نشریه جستارهای تاریخی
سال دوم شماره 1 (بهار و تابستان 1390)

This article aims to give an explanation of Sstn’s historical developments during theQajar period. Sstn as an integral part of Iran’s geographic identity as well as itshistory and culture has ever been regarded as an important province whosedevelopments were not out of consequence for other part of the country. Moreover, itseems the province experienced very consequential developments during 19th/13thcentury which affect the future of its life. In this article, a special attention paid to theproblems of local economy of Sstn during Qjr period. It attempts to provide theinterested reader an explanation of this province’s local economic developmentswithin a theoretical framework. The base of this theoretical framework is the theory ofAsiatic Mode of Production. According to this theory, the pivotal cause of societies’development or uneven development is the political and social forms of relation. Thepresent article assumes the climatic changes and geographic situations central to theeconomic developments of Sstn during the period in question. As it maintains, thegeographic factor, while being out of human’s control, played a crucial role in Sstn’seconomic and cultural maldevelopment. But, at the same time it doesn’t exoneratepolitical authorities of their contribution to this situation. So, the article has a specialattention to the role of governmental policies and statesmen’s malfunctions in the lagof development in Sstn.

Bakhtiari clan is one of the important and powerful tribes of South-western Iran duringits history experienced several vicissitudes. It also has played a really effective role inpolitical developments of modern Iran. The socio-political structure of Bakhtiari’s tribalpower has been subjected to a special pattern which experienced certain changes duringits history. Despite the other tribes, power structure of Bakhtiaris constituted of ahierarchical structure including different levels and ranks. At the other hand, the kinshipstructure of Bakhtiari clan, which included the smallest unity i.e. family (Behan: blacktent) to the largest one, i.e. the ling (branch) seems to be the main cause of its centrifugalnature. In conditions which these semi-independent parts combined and integrated into aunited structure, formation of a tribal confederation or union was the result. In formertimes, the Khan’s social statute was at the highest level of tribal authority andmagistrates, headmen, and deans stand next to them respectively. But the gradual rise ofthe modern state, consolidation of its central power and the expansion of military forcesresulted in a dwindling of Khan’s power. This, in turn caused the political structure ofBakhtiaries, especially the status of the Khan, to encounter with some essential changes;in next periods there was no more the traditional status of khan at the top of this tribalstructure. How we can describe the socio-political structure of power in Bakhtiari societyand its constitutive nature, what were the main changes it endured during recentcenturies and what were the causes behind these changes are questions which this studyaims to answer. To attain this purpose it tries to develop a research within ananalytical/descriptive method. Its main source is a volume of data gleaned from libraryreferences which are organized, evaluated, and analyzed to attain the purpose.

Nser ad-Dn shah’s rule in Iran (1264-1313/1848-1899), as the longest period ofsultanate during Qjr era (1797-1925), witnessed an unprecedented expansion ofrelations with Europe. Due to this development, a considerable volume of modernthoughts and technologies introduced the country. It was not the mere result however,and certain economic and political challenges emerged too. Beside the efforts made bysome independent intellectuals to introduce certain reforms to the political structure,there were also a group of traditional politicians who felt the necessity of reform aswell. This group of reformists maintained a rather conservative approach to politicalreform. Murtez Qul Khn San’ al-dawlah was a paramount figure in this groupwhose approach to political reform is a case of special importance and worth of anadequate study. The present study concentrated on this figure and his role inestablishing the parliamentary system in Iran as well as his contribution to theintroduction of modern industry to the country. It claims a special importance for thesocial background of Hedyat family to which San’ al-Dawlah belonged and hisgraduate studies in Germany. According to author, this social and educationalbackground prepared San’ al-Dawlah with an emphatic concern for introduction ofwestern technology to Naserid Iran. However, San’ al-Dawlah career was not limitedto this. He also played an effective role in constitutional revolution and cooperatedactively to establish parliamentary system in Iran.

During the rule of Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (311-386 A.H.), certain social and culturalcrises challenged the Fatimid dynasty. It seems this critical situation has been the maincause of the Hamd ad-Dn Kirmn’s presence in Fatimid Cairo. Kirmn was aprominent Persian figure in Isma’lte ideological hierarchy and was nominated as theHujjah, a high ranked position in this hierarchy. His active presence in al-Hakim’scourt as the representative of Persian school contributed effectively to defense ofIsma’lte ideology. Growth of extremist trends and Abbsd propaganda were themost important threats. This survey has paid attention to this critical situation ofFatimid history and Kirmn’s role in managing it. The main questions of it are: Whatwas/were the cause/causes of the internal crises which during this period entangledFatimid state and Hamid ad-Din’s presence in Cairo seemed to be was an answer tothem? What were Kirmn’s devises to control these crises and what characteristicsmerited him, among numerous Isma’lte D’s, to be elected for this mission? Toanswer these questions, there are two hypotheses. First, it seems the main causes ofcritical situation of Kirmn’s period have been an internal challenge of Isma’ilitedoctrine as well as the appearance of some extremist trends. To answer the secondquestion it seems Kirmn who had developed a kind of synthetic ontology, succeededto manage this critical situation in three phases: recognizing the crisis, rethinking ofthe theoretical bases of Isma’ilite doctrine with the purpose of finding functionaldevises to control the crisis, and finally, providing a theoretical framework forIsma’ilite Imamate to strengthen the doctrine. To answer the third question, thebrilliant background of Kirmn and his active presence in the theoretical dialogues ofIsma’ilies with theologians who represented the other sects has been surveyed. Theresults of this research show that, Kirmn‘s presence in Fatimid Cairo and hisactivities were crucial for managing this critical point of Isma’lte history. Not onlyhad he played a really efficient role to save Fatimid dynasty from its sooner collapse,but also he was successful to propose a masterfully manipulated theory of Imamate forIsma’lte sect.

This study aims to explain how Zoroastrian Priesthood, encountering with the criticalsituation of post-Arab conquest era, devised ways to guarantee the survival of itscommunity and prevent conversion. It relied mainly upon the historical documents andtextual material- especially Zoroastrian texts. These texts largely have a religiousnature and, have been generally produced during the 3th/9th and 4th/10th Centuries.These are solutions which based mainly on the old traditions and could be classifiedunder four categories: a) those which addressed economic pressure and punishments,b) devises for economic encouragements, c) those of self isolation, and d) those whichenjoy an apocalyptic nature, including salvation literature. But, these devises, whatevertheir importance, apparently were not effective enough to prevent the increasingprocess of Zoroastrians’ conversion to Islam. They even in some occasions resultedreversely and caused more pressure on Zoroastrians (especially when Islam’ssuperiority in Iran was completed and Zoroastrians changed into a vulnerableminority). Therefore, it increased the rate of conversion of Zoroastrians to Islam.Among these solutions, just apocalyptic and salvation literature- that seems to be aresult of hard conditions which Zoroastrians endured as a minority in Islamic societywereuseful enough to keep the rest of Zoroastrians hopeful, and encouraged them tohold their Zoroastrian religion.

Although, a group of scholars decline to presume any specific relationship betweenliterature, its aesthetic principles and social issues, and it is evident that a great deal ofliterary works have almost no relationship with social matters, still one of the mainconcerns of literary critics and social scientists is the relationship between literatureand its aesthetic values with the social phenomena. Literature uses language as ameans of expression and as Aristotle puts it, literature is a way to bring life on stage;so, it might be considered as a social reality and, actually it could be understood as asocial institution; an institution with its own raison d’être and intended goals. Amongthe new literary schools, we might recognize a multidimensional bond between theappearance of Romanticism and political, social and historical developments of 18thand the early 19th centuries’ Europe. This school also, as many other modern ones,absorbed large groups of interested throughout the world. In Iran, especially duringPahlavd period, it proved to be a strong trend in literary circles and particularly during1320s and 1330s changed into the dominant intellectual trend. Finally, it seems the late1330s and the early 1340s witnessed the beginning of Persian romanticism’s sunset.Admitting the interactional effects of literature and society, the present studyconcerned mainly with the developments of Iranian romanticism and attempts to givean explanation of the socio-political milieu of Pahlavd era (during the last years of1330’s) and its effect on the growth of romantic tendencies in modern Persian poetry.

For years and decades, archeologists and historians have been studying on theremained relics of Indo-European people. Their efforts were continued by the attemptsof linguists to recognize Indian-European race and their primary homeland. This studyconcentrated “Andronovo” and “Jeyhoon as two ancient cultures which here identifiedas Indo-Iranian. It poses this claim in discussion that during the late 3rd millennium B.C., these tribes have probably separated from Indo-European tribes which settled in thesteps of Eurasia. During late 2nd and early 1st millennium B. C. (Late Bronze Age),they continued their way towards the southern parts of central Asia and Afghanistan.These people after separating of the other tribes entered northern India and IranianPlateau. Avesta, as the main historical evidence of the Persian language people andparticularly Gathas, are our main textual source to become aware of the Arian people.It includes this people’s memories of their original land which they called it Aryanmvaj. In this research, an effort has been done to determine geographic situation ofAryanm vaj through investigation in findings of archeologists and comparing itwith the text of Avesta and less Rig Veda.