Home Region:  Iran (Southwest Asia)

Qajar

D G SC WF HS CC PT EQ 2020  ir_qajar_dyn / IrQajar

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
[elite migration; Zandiyeh] [elite replacement]   Update here

Succeeding Entity:
No Polity found. Add one here.

The Qajar Dynasty was in place in Iran from 1794-1925 CE following a 50-year struggle between Qajar tribal leaders for the throne from 1747. Eventually Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar (c.1742-c.1797) was crowned in 1796 and founded this dynasty. [1]
By 1900 CE this polity had assumed what is now modern Iranian borders, and the territory had decreased from approximately 2 million km2 in 1800 to 1.6million km2 in 1900. The population however had increased from approximately 6 million to 10 million people by 1900 [2] , with the largest settlement, Tehran, holding about 210,000 inhabitants.Settlement hierarchies were similar to previous polities, and included the capital city, other large regional cities, towns and villages. Although there was some centralisation of power, communication and bureaucratic reach was limited, and the Shah relied on the cooperation of many groups to keep administration running and by 1903 there was a movement calling for political reform. [3] [4]
In 1851 the first institution of higher education, the polytechnic institute Dar ul-Funun which offered studies in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences, was founded by Prime Minister Amir Kabir. [5]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 1) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[2]: (Martin 2005, 15) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.

[3]: (Martin 2005, 13-14) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.

[4]: (Ghani 2000, 7) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[5]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.

General Variables
Social Complexity Variables
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Religion Tolerance Coding in Progress.
Human Sacrifice Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequences Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Qajar (ir_qajar_dyn) was in:
 (1794 CE 1925 CE)   Susiana
Home NGA: Susiana

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
39 S

Original Name:
Qajar Dynasty

Capital:
Tehran

Tehran became the capital in 1786 CE. [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 506) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
1,900 CE
 

Once civil and government reforms had begun but before the civil disorder?
Tehran: "A recent study has supplied more reliable numbers: 106,482 in 1883; 160,000 in 1891; 210,000 in 1922; and 310,000 in 1932." [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 511) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Duration:
[1,794 CE ➜ 1,925 CE]
 

"The Qajar dynasty ruled Iran from the end of the eighteenth century to the twentieth century." [1]
"When Nader Shah Afshar died in 1747 with no living heirs, the Qajar tribal leaders were among the contenders for the throne. From the ensuing 50 year struggle one Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar (c.1742-c.1797) emerged the undisputed rule in 1794. He was crowned in 1796 and founded the dynasty." [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 1) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Political and Cultural Relations
Relationship to Preceding Entity:
elite migration

"From a Turkic tribe in north-east Iran, the great body of them had settled at Astarabad (present day Gorgan) near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea. When Nader Shah Afshar died in 1747 with no living heirs, the Qajar tribal leaders were among the contenders for the throne." [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 1) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Preceding Entity:
Zandiyeh
 

"From a Turkic tribe in north-east Iran, the great body of them had settled at Astarabad (present day Gorgan) near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea. When Nader Shah Afshar died in 1747 with no living heirs, the Qajar tribal leaders were among the contenders for the throne." [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 1) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Degree of Centralization:
unitary state

Language
Linguistic Family:
NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI

Language:
Persian

Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[70,000 to 110,000] people
1850 CE

Inhabitants.
Tehran in 1796 CE probably had a population under 15,000, and included 3,000 soldiers - so probably not the largest city at this time. [1]
By 1808 CE Tehran’s wintertime population reached 50,000. [2]
In 1861 CE Tehran’s population was 80,000 in summer and 120,000 in winter. [3]
Tehran: "A recent study has supplied more reliable numbers: 106,482 in 1883; 160,000 in 1891; 210,000 in 1922; and 310,000 in 1932." [4]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 507) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[2]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[3]: (Bosworth ed.? 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[4]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 511) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

Population of the Largest Settlement:
[160,000 to 210,000] people
1900 CE

Inhabitants.
Tehran in 1796 CE probably had a population under 15,000, and included 3,000 soldiers - so probably not the largest city at this time. [1]
By 1808 CE Tehran’s wintertime population reached 50,000. [2]
In 1861 CE Tehran’s population was 80,000 in summer and 120,000 in winter. [3]
Tehran: "A recent study has supplied more reliable numbers: 106,482 in 1883; 160,000 in 1891; 210,000 in 1922; and 310,000 in 1932." [4]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 507) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[2]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[3]: (Bosworth ed.? 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.

[4]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 511) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Polity Territory:
2,000,000 km2
1800 CE

in squared kilometers
By 1900 CE polity had assumed modern Iranian borders i.e. about 1,600,000 km2. I’d estimate using an area calculator that the polity had lost about 137,979 km2 on its north western border and 201,813 km2 on its north eastern border since 1800 CE.

Polity Territory:
1,600,000 km2
1900 CE

in squared kilometers
By 1900 CE polity had assumed modern Iranian borders i.e. about 1,600,000 km2. I’d estimate using an area calculator that the polity had lost about 137,979 km2 on its north western border and 201,813 km2 on its north eastern border since 1800 CE.


Polity Population:
[6,000,000 to 10,000,000] people
1800 CE 1900 CE

People.
The population of Iran was between six and ten million during the nineteenth century. It was composed mainly of peasants, but between a quarter and a third of the people were tribal, and roughly 10-20 per cent lived in cities." [1]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 15) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
5

levels.
1. Capital
2. Other large cities3. Towns4. Villages5.


Military Level:
4

levels.
1. Shah
2.3.
2. Local governor
3.4.
"Iran had not had a national military force since the days of Naser al Din Shah. In 1878, on his second trip abroad, Naser al Din Shah had seen a parade by Cossack soldiers in Russia. Greatly impressed, he asked the Czar whether a similar force could be established in Iran. in 1879 under a 40-year agreement the Russians established a Cossack Brigaded manned by Iranians and commanded by Russian officiers. The brigade thereafter was always a tool of Russian imperialist designs and Persian autocracy, serving primarily as a bodyguard for the Shah." [1]
Another attribute of the local governors was that they had their own militia, with which they were supposed to crush opposition and lawlessness in the provinces. ... the shah had only a small military force, as little as a few thousand ... this force was also irregularly clothed, paid and armed." [2]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 15) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[2]: (Martin 2005, 14) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Administrative Level:
4

levels.
1. Shah
_Central government_
2. First Minister
_Town/City government_
2. Kalantar (mayor)3. Darugha (police official)4.
3. Headman of city quarter
2. Provincial Governor
"In a country where communications were weak, and bureaucracy minimal, power was also devolved, and the shah depended on the cooperation of many tribal, ethnic, religious, local, bureaucratic and commercial figures and groups. In particular, power was devolved to the provincial governors, appointed from outside the province but usually with some local connections and knowledge. More often than not, as the century progressed, the governors were also members of the Qajar ruling family. Like the shah their preoccupation was with law and order, in addition to which they raised taxes, both for the centre and for local needs. ... Another attribute of the local governors was that they had their own militia, with which they were supposed to crush opposition and lawlessness in the provinces. ... the shah had only a small military force, as little as a few thousand ... this force was also irregularly clothed, paid and armed." [1]
"the Shahs of Iran were able to get away with arbitrary power over life and death because there was no well-defined aristocracy in Iran comparable in composition and function to that of Europe. This lack of hereditary aristocracy allowed for no other power bases, vesting totally unrestrained power in the Shah. The land-owning elite often changed when the king changed. The property of no-one was secure and could be taken away at the Shah’s pleasure. Ministers and government officials were the personal servants of the Shah, the populace his serfs." [2]
The government had a First Minister. [3]
"By 1903 there was a full-grown movement asking for political reform. What had started in Europe with the French Revolution ... had finally come to the East. In 1905 the Czar had been forced to grant sweeping concessions and a Consultative Assembly had been established. .... By late 1904 the demand for a House of Justice had grown to a demand for a proper parliament modeled on the British House of Commons. In 1906 there were mass demonstrations. The Shah, who up to then had resorted to repressive measures, had to give in. On his birthday, 5 August 1906, he granted a form of constitution and permitted the convention of a constituent assembly which promptly met to draft an electoral law. In October 1906 the assembly had drafted and passed a constitution which was ratified by the Shah. The supplement, i.e. an Iranian version of a Bill of Rights, was enacted later in October 1907." [4]
Gendamerie created in 1911 CE. Organized by Swedish government. 200 officers and 7000 men by 1914 CE. [5]
"Each town or city had a mayor (kalantar) who was a local man of standing selected by the state in a process of consultation with leading members of the community, whose acquiescence was vital if he was to succeed in his duties." [6]
The city/town mayor (kalantar) "also supervised the management of the city quarters under local headmen (kadkhudas) whom he appointed. One of this principal duties was the allocation of taxes amongst city quarters". [6]
The city/town mayor (kalantar) was responsible for law enforcement through his police official (darugha). [6]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 13-14) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.

[2]: (Ghani 2000, 4) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[3]: (Ghani 2000, 3) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[4]: (Ghani 2000, 7) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[5]: (Ghani 2000, 15) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[6]: (Martin 2005, 17) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

Paid soldiers. [1]
"Iran had not had a national military force since the days of Naser al Din Shah. In 1878, on his second trip abroad, Naser al Din Shah had seen a parade by Cossack soldiers in Russia. Greatly impressed, he asked the Czar whether a similar force could be established in Iran. in 1879 under a 40-year agreement the Russians established a Cossack Brigaded manned by Iranians and commanded by Russian officiers. The brigade thereafter was always a tool of Russian imperialist designs and Persian autocracy, serving primarily as a bodyguard for the Shah." [2]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 13) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.

[2]: (Ghani 2000, 15) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Professional Priesthood:
present

Clergy. [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 8) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Professional Military Officer:
present

"Aqa Mohammad Khan was assassinated by one of his military commanders in 1797". [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 2) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present

Merit Promotion:
absent

Full Time Bureaucrat:
present

The government had a First Minister. [1] "Amir Kabir was probably the ablest Iranian public servant of the nineteenth century." [1]

[1]: (Ghani 2000, 3) Cyrus Ghani. 2000. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah. From Qaja Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I B Tauris. London.


Examination System:
absent

Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

"When discussing Iranian legal education, one should bear in mind that teaching law in so-called ’secular’ schools has not been in place for very long. In the post-Islamic period, traditional religious schools, or madrasa, were the main institutions to teach Sharia, or Islamic law. During the Safavids dynasty (1500-1722), many Islamic schools were funded to teach religious law as a higher education discipline. Schools had their own campuses with libraries and student residences. The Advanced Law School ... was established in 1919." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Judge:
present

Qadi.


Formal Legal Code:
present

Sharia law.


Court:
unknown

Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

"The commercial centre, the bazaar, provided facilities for financial exchange and for the storage in caravanserais of trading commodites, as well as quarters for the storage in caravanserais of trading commodities, as well as quarters for the handicraft industries carried out by the guilds." [1]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 15) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Food Storage Site:
present

"As Abrahamian has observed, the bazaar was the granary, workshop, market-place, bank and religious and educational nucleus of society. .. It consisted of a unified, self-contained complex of shops, passageways and caravanserais interspersed with squares, religious buildings and bathhouses and other public institutions." [1]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 16) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Drinking Water Supply System:
present

"in the 19th century Shamiran also provided Tehran’s water supply (and supplies much of it today), by means of subterranean channels (qanats, kariz)." [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 503) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present

Few passable roadways (suggesting there were some). [1] In Tehran: "the initiatives taken under the Qajar government in respect of urbanisation, traffic management and public hygiene, laid the foundations of an urban infrastructure worthy of a modern city." [2]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 15) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.

[2]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 511) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Bridge:
present

Few passable roadways (suggesting there were some). [1]

[1]: (Martin 2005, 15) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

inferred continuity with earlier and later periods


Script:
present

Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

"In 1851, the first modern institution of higher education was founded. Dar ul-Funun, a polytechic institute, was founded by Amir Kabir, the Prime Minister from 1848 to 1851, better known as Iran’s first reformer, to educate students in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Sacred Text:
present

Quran.


Religious Literature:
present

"During the Safavids dynasty (1500-1722), many Islamic schools were funded to teach religious law as a higher education discipline. Schools had their own campuses with libraries and student residences. The Advanced Law School ... was established in 1919." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Practical Literature:
present

"In 1851, the first modern institution of higher education was founded. Dar ul-Funun, a polytechic institute, was founded by Amir Kabir, the Prime Minister from 1848 to 1851, better known as Iran’s first reformer, to educate students in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Philosophy:
present

"In 1851, the first modern institution of higher education was founded. Dar ul-Funun, a polytechic institute, was founded by Amir Kabir, the Prime Minister from 1848 to 1851, better known as Iran’s first reformer, to educate students in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Lists Tables and Classification:
present

"In 1851, the first modern institution of higher education was founded. Dar ul-Funun, a polytechic institute, was founded by Amir Kabir, the Prime Minister from 1848 to 1851, better known as Iran’s first reformer, to educate students in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


History:
present

"In 1851, the first modern institution of higher education was founded. Dar ul-Funun, a polytechic institute, was founded by Amir Kabir, the Prime Minister from 1848 to 1851, better known as Iran’s first reformer, to educate students in medicine, engineering, geology, and military sciences." [1]

[1]: (Maranlou 2016, 144-145) Sahar Maranlou. Modernization Prospects For Legal Education In Iran. Mutaz M Qafisheh. Stephen A Rosenbaum. eds. 2016. Experimental Legal Education in a Globalized World: The Middle East and Beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne.


Fiction:
present

Poets. Literature flourished mostly in cities other than Tehran. [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 514) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Calendar:
present

inferred continuity with earlier and later periods


Information / Money
Indigenous Coin:
present

Present. [1]

[1]: (Martin 2005) Vanessa Martin. 2005. The Qajar Pact: Bargaining, Protest and the State in Nineteenth-Century Persia. I. B. Tauris. London.


Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
unknown

General Postal Service:
present

"By way of comparison, the average speed achieved by the postal system in Qajar Iran was 120-60 kilometres a day". [1]

[1]: (Silverstein 2010, 66) Adam J Silverstein. Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Courier:
unknown

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
unknown

Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown

Stone Walls Mortared:
present

"With Tehran established as the capital in 1786, the urban fabric was further developed by the expansion of the bazaar ..., palaces, and military fortifications.” [1] Tehran: "In addition to the construction of palaces which served both as royal residences and administrative centres, bazaars and thoroughfares all within a ring of defensive walls, it was also necessary to cater for religious needs and to demonstrate, publicly, piety and charity through sponsorship of mosques and madrasas, and repairs and additions to important Shi’i sanctuaries." [2] In the early 19th century Tehran was surrounded by a wall and ditch. [3]

[1]: (Gharipour 2012, 133) Mohammad Gharipour. Architecture. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Sage. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Los Angeles.

[2]: (Scarce 2005, 432) Jennifer Scarce. Some interpretations of religious and popular culture in Qajar tilework. Robert Gleave. ed. 2005. Religion and Society in Qajar Iran. RoutledgeCurzon. London.

[3]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
unknown

"With Tehran established as the capital in 1786, the urban fabric was further developed by the expansion of the bazaar ..., palaces, and military fortifications.” [1]

[1]: (Gharipour 2012, 133) Mohammad Gharipour. Architecture. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Sage. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Los Angeles.


Modern Fortification:
present

"After arriving in Tabriz, the French began drilling Abbas Mirza’s battalions and erecting modern fortifications." [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 67) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Moat:
unknown

Fortified Camp:
unknown

Earth Rampart:
unknown

Ditch:
present

In the early 19th century Tehran was surrounded by a wall and ditch. [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 508) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


Complex Fortification:
present

Qasr-i-Qajar (Castle of the Qajars) [1] ? “By the 1870s the khans had settled down and built castles in the lush valleys of the summer pasture to the east of Isfahan.” [2]

[1]: (Wilber 1962) Donald N Wilber. 1962. Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions. Charles E.Tuttle Company. Tokyo.

[2]: (Oehler 1993, 134) Julie Oehler. 1993. Bibi Maryam: A Bakhtiyari Tribal Woman. Edmund Burke, III. ed. Struggle and Survival in the Modern Middle East. University of California Press. Berkley.


Military use of Metals
Steel:
present

"Cuirass (char-a’ina). Iran, Qajar period, early 19th century. Steel, gold, and textile." [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Iron:
present

Copper:
unknown

Bronze:
unknown

Cannon?


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
unknown

Sling Siege Engine:
unknown

Sling:
unknown

Self Bow:
unknown

Javelin:
unknown

Handheld Firearm:
present

Not as advanced in comparison to other large states of the period. [1] Muskets were used by tribal cavalry. [2] Abbas Mirza (who was a prince/commander not the ruler) established factories for cannon and muskets. [3]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 64) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[3]: (Ward 2014, 67) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
unknown
1800 CE

Not as advanced in comparison to other large states of the period. [1] At the beginning of the period they had "no functional heavy artillery". [2] Qajars used the zanburak [2] (a gun mounted on a camel). The French "helped to establish a cannon foundry and arsenal at Esfahan." [3]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 64) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[3]: (Ward 2014, 67) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
present
1900 CE

Not as advanced in comparison to other large states of the period. [1] At the beginning of the period they had "no functional heavy artillery". [2] Qajars used the zanburak [2] (a gun mounted on a camel). The French "helped to establish a cannon foundry and arsenal at Esfahan." [3]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 64) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[3]: (Ward 2014, 67) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Crossbow:
unknown

Composite Bow:
present

The bow was still used by some tribal cavalry. [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Atlatl:
absent

New World weapon.


Handheld weapons
War Club:
present

Mace. [1] In the region of modern Sudan during this period: "The Mahdist army used different types of weapons during their revolt. They used also weapons such as swords, axes and maces which resembled Persian weapons of the same period in terms of shape and decoration." [2]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 244?) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.

[2]: (Stephane and Khorasani 2018) Pradines Stephane. Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani. 2018. Sufi in War: Persian influence on African weaponry in the 19th century Mahdist Sudan. JAAS. Volume XXII. No.5.


Sword:
present

Sword. [1] Steel swords were used by tribal cavalry. [2]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 180-181) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Spear:
present

The lance was used by some tribal cavalry. [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Polearm:
unknown

Dagger:
present

Damascus steel daggers. [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Battle Axe:
present

In the region of modern Sudan during this period: "The Mahdist army used different types of weapons during their revolt. They used also weapons such as swords, axes and maces which resembled Persian weapons of the same period in terms of shape and decoration." [1]

[1]: (Stephane and Khorasani 2018) Pradines Stephane. Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani. 2018. Sufi in War: Persian influence on African weaponry in the 19th century Mahdist Sudan. JAAS. Volume XXII. No.5.


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
present

Cavalrymen. [1] "The tribal levies were expert horsemen and superior marksmen, capable of firing their muskets over their shoulders while galloping away from a foe. Many still used the lance and bow, and all carried sabers of high-quality steel..." [2]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 118) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Elephant:
unknown

Donkey:
present

Mules, horses and camels used for transportation. [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 71) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Dog:
unknown

Camel:
present

Mules, horses and camels used for transportation. [1] Qajars used the zanburak [2] (a gun mounted on a camel).

[1]: (Ward 2014, 71) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

[2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
unknown

Shield:
unknown

Scaled Armor:
unknown

Plate Armor:
present

"Cuirass (char-a’ina). Iran, Qajar period, early 19th century. Steel, gold, and textile." [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Limb Protection:
present

Present for Safavids and the Qajar still used cavalry.


Leather Cloth:
present

"Cuirass (char-a’ina). Iran, Qajar period, early 19th century. Steel, gold, and textile." [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Laminar Armor:
unknown

Helmet:
present

Damascus steel helmet. [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Chainmail:
present

"Dean’s collection later came to include several mail shirts with Persian- or Arabic-inscribed rings". [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 10) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Breastplate:
present

"Cuirass (char-a’ina). Iran, Qajar period, early 19th century. Steel, gold, and textile." [1]

[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven.


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
absent
1800 CE

"... despite the obvious importance of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf to Iran’s security and commerce, the Qajars refused to spend enough to develop a naval force. Within a few years following Nader Shah’s death, his fleet ceased to exist. The Qajars did not start to think about creating a small naval establishment until 1850..." [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 66) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.

Specialized Military Vessel:
present
1900 CE

"... despite the obvious importance of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf to Iran’s security and commerce, the Qajars refused to spend enough to develop a naval force. Within a few years following Nader Shah’s death, his fleet ceased to exist. The Qajars did not start to think about creating a small naval establishment until 1850..." [1]

[1]: (Ward 2014, 66) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC.


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
unknown

Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions