkanids dynasty in India, concerning the previous relations between the two dynasties till the time of Amir Teimour Gurkani and Khoja Ali Safavi, there was a stable and close tie between the Safavids kings and Indian Gurkani emperors. Although there were ups and downs in these relations, Kndhar plyed an important role in the fluctuations of these ties. This article will deal with the relationships beteen these two dynasties in the time of some of their kings.

Orientalism was a completely indifferent discipline to study eastern languages in the past, but it brings about negative connotations nowadays. What orientalism means can be categorized in three groups: First, should we approach orientalism as the manifestation of the encounter between West and East or as opposition between them? Second, it is an analysis of Edward Said’s ideas and finally it deals with scientific works that need more studies on th east. West has always defined the east as the ‘Other’, and this otherness of the east has determined the power relations between them. The Orientals were considered emotional, passive, devoid of any logical reasoning and sensuous, whereas the westerners were active and rational beings. Such a definition of the orientals justified the occupation of their territories both in their countries and abroad. Although some muslim scholars reject the ideas of orientalists totally, there are some who consider the positive side of orientalists for muslim communities. Kurd Ali maintains that muslim scholars can use orientalist methodologies to create modern and trustworthy versions of their own histories and others believe that orientalists have been very influential in introducing islam into Europe. This article ventures to explore the points of strength of orientalis’s studies through comparing and contrasting ideas of different scholars concerning oriental studies.

Aman-allah Khan and Reza Shah came to power in Afghanistan and Iran with a short interval after the First World War. They both preferred to postpone dealing with their long established controversy over the borderlines, which was a heritage of the past, due to their attempts to stabilize their status in the early years of their reigns. So they had friendly relationship. Aman-alah Khan came to Iran on his journey back from Europe, but Reza Shah bid him a cold welcome due to his close relationship with Turkey. Aman-allah Khan’s hostile treatment with Iran after going to Kabul put an end to Iran-Afghan relations. After dethroning Aman-allah Khan, Habib-allah Kalkani, known as Sagha Child, started his nine month reign. There was no special relation between these two governments and Iran did not authorize his government. Muhammad Nader Shah overtook power in Afghanistan after dethroning Habib-allah Kalkani. Muhammad Nader Shah asked Reza Shah to solve the borderline controversy between the two countries, but his murder put and to this solution.

The Great Motazelleh elites enjoyed high power in the reign of three Abbasids kings (Mamoun, Motasem and Vaseq). Motavakel put and end to their great influence. Because he was the follower of Hadith Scholars and opposed the ideas and thoughts of Motazelleh. Then he persecuted and rebuked them. Hadith Scholars continued admonishing Motazelleh in all the countries till Al-Boye took control and this increased their revival. Renown Motazelleh scholars started spreading their ideas and some even were appointed governmental posts such as Saahib ibn Ebad as the minister of two Boyese kings. And the Judge Abdul Jabar as the supreme judge of Rey city. In this essay, we will analyze the reasons why Motazelleh was attracted by Al-Boye and its development and finnaly the causes of its decline.