Journal of Historical Researches
Year:2010 | Volume:45 | Issue:4|Papers Count:7

The invasion of the Achaemenids Empire by Alexander the Great and his companions brought about many changes to Persia. Alexander’s Hellenic policy of continued invasions around the country for a long time created a different socio-cultural reality for the defeated country. Seleucians, as the successors of Alexander, caused various changes particularly in the field of social and economic structure of Persian, through the lands between Euphrates and Balkh.The presence of the Greek and Macedonian traders and hired-armies as the main elements for the change, led to an establishment of a new form of city. The form, differing from that of the Asian cities in the area, soon became the economical-cultural centre for the Seleucians' conqueror. These cities grew in numbers in Persia and became strong legitimizing elements of power for the Seleucians.This research focuses on the process of formation and inhabitation of these newly established cities as the key factor for the stability of the Hellenic culture in Persia. Also the degree of effect and changes that these cities made in the field of new social structure will be examined.

This paper analyzes the history of Russian settlements in the Northern provinces of Iran in the early 20th century. These settlements developed in what was defined as the Russian sphere of influence by the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 and, unlike in the Caucasus of Central Asia, preceded a military conquest. Russian colonization in Iran started as a spontaneous peasant migration in 1907 and by 1912-1914 turned into a state - encouraged and state - assisted colonial enterprise marked by a close cooperation between the Ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and the Military. During the First World War, the Russian colonial administration sought to take advantage of the situation and accelerate the colonization of the occupied lands. The process was stalled by the February revolution of 1917. The Bolshevik coup in October 1917 abruptly ended the short-lived Russian colonial venue.The article discussed the emergence and location of Russian villages, the numbers and social background of the settlers, their motives for emigrating, and their methods of land acquisition in Iran. It analyzes settlers’ relations with the local Iranian authorities and peasants and their impact on local affairs. The article also poses questions for further research of Russian colonization of Iran. It draws upon a variety of Iranian and Russian sources and relies heavily on archival materials. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first scholarly work to address Russian colonization of northern Iran.

The aim of the Safavid architecture and urban design was to establish an ideal city based on Islamic beliefs and ideologies. Safavid cities included some symbols with religious significance, power of government and identity- giving. During the Safavid Period, wide and straight streets, major symbolic elements, were used to develop and improve new cities. The same design has been used in the city of Mashhad during Shah Abbas’ reign.This paper introduces one of the special streets in Mashhad. The first part of this paper introduces Mashhad’s history during the Safavid period and the special position of Imam Reza’s Holy Shrine. The latter part of the paper focuses on historical documents and analytical studies in order to explain a number of physical, functional and subjective features of Mashhad street; charbagh. Finally, the paper aims to highlight similarities of Mashhad's charbagh with Isfahan’s charbagh. The study shows that Mashhad’s charbagh and Isfahan’s charbagh have similar origins, yet these origins have been used in accordance with the site conditions and existent elements.

One of the basic rules for the construction of a city during the ancient period was selecting an appropriate place. Such a place should have sufficient amount of water, moderate climate, fertile soil, location on or near trade routes and easy to defend. Did such conditions prevail in the area where the city called Jundi Shapur was founded? Did Shapur make an inquiry about the site and its climate before he finally ordered the construction of the city? The city believed to have been constructed for his queen, the daughter of Emperor of Rom.Long before Shapur ordered the building of the city, there had been a city in the same site called Janta Shapir or Janta Shapirta, an Indian name which meant “attractive garden”. This indicates that long before the reign of Shapur this part of Iran was known to Indians. They perhaps either resided there or frequently visited the site after leaving India, mostly due to internal conflicts. Naturally, the ancient sources relating the history of both of the countries throw light on old routed relations between the two countries.

The rise of the Ilkhanid dynasty in the middle of the 13th century brought about proportional security to Iran, also leading to improvements in the urban economy resulting improvements in a vast area of the country.The growth of the urban economy that followed political- economic considerations of the Ilkhanids, caused a noticeable development in the fiscal system. This can be seen as a distinct era. Nevertheless, some experts consider the Ilkhanid's economy as a non-monetary economy and deny the use of any currency in many areas in Iran.This paper examines the nature of the fiscal system in the Ilkhanid era, the significance of the urban economy to the system, and the briskness or stagnancy of money in the period. This article also pays attention to the circulation of the first banknote, Chao, in the territory of Ilkhanids.

The closure of the National Assembly (1908/1326) by Mohammad Ali Shah coup is marked as the beginning of a Minor Autarchy (estebdad-e saghir) era in Iran. This made many constitutionalists disillusioned and dissatisfied. One of the protesting movements was the uprising of the Iranians in the south, especially in Bushehr.Two clerical figures, Ayatollah Akhund Khorasani and Sayyed Morteza Ahrami, were of paramount importance during this movement. This article, based on documentary studies, focuses on the leadership of Ahrami and the role of Khorasani as a supporter of the Iranian constitutional movement. The act and thought of religious leadership in the Iranian constitutional movement is another aspect studied here. It specifically broadens a view of Khorasani's approach as the clerical leader of the constitutional movement and confirms the existence of regional distinctions in the constitutional movements.

The aim of this research project is to assess and evaluate procedures and resources of policy makings upon to tribes and nomads during the reign of Pahlavi I.  In the legislative system tribes and nomadic groups’ right of policy making were recognized through three institutions: the monarchy, National Assembly and the Council of Ministers. Reza Shah as the monarch and chief of the Iranian armed forces had an important role in this decision making process. Nevertheless, in a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter one ought not to overlook the role played by the other two institutions.Iranian National Assembly, as the institution for passage of nomadic and tribal laws, played a significant role which will be analysed here. Proposals, legal drafts and bills implemented by the Council of Ministers were also crucial and had a great impact on the nomadic and tribal life in Iran. This paper argues that the efforts of the last two institutions have been overshadowed by the institution of monarchy and the personality of Reza Shah due to his enthusiasm to modernize Iran.