Day 1 - The Qajar Iran and the Colonial Powers

The Qajars were a Turkic-speaking nomadic tribal confederation which inhabited the northern parts of modern Iran. The Qajar dynasty (1795-1925) came to power thanks to Agha Mohammad Khan, who managed to unite Iran under his rule after waging bloody wars against local centrifugal forces all over the country. However, the Qajar era in modern day Iran has become a synonym of weakness and decay, as the rulers of Iran of the time as a rule were incapable of managing the affairs of the state. Consequently, territorial losses followed and in the later half of the 19th century Iran started falling under the heavy influence of the foreign powers. Foreign governments and nationals started getting various monopolies in the economy of Persia, which brought about a heavy social crisis. We are going to read an article about these monopolies and then watch a video material about the character of a famous Qajar reformer known as Amir Kabir.

  1. Curriculum
  2. Intermediate Persian Syllabus
  3. Week 8 - Historical Persian (Modern History)
  4. Day 1 - The Qajar Iran and the Colonial Powers  

Reading: An article from Donya-e Eqtesad Online about the foriegn monopolies during the Qajar era. 

Listening: A 10-minute documentary aired on Iranian TV channels about Amir-e Kabir, the influential 19th-century prime minister of Qajar Iran known for his reformist policies and modernization efforts. Interestingly, the visuals in the documentary are based on the well-known 1985 Iranian TV series “Amir Kabir”.

Subject of Conversation: What were the reasons for Qajar weakness?

Students will discuss the main internal and external factors that contributed to the political and economic weakness of the Qajar state. The conversation will focus on the role of foreign interference, poor governance, and internal instability, encouraging students to use key vocabulary from the readings and video while expressing their opinions on the challenges Iran faced during the Qajar era.

Homework: 
- Read the entire article and translate the paragraphs assigned by the instructor into English.
- Write a short summary of Amir Kabir’s life in Persian (150-200 words).
- Prepare for tomorrow’s discussion.