No title

Iranian Studies Journal of The Society for Iranian Studies

Volume 11 (1969)

Ali Banuazizi, Editor Jacqueline W. Mintz, Associate Editor

Published by The Society for Iranian Studies, P. 0. Box 89, Village Station, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

The Society for Iranian Studies COUNCIL Ali Banuazizi Richard W. Bulliet Hormoz Hekmat Abbas Heydari-Darafshian Farhad Kazemi, Treasurer Manoucher Parvin Majid Tehranian, Executive Secretary

ARTICLES Abrahamian, Ervand. The Crowd in the Persian Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128-150 Ashraf, Ahmad. Historical Obstacles to the Development of a Bourgeoisie in Iran. Bill,

54-79

of Student Alienation: James A. The Politics The Case of Iran ............. .

Clinton,

Irons,

8-26

Jerome W., Croll, Donald C., Davis, Edward W., and Luther, Kenneth A. On the of an Automated Bibliography Feasibility of Iranian Studies'. William. Research

The Turkman of Iran: . . .

Report .....

151-169

A Brief .

27-38

CommuniC. C. The Earliest Lamberg-Karlovsky, ties of Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2-7

Akhavan's "The Ending of Sorour. . . . . . . . . . . Shahnameh": A Critique

80-96

0. L. The Chronograms of Khaqani Vil'levskij, . . . . . by Jerome W. Clinton) (translated

97-105

Soroudi,

BOOKREVIEWS British Amin, Abdul Amir. sian Gulf (reviewed Baldwin,

in the PerInterests by Thomas M. Ricks) .

.

183-186

George B. Planning and Development in . . 113-114 Iran (reviewed by Vahid F. Nowshirvani. iii

The Cambridge History of Boyle, J. A. (Ed.). Iran, Volume V, The Saijug and Mongol Periods (reviewed by Amin Banani) .108-113 Fisher,

The Cambridge History of Iran W. B. (Ed.). Volume I, The Land of Iran (reviewed by Paul . 106-107 W. English) .... . . . . . . . . . . .

Huntington,

Samuel P.

Societies

Issawi,

Jacobs,

Political

(reviewed

Order in Changing

by Farhad Kazemi)

.

.

.

The Economic History of Charles (Ed.). Middle East: A Book of Readings the (reviewed by Manoucher Parvin) .

175-179

...........180-182

Norman. The Sociology of Development: Iran as an Asian Case Study (reviewed by 42-44

...

Farhad Kazemi) .............

Recent Iranian Periodicals: (A Quarterly Journal of Social 'Ulum-e Ijtima'i Sciences)

(reviewed

by Ali

Banuazizi)

.

45-47

.

Jahane-No (A Quarterly Journal of Arts, Social (reviewed by Majid Studies and Literature) . Tehranian) ................ Rypka, Jan. History of Iranian Literature viewed by Amin Banani) ..........

47-49

(re.

39-41

Van Der Tak, Herman G. and de Weille, *Jan. Reappraisal of Road Project in Iran (reviewed . 170-174 by Ali M. S. Fatemi) ........... MISCELLANEOUS 49-50 . Conference Announcement......... 50 . Errata .. ... . 187-192 Letters to the Editor ............ 115-125 ..........a... Report of the UCLA-SIS Conference . Received. . . . . . . . . 51-52, 126, 193-194 Publications

iv

4o -,

'f

&t-,for

(Stvnte*'1969

QL.wr

nSe

),1

The Society for IranianStudies COUNCIL Ali Banuazizi Richard W. Bulliet Hormoz Hekmat Abbas Heydari-Darafshian Farhad Kazemi, Treasurer Manoucher Parvin Majid Tehranian, Secretary

I ranian

Studi e s

Editor Ali Banuazizi, W. Mintz, Jacqueline

Associate

Editor

is published quarterly Iranian Studies by The Society for Iranian Sttudies. of the Society as a part of their membership. It is distributed to members rate for non-members is $5. 00, and the price of The annual subscription The opinions expressed single copies is $1. 25 per issue. by the contributors are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the Society or the editors of Iranian Studies. Articles should be submitted to the Editor for publication. All communications concerning-Iranian Studies or the affairs should be addressed to: The Society for Iranian Studies, Society's P. 0. Box 3384, Yale Station, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, U. S A.

Cover:

Neolithic idol, about 5000 B. C., excavated by Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 1968. Collection of Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran. Picture courtesy of Professor C, C, Lamberg-Karlovsky.

J3uCe-trNof Jtec soicteor Volume

II

Winter

7attun-StuiGs Number

1969

1

CONTENTS 2

THE EARLIEST

8

THE POLITICS OF STUDENT THE CASE OF IRAN

27

THE TURKMEN OF IRAN: RESEARCH REPORT

OF IRAN

COMMUNITIES

ALIENATION:

A BRIEF

C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky James

William

A.

Bill

Irons

BOOK REVIEWS 39

RYPKA:

42

JACOBS:

RECENT

History

of Iranian

The Sociology

IRANIAN

of Development

tULUM-E

IJTIMA'I

(Social

47

JAHAN-E

NO (New

World)

CONFERENCE

50

ERRATA

51

PUBLICATION-S

Amin Farhad

Banani Kazemi

PERIODICALS

45

49

Literature

ANNOUNCEMENT

RECEIVED

Sciences)

Ali Banuazizi Majid

Tehranian

CONFERENCEANNOUNCEMENT of the University of California, The >ilar ELastern (Center a conference will cosponsor and The Society Stuoies for Iranian Los Angeles, OF POWVER IN' JSISAMIC IPRAN, ' An international on the "STRUCTURE a variety of of scholars Studies, representing group in the field of Iranian in the social scienlce s, w1 ill partici pate in the conference. disciplines P3ROGRAM: P'anel Pancl Panel Panel Panel

Patterns of Power Historical of Power II: Functioning on the Power Influence Structure III: Tribal Power and the Power Econonmic Structore IV: of the Powver Stroicture Context V: The International

I:

PARTICIPANTS: i; rvand Abrahamian, Columbia University of California, Hamid B3erkeley Algar, University Los Angeles of California, Amin Banani, University Ali Banuazizi, Yale University of T'exas, Austin James A. Bill, University of Mancheste r C. E. Bosworth, University Harvard W. Bulliet, Richard University W. Cottam, of Pittsburgh Richard University Paul W. English, of Texas, Austin University Hafez of Texas, Austin F. Farmayan, University Gene Dartnmouth College R. Garthwvaite, Firuz sity Kazemnzadeh, Yale Univer of California, R. Keddie, Nikki Los Angeles University of Toronto Roger M. Savory, University of California, Berkeley John M. Smith, University Majid Tehranian, Lesley College Young, Princeton University T. Cuyler Sepehr Zahih, St. Mary's College A. H. Zarrinkoob, of Tehran University Marvin of Chicago Zonis, University will be held on June The conference at the 27, 28, 29, 1969, Eastern of the University Near Center of California, Los Angeles. It will be followed Summer course, "STATE AND SOCIETY by a six -week Session the nature of relations between IN ISLAMIC state and IRAN, " in which

4'

WINTER

1969

THE EARLIEST COMMUNITIESOF IRAN C, C . LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY excavations Recent archaeological in Iran have contributed to our understanding of the economic subsistence fundamentally patterns Excavations at the sites of Tepe Yahya in in man's earliest communities. Kerman , Ali Kosh in Khuzistan2, and Ganj-i-Dareh in Western Azerbaijan, to name but a few within different zones and ecological environmental niches, show that within the area of present-day Iran the cultural and economic from an earlier transition subsistence of hunting and gathering to settled village agricultural took place. 3 This transition communities has been documented in other areas, of Southwestern i. e. Palestine, Anatolia, Asia. 4 The development from a hunting and gathering economy to settled village agricultural often referred to as the 'Neolithic productivity, 5 was not an historical event (taking place in a moment of Revolution', time) nor restricted to a single geographical area, but a cultural process which necessitated millennia for its achievement. The important role which Iran played can perhaps best be documented by summarizing the developing economic subsistence patterns in three loosely defined periods of time about 7000, 6000, and 5000 B, C. Incipient

Cultivators,

7000 B.C.

Climatic conditions throughout Western Asia are believed to have been virtually identical at this timne as they are today. There have, however, been environmental changes through deforestation, overgrazing, irrigation, etc. 6 The initial transition from an earlier dependence on hunting and gathering to an incipient experimentation leading to the domestication of both animals and plants characterizes this period. In terms of economic importance it would be hard to decide which activity contributed most; however, evidence from excavations suggest that

C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Assistant Curator of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. He is currently directing the archaeological excavations at Tepe Yahya, Kerman.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

2

/~~~~~~~~~

A

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

_

A_

Figure

1. *Major

prehistoric

archaeological

sites

of the Near

Ea

people herded goats, planted two-row barley and emmer wheat, engaged in intensive collection of wild plant food and hunted the ox, onager, gazelle and deer. Their diet was also complemented by fish, clams, and migratory birds. The examination of paleobotanical and paleozoological remains recovered from excavations allow the archaeologist to reconstruct these earliest subsistence patterns. 7 Villages were uniformly small, perhaps attaining a maximum of 200 persons. Their single houses were constructed of mud, without architectural elaborations and consisting of one or two rooms for a family. People engaged in trade as evidenced by cowrie shells from the Persian Gulf and perhaps obsidian derived from the distant Lake Van area of Turkey. 8 The production of clay female figurines and phallic symbols are believed to represent religious artifacts of unknown significance. The specialization of crafts were not yet complex enough to have required full-time artisans. Whatever major subdivisions of labor existed were based on sex and age. It is doubtful that political organization extended beyond that of an egalitarian lineage organization. Primary

Villages,

6000 B. C.

At this date we have evidence that systems of cropping, fallowing and grazing began to have deleterious effects on the environment. The occurrence in the botanical of the edible Prosopis increasing remains from which the natural vegetation has been plant which favors a landscape 9 Agricultural removed supports this contention. techniques suggest innovations, i. e. crude stone hoes are now found for the breaking up of clods of earth. Along with farming the continuation of herding, now of both sheep and goat, is attested in the archaeological remains. The pattern of transhumance is also apparent, i. e. through herding encampments at higher altitudes in the summer and seasonal agriculture practiced by the same peoples at lower altitudes. All evidences support a detectable progress to a higher order of complexity than was evident a thousand years earlier. Populations increaseto 300 per village; new trade approximately objects, copper, turquoise appear while cultural contacts are now spread over a wider n-etwork. Important new crafts appear for the first time, 10 namely pottery and metallurgy, evidencing their technological development. Onl tL' other hand, excavations have nol: revealed unusual building complexes wlhich might inidicate a centralization of public functions or status of crafts differentiations. At this time one can see the gradual development whirchi result in a near quantum jump in the cultural processes evident in tel(' SLsucceedijng phase.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

4

Figure 2. Neolithic Architecture, on find-spon of female figure.

Figure

3.

View of Tepe

Tepe

Yahya,

ca.

Yahya and excavations,

5000 B. C. Man stands

August,

1968.

Pre-Urban

Communities,

5000 B. C.

Recent excavations at Tepe Yahya and Ali Kosh indicate the and cultural considerable changes in the general level of productivity which characterize this time period. At Tepe Yahya we have complexity of this date in uncovered the most complex of architectural constructions is now of a standardized Iran. Construction sun-dried mud-brick. We have uncovered a large building which indicates specialized functions, i. e. seventeen small, 2x2 meter, storage rooms are attached to a larger of many rooms. structure The building is still incompletely excavated. This large structure of centralized suggests the existence political control for the distribution of their surplus grains stored in special rooms. Perhaps, we have here the first evidences for a 'redistributive economy'. We have also uncovered the most extensive early fortification system in Iran, and one of the most impressive in all of southwestern Asia, i. e., a monumental 6. 5 meter wide wall of mud construction contains the village in which perhaps upwards of 750 persons live. At Ali Kosh simple systems of irrigation allowed for the cultivation of considerably more land; hexaploid wheat and six-row barley are the new principal crops. Along with sheep and goat, cattle and dog are now domesticated. and spindle whorls attest to weaving while Textiles for metallic greater evidences remains suggest the greater use of metal a greater tools, though flint continues to serve as cutting tools. Similarly, is seen in pottery degree of specialization and technological achievement are well-fired, wheel made and of various shapes production. Ceramics and functions. is evidenced by the find of a steatite achievement Aesthetic stone female figurine at Tepe Yahya. This complete and virtually undamaged in the Iran-Bastan piece of statuary (presently Museum) stands 11 inches high, is superbly carved, with complete accuracy in anatomical detail, the female attributes. one of the exaggerating This sculpture represents of the Neolithic artist in the Near East (see cover photo). great achievements Stone and clay seals with carved designs were used for impressing vessels perhaps denoting signs of individual ownership. Far reaching trade connections on a more permanent basis can now be detected in the archaeological record linking Iran with the areas of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. We have at this date all the fundamental necessities for the of urban centers; (a) the manipulation development of environment to increase productivity, irrigation, domestication, etc., (b) control of their environment's natural resources, ores and other minerals, (c) the of political and economic centralization of authority, development (d) the of a specialization beginnings of labor. Within this short sketch we have

IRANIAN STUDIES

6

covered 3000 years of Iranian prehistory; Iran both contributed to and shared in the and gathering subsistence to a developing has often been stated led to 'The Birth of well over three thousand years.

three thousand years in which which led from a hunting processes urban economy--events which it birth which took Civilization'--a

NOTES 1.

C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, 'Excavations at Tepe Yahya, 1968' Iran, 'The Neolithic at Tepe Yahya' with Richard Vol. VII, (in press), Meadow in Archaeology, (in press). See also 'Survey and Excavations in the Kerman area, ' Iran, Vol. VI, pp. 167 ff. 1967.

2.

Frank H-ole and Kent Flannery, 'Excavations Iranica Antiqua, Vol II, pp. 97-147.

at Ali Kosh,

Iran,

1961',

3. Philip E. L. Smith, 'Ganj Dareh' Iran. Vol. VI, pp. 150ff. See also in the Prehistory Philip E. L. Smith and T. C. Young, Jr. 'Research of Central Western Iran', Science, Vol. 153, No. 3734, 1966. 4. James Mellaart, Ancient History, 5. V. G. Childe,

'The Earliest Settlements 1968. (Fascicle 59).

Man Makes

6. H. E. Wright Jr., of Mesopotamia',

Himself.

'Natural Science.

7. R. Braidwood and B. Howe, Oriental Institute, University 8. C. Renfrew, Proceedings

Mentor.

in Western

1951 (First

Asia',

Cambridge

published

Environment of Early Food Production Vol. 161. pp. 334-338. 1968. Prehistoric Investigations of Chicago. 1960.

in 1936). North

in Iraqui Kurdistan.

'Obsidian and Early Cultural Contact in the Near East', of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. XXXII. 1966.

9. F. Hole in New Perspectives Binford. Aldine Publishing

in Archaeology, ed. by S. R. and L. R. Co. Chicago. 1968.

10. See R. H. Dyson, Jr. for the most recent review of Iranian prehistory in Old World Archaeology, Chronologies ed. R. W. Ehrich, University Chicago. 1965.

7

in of

WINTER 1969

THE POLITICSOF STUDENT ALIENATION: THE CASE OF IRAN1 JAMES A.

BILL

century A leading force demanding change during the mid-20th being These demands are increasingly student. has been the university as students throughout the world intensely backed by riot and rebellion Few societies, and administrations. challenge ongoing institutions or stage of economic system, political position, of geographic regardless student upheaval. of serious recent episodes have escaped development, and Czechoslovakia the United States and Mexico, France and Holland, and Turkey and Korea Japan and Vietnam, Egypt and Pakistan, Hungary, The student has outbursts of student activity. have witnessed shattering for social change and a leading catalyst for become the loudest spokesman elites everywhere now realize that Political transformation. political to they can no longer ignore student demands but must devise policies of these demands and the come to grips with them. The substance elite policy are two key factors that are shaping the direction consequent and progress of nations. During the last 25 years in Iran, students have been extremely and suppressed despite the fact that they have been supervised volatile grounds have been centers for social University efficiency. with sporadic at universities in as students have demonstrated and political opposition elite has generally and Tabriz. Although the political Tehran, Shiraz, of the rising expectations been able to control and confine student unrest, student population have built persisting young combined with an increasing and demands. pressures The Professional

Middle

Class

The power structure in Iran is in the midst of fundamental and appearance of a as the result of the development transformation of individuals middle class. 2 This new class is composed professional who rest their power position upon the skills and talents which they possess middle class is a The professional thanks to a modern education.

James A. Bill the University IRANIAN

is Assistant of Texas.

STUDIES

Professor

in the Department

8

of Government

at

non-bourgeois middle class many of whose members relate themselves to others through performance and service rather than through material wealth or family ties. The members of this class are engaged in professional, technical, cultural, and administrative intellectual, occupations and include teachers, professors, technocrats, engineers, physicians, students, writers, journalists, artists, bureaucrats, and middle-ranking army officers. of the 1956 and 1966 official censuses An analysis reveals that during these ten years the new class increased in size by over 60 percent. By the mid-1960's, over half a million employed Iranians were part of the new class. With the acceleration of reform programs and the continued growth of the educational system, there is every indication that this class will continue to burgeon. In 1956, approximately one out of every seventeen Iranians belonged to the professional middle class. Ten years later the proportion had come to be one in twelve. 3 The new middle class is composed of groups who in varying The members degrees oppose traditional socio-political of patterns. this class whose lives are oriented toward ideas ask for justice, freedom, a rational civil service, a quality educational and genuine system, and new bureaucrats The technocrats, political participation. physicians, demand less favoritism, and influence wielding which nepotism, bribery, in fact mark the dynamics of the traditional administrative The system. depth of the challenge of the professional middle class can be measured by studying recent opposition movements in Iran. Both the Tudah Party and the National Front have been organized, led, and for the most part manned by key segments of the new class. and Teachers, professors, students have played crucial roles in both movements. Although the Tadah Party and the National Front have been largely destroyed since the the signs of opposition that have continued to spurt to the mid-1950's, surface are deeply tinged by middle class coloring. On April 10, 1965, for example, an attempt was made on the Shah's life. Fourteen young men were subsequently brought to trial for complicity in what has come to be called the Marble Palace Plot. The accused individuals were all members of the professional middle class and half of them were either teachers or students. The most alienated and explosive group within the professional middle class is the student group. The students are located at the key birth point of the new class for all members of this class were at some time students. The development of modern higher education in Iran since 1920 has resulted in dramatic increases in the student population. As Table 1 indicates, the number of students rose from less than 100 in 19ZZ to 800 in 1933-34 to nearly 25, 000 in 1963-64. Today, the domestic

9

wI1.rL

1)69

as many figures must be doubled for there are approximately enrollment Iranian students in higher education abroad as there are in all of Iran. 4 with the situation of Iranian The student problem is closely intertwined Fifty percent of the population of Iran is less than 20 youth in general. percent is between the ages of 15 and 30. These Thirty-three years of age. when it is noted that the trends indicate figures become yet more significant of young people in years to come. 5 an even higher percentage 1

TABLE NUMBER

OF STUDENTS

IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN IRAN, 1922-1964 Number

Year

of Students 91

1922 1933-1934

795

1943-1944

2, 835

1953-1954

9, 996

1963-1964

24, 456

Sources: 1.

Masa' il-i Niru-yi Ministry of Labor, Barrasi-ha-yi of Manpower of the Problems Insini--Investigation 1964, III, pp. 2033, 2037. (Tehran,

2.

Iran Almanac--1962 Iran Almanac--1964-65

3.

p.

(Tehran:

Echo of Iran,

(Tehran:

1962),

Echo of Iran,

p. 303.

1965),

508.

Student Demands his demands in has been concentrating The Iranian student-youth economic, educational, sexual, family, six major problem areas: in the sense All six areas are interrelated and political. occupational,

IRANIAN

STUDIES

10

hat dlifficulties in any one of thenm nmay m-iean the sanme in any of the others. demands division ,exual may mean which parent-child (family) may lead o no money in no education and therefore no job (economic) resuLlting hence resentnment and alienation. occupation) The re are numerous political of such relationships and the one described omnbinations is very common. ['he goal here is not to present a long analysis of each problem area but -ather to pinpoint a few of the vital demands. them and to examine briefly 6 A 1966 questionnaire distributed to Tehran and National students the following Jniversity provided information the concerning 7 From and priorities of Iranian lemands students. the response, university t is evident that these students felt that the two listed problems demanding rreatest attention were and the educational inequality-injustice system. one-half of them chose the former Urdost and one-third the latter. Below are some of the important problems facing the people of this country. are different There opinions concerning of these which should be the government's main task. In your opinion, to which of these the governproblems should

ment

pay the most attention"

Select

only one. Reply Percentage

Problem the spiritual Bettering of society

and moral

Controlling

and regulating

Eliminating

inequality

Improving Planning

conditions

2

level

business

0

and injustice

46

for your family

and expanding

Raising the general level increasing educational

economic

4

development

of education opportunities

and

No reply

14 30

4

Total

11lWINTER

100

1969

Other evidence supports these findings including a survey of the contents of the more serious magazines and journals that the students read such as Firdawsi and Jahan-i Naw. The demand for equality and justice has strong political implications and student attitudes here can be seen in the popularity of such novelists as Sadiq Chubak, Ghulam Husayn Sa' idi, and 'Al lvluhammad'Afghinl. The writings of these men Xdiq Hidlyat, tend to concentrate upon the inequality and injustice suffered by the lower and middle classes in Iran. The response to this question carries with it even more extraordinary implications, however, since two of the fundamental issues for any traditional Islamic society ranked at the bottom of the students' concerns. Less than five percent of those surveyed felt that "bettering the spiritual and moral level of society" and "improving conditions for your family" were problems deserving most immediate government attention. This suggests a sharp break with tradition and reveals that the young Iranian may very well be a new man. Few areas in Iran have occasioned more criticism and less constructive activity than the system of education. The Iranian student himself becomes particularly demanding at two points during the educational period and these are at the entrance and exit points. These are two dangerous and narrowing bottlenecks and crucial junctions in the life of today's young Iranian. Late every summer, thousands of Iranian secondary school graduates gather to take the university entrance examinations. This has become a time of tremendous pressure and fearful apprehension for the youth of Iran. Table 2 indicates the approximate number of applicants who have sat for the examination in recent years and it also reveals the number who have been actually admitted into the university. According to these figures, one out the situation has been such that approximately of ten university is in fact accepted. applicants In the 1966 Pahlavi entrance examination, University only one out of every fourteen examinees was admitted. Another study has shown that less than seven percent of Iranian grammar school graduates ever get into the first year of college. An annually increasing school graduates nurnber of secondary signals the growth of the reservoir of resentment that exists here. One answer has been to build several new universities and technical-vocational but this has neither taken up much of the slack nor has it schools, 9 touched any of the important qualitative questions.

here

also

TRANIAN

Thousands of these youths in the end seek employment, they encounter acute competition and great pressures.

STUDIES

12

but

TABLE

2

ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS: NUMBER UNIVERSITY EXAMINEES AND NUMBER AND PE RCEN TAGE 1963-1966a ACCEPTED,

Year

Exeminees

University

Accepted

OF

Percent Accepted

196 3

Tehran

and Affiliatedb

13,600

2,000

14. 7

1964

Tehran

and Affiliated

18, 000

2, 000

14. 1

1965

Tehran

and Affiliated

30,000

4,700

15. 7

1966

Tehran

and Affiliated

35, 000

4, 000

11. 4

5,300

500

9. 4

4, 000

300

7. 5

7,000

500

7. 1

Arya Mehr Teachers Pahlavi

College University

rounded to the nearest hundred. aThe figures quoted are estimates and magazines. They were gathered from various Iranian newspapers bAlso

Mashhad,

Tabriz,

and Isfahan

Universities.

have warned of the dangers involved in the high Fore2most Iranian scholars Every year two-thirds of all secondary rate of unemployment among youth. and in 1965 this meant of unemployed school graduates join the masses 10 Many of these have been absorbed in the military close to 15, 000 graduates. but each year also finds large numbers of released soldiers service, of the famous Literacy One effect of the formation entering the job market. has been to take large numbers of these Corps and other such organizations off the streets and to scatter them unemployed high school graduates satirically wrote that throughout the countryside. One Iranian journalist even if Iranian youth had political parties, heroin, and gambling, it would not be a bad idea if they could also find employment. He quoted former

13

WINTER

1969

as saying: "What are these people going to do of Labor Khusruvnil Minister "Il Some have done just Kill themselves? because they cannot find work? in a multitude of other ways, their frustration that while others have released point in the formal education acute pressure Another particularly and the graduate of youth occurs after the schooling has been completed The most serious facet of this situation must search for a place in society. in a great deal of attention (but little analysis) and one which has received elite has The political the Iranian educated abroad. recent years concerns to the need to convince their educated young people to become very sensitive have spoken to this point many The Shah and recent Prime Ministers return. of losing scarce skills and talent. times stressing the serious implications has prepared to return, the Iranian government In urging the graduates financial and offered many attractive movies, published special magazines, 2 It is not accidental that it was an Iranian and occupational inducements. United Nations Special Fund study of the who directed the highly publicized " Nearly 30, 000 Iranians are now studying abroad and in 1966 "brain-drain. to study in the United States seeking assistance alone 18, 000 young Iranians Friends of the Middle East in Tehran. filed through the office of the American that Iran is losing close to 1, 000 educated Iranians per year It is estimated in and that 900 and 600 Iranian doctors are practicing to foreign countries New York and Munich respectively. to return reluctance This exodus of young Iran and the subsequent a much deeper problem than can be explained away in terms of the indicates Once afforded by the West. inducements great financial-vocational-industrial the most Iranian who often becomes it is the foreign-educated returned, and difficulties the returned The struggles alienated member of his class. R1habnamah can be seen in such literary works as Jamalzadah's Iranian witnesses Identity Card (1966). It may be recalled that Sddiq (1948) and Esfandiary's after returning wrote his Buf-i Kur (The Blind Owl) in the mid-1930's Hidiyat is traceable Much of the frustration to Iran from his first trip to Europe. and influence patterns of personalism of readjusting to traditional to problems difficulties. and ideological political, wielding as well as to employment, and salaries. Many also return to Iran expecting only the highest positions posts in the system. This type of returnee often feels he is entitled to influential the only serious study of the educated Iranian returnee In 1963-1964, study based of UNESCO. This extensive was carried out under the auspices educated in the United on a preliminary sample of 1, 174 graduate returnees studies of and England was accompanied by identical France, States, and In the end, 253 subjects were selected Egyptian and Indian returnees. 13 Nine are revealing. the tabulated results of the interview-questionnaire were "happy to be home again. " With percent of the Iranian returnees

IRANIAN

STUDIES

14

respect to employment, 6 and 14 percent of Egyptian and Indian returnees "difficulties in finding a job. " In Iran, the figure was 31 experienced felt that they needed percent. Ninety-eight percent of the Iranian returnees field in terms of placement and working assistance in their professional of the same mind counted 75 and conditions. * Egyptian and Indian returnees 57 percent. Seventy-six percent of the Egyptian returnees surveyed felt that they could utilize their foreign training "to a great extent" on their The Indian and Iranian figures were 48 and 36 percent present job. re spe ctively. In the socio-political realm, the and produced instructive results. Many Egyptian or Indian feel that their country the West values and ideas of "individual surveyed indicate the same with regard " schemes.

survey raised the following question more Iranian returnees than either would do well to introduce from freedom and rights. " The groups to "social welfare and security

and ideas In your opinion, what institutions, ways of living, values, it would be valuable to your former host country do you consider introduce into your home country?

of

Percent for Each Home Country

answer No specified Education system Attitudes toward world Social welfare and security of state Reorganization Administration/government procedure Women's rights Family life and child rearing Leisure time activities Individual freedom and rights national character Emphasizing Others

The fact that Iranians readjustment may say things

E gypt

India

I ran

5 18 42 27 17 9 24 18 6 53 31

10 51 32 27 1 0 2 4 lz 15 1

3 Z3 55 48 10 17 10 4 7 7 33

seem to have special about both the Iranian

15

problems of system and the personality

WINTER

1969

In this vein, it is relevant of the returning intelligentsia. and alienation felt that the UNESCO study shows that 61 percent of the Iranian returnees Only 30 percent that they had changed "to a great extent" while abroad. of the Indians and 38 percent of the Egyptians felt the same way. It is for to thi s young journalist has referred this reason perhaps that a perceptive as "the uprooted. 'I 14 In some cases the resulting part of the intelligentsia roots; in many cases it has led to dramatic has had political frustration In acts; and in all cases it has had strong political implications. political what returning has described the following way, a Western-educatedAsian by Iranian returnees. ceaselessly Her words are re-echoed home has meant. Underneath are souls. split, two-layered We acquire, and repulsions taboos and compulsions, deep emotions, Above, a glut of glib words, and dark. loves unexplained of in the presence whose meaning disappears theories and acknowledged limitless want, ideas intellectually behavior rational but suddenly important, emotionally forgotten when the sea begins to roar ... For It is not easy to cut out great pieces of oneself. the West had done, some of us had loved it for whatever frail and hard to handlf reality, one thing: that delicate liberty.... gentle, and strong in tenderness--spiritual Thus, two of the demands that young Iran voices in the area of education are the right to acquire that education as well as the right to are this has occasioned and struggles use it. Some of the implications other demands that innurnerable There are, of course, analyzed above. period itself and one of these will be are made during the educational closer to the This moves the focus of concentration discussed next. a certain freedom to organize. system and concerns political the youth of Iran have few organizations Despite their many efforts, and supervised of their own. Since 1954, student groups have been closely and there are no open youth groups by the government tightly controlled The and permission. investigation formed without Security Organization manner in which student affairs have been handled in Iran has increasingly In 1967, there were 33 to student apathy and resentment. contributed that dealt with affairs of youth and, with the possible Iranian organizations they were all societies, of three minority-religious-ethnic exception on youth On April 22, 1967, a special committee highly ineffective. with the Ministry of Labor and the Prime Ministry met affiliated problems centered discussion At this meeting, to analyze the general situation. It was all the various youth organizations. upon the need to coordinate

IRANIAN

STUDIES

16

also proposed that a different environment be created for the youth of in which democracy Iran--one would be stressed as the prime value. This group concluded its meeting by asking for two and one-half billion rials to begin needed programs in the area of student and recreational organization. The youth themselves have all but boycotted the existing government A summer 1966 survey of 400 university organizations. students and secondary school seniors revealed that 88 percent of them did not belong to any youth organization and of the few who did one-half named the Iran American Society. Three out of the 400 were members of the major Youth Guidance Organization. government-sponsored youth group--the the administration Concerning of youth organizations, 87 percent demanded that youth itself be in charge while 4 percent favored government administration.17 While this very survey was being carried out, the government took what was called a major step in meeting the demands of youth. An elaborate "Youth Palace" was built and offered olympic-sized and heated swimming and diving pools, a 250-seat theatre, air-conditioning, and exquisite marbled architecture. The location of this palace is north of Tehran significantly at the site of the former Security Organization Club. the members Theoretically, themselves are supposed to direct theorganization, but manystudents consider several of the supervisor3 as security police agents. 18 One student of lower-middle class background described it as "a luxurious haven in the midst of nothing filled with government agents inviting us to come in. " The Youth Palace is generally as viewed belonging to the sons and daughters of the upper class elite anyway. The situation of university student organizations is even more for with the exception of the tiny Abadan Institute of Technology, barren, there has been no Iranian institute of higher learning that has had a student council or government. There is only one student organization found in most Iranian schools and that is the closely supervised Anjuman-i Islim (Islamic Society). The Tehran-National University Survey indicated that close to 90 percent of the respondents considered "university student governrnent" a valuable need. A recent attempt to establish a student council occurred at Pahlavi University when the administration suddenly appointed a student representative. Student protest reached such a state that the administration consented to elections for a student organization. Twenty-two representatives were elected and in less than six months all had resigned. They had believed they were to represent the student body, but the administration considered these representatives as their own. The students have not only been demanding organizations and associations but also they want groups in which they and not the government

17

WINTER

1969

The governrlment's long record of failure and provide the direction. the problemi. in this area has only served to aggravate inefficiency above, it is possible to recognize From what has been presented that exist in the student ranks. tensions and relations certain group-class Survey produced somlle University the Tehran-National In term--s of class, one can gain an insight From the following figures, results. interesting into the attitudes of the Iranian student toward other groups and classes. The question posed was as follows. If a person who fornms part of the groups indicated below occupied would what degree of confidence a high position in government, of the nation above those you have that he would place the interests of his private interests? Answers

in Percent

None

No Answer

Much

Some

Little

Businessmen

4

24

30

20

22

Union Leaders

12

34

24

10

Z0

6

28

22

22

22

8

28

30

8

26

Leaders

Religious Workers Large

Industrialists

8

22

26

22

22

Large

Landowners

6

14

24

34

22

4

28

22

22

24

64

8

8

0

20

The Military Professionals

strong trust These figures show that the students place a relatively in light of the deep distrust and This is quite remarkable in their own class. most After the professionals, Iranian youth. that characterize cynicism is placed in the workers and union leaders while least is placed confidence 19 From this, and large industrialists. businessmen, in large landowners, that the university students place much it can very plausibly be hypothesized than they do in the upper. To a question more trust in the lower classes

IRANIAN

STUDIES

18

' 46 percent raised about thc struggle between employers and workers. replied that, in general, they thought that the workers are right while six the em-iployers right. percent considered

One-third of these students (lid not see any chance that social classes couldl get along at all together. Over 40 percent believed that social classes will always exist in Iran, while another 35 percent saw them disappearing only when the political system changes. It is clear that the students are very much aware of class realities and that they have in the Iranian upper class. very little confidence Even among themselves there is important tension based upon differences of social class origin and this affects them in nmany ways. It is the offspring of the lower and middle classes who suffer the most at the time of entrance examinations described above. These are the ones whose parents cannot for the most part afford to send thenm abroad and therefore they must either succeed in the Iranian entrance exanminations or forego a higher education. It can also be proposed that the great majority of university students in Iran are of lower and especially middle class background. Of the students of upper-middle and upper class origin studying in Iran, most are at National University where tuition charges are relatively high. Among privately supported students abroad whose families the lower-middle represent and middle class, some 50 percent do not return to Iran where, because of limited family connections, they face "20 and a consequent "meagre work prospects inability to better themselves. Similar students of upper class origin return at a much higher rate estimated to be 75 percent. whatever organization Finally, and activity that does exist for young Iran exists for those youths of upper class origin. 'Ihe elite here is called in Tehran the "jet-set" and they have their own clubs, and cars. clothes, The Youth Palaces that are built are by their very titles and nature off limits to the youth of lower and middle class background. Iranian students do view themselves as menmbers of a new middle class and they are in many ways inore distant from the existing upper class than fromn the lower. Yet, there are still differences and tensions among them traceable to their social origins. It is the youth of lower and middle class origin who are most alienated because they are losing the most. In was such an individual who assassinated Prime Minister Mansur in January 1965 and it was also such a youth who attenmpted to assassinate the Shah that sanme year.

Student Alienation The alienation

of the Iranian

student 19

can be seen,

for example, WINTER

in 1969

the case of educated young journalist-writer R. I'timadi who wrote a novel depicting the agony of the younger generation. Students purchased the book, appropriately titled Sakin-i Mahallah-yi Gham (Resident of the District of in such numbers that two editions were sold out almost immediately Sorrow), The third edition was confiscated and the author brought to the Criminal Court for "promoting a philosophy which encourages Iranian youth to rebel against the established social and moral norms. " In general, the young people of Iran have become more and more with opium, heroin, and alcohol and the suicide rate among preoccupied Iranian youth is alarmingly high. 21 The Iranian youth himself speaks of a and even coins colloquialisms great loneliness, and insecurity emptiness, to describe this experience. he means When he says he is hapalihapaw, that the ground is constantly shifting beneath him and that there is nothing he can grasp to keep himself from falling. Much of the difficulty is the overwhelming force and challenge of change and this too has helped twist and alienate him. The following analysis of Iranian youth indicates the relationship between these forces of change and the depth of alienation he feels. These are personal impressions recorded in 1966 after a series of discussions with Iranian student friends. There are more and more parties taking place in urban A short time ago this did not exist for the young. Iran. Now they exist but have little meaning. Such activities and recreation are only being imitated. The young do not understand the philosophy behind such pastimes. They just dress up and go. This reflects the shallowness and emptiness in the lives of the young people. They battle their conservative families to do things they themselves do not understand. As such, the present generation is the battered victim of change. They are the living wedge of shock troops that are being mangled by a situation that has exploded upon them. The forces of yesterday give ground grudgingly. But even when the forces of yesterday become more pliable and openminded, the battle has still only begun. Change that is aimless and baseless must be given meaning and anchored in the world in which it takes place. What good are new clothes and styles if there is no place to go? What good are places to go if that is all they are? Why imitate surfaces without understanding substances? Why destroy without building? Yet, who can be dynamic, and constructive inventive, in a system where problems of farmily, sex, money,

IRANIAN

STUDIES

20

education, and employment sap one's every energy? The battering that the young Iranian absorbs from such fundamental problems takes its effect upon him. He is lost, and cynical. distrustful, He is a young man insecure, He and an old man. But tomorrow the real task begins. must lead Iran. His training ground has been a slippery one but he has survived. In so doing, however, the young Iranian has often blunted the tools of initiative, optimism, so necessary and creativity to the tasks now at hand. 2Z

Political-Elite

Policy

The entire subject of youth and student problems has had severe and much of the resentment continues to flow ideo-political implications in this direction. The policy of the political elite in responding to this situation will have an important effect not only upon the future direction this alienated group takes but also upon the future of Iran. As was briefly indicated in the discussion of youth organization, has contributed to making a bad situation the a pproach of the government worse. The major reason has been that the elite has decided to infiltrate the ranks of Iranian youth in order that it may both observe their activities and control them as well. The universities are a case in point. After 1955 (Azar 16) when three students were shot to death on the government the Tehran University campus, promised that troops would never again enter university The students came to trust grounds. this immunity and such was the situation until January 1962 (I Bahman 1340) during the stormy days of Am'`ni's premiership. In a surprise attack that acrossthe day, the commandosmoved university grounds destroying property and beating some students. the Security Organization Following this episode, The government now adopts a hard line openly moved into the universities. toward the students although techniques to university. vary from university At Tehran University the method has been force and open intimidation. At Pahlavi University the method has been bribery in the form of scholarships. At the Abadan Institute of Technology an entire class was dismissed. Besides this, there are several hundred students who are in the employ of the These are the "professionals" Security Organization. who frequent the government-sponsored youth organizations and who march and demonstrate in the streets on pro- regime holidays. In attempting to harness the students of Iran to the present system, one university dean suggested that the government form a "white guard" rrade up of students and then relate it to the Shah's "white revolution. " Combined with this force and bribery, there

21

WINTER 1969

has been a genuine effort to better the situation of youth in certain areas. the need to Huvayda have em?hasized Both the Shah and Prime Minister the In this sense, realms. assist the Iranian student in many critical pressures has been meant to relieve some of the recreational Youth Palace plans, and budgets to assist in other ways. and the various committees, Iranian vis-a-vis policy of the government This three-pronged has concessioni, and selected bribery, i. e., intimidation, students, in some degree to quiet the students down. It has not succeeded succeeded Thus, there their opposition nor can it build commitment. in diminishing Nor is there even any above. presented is the picture of alienation calm. guarantee that the present policy will continue to keep the universities or misdirected of pressure relaxation Whenever there has been the slightest at demonstrations The little-publicized bribery the students have exploded. in Spring 1967 and again in 1968 are Tabriz, and Tehran Universities Pahlavi, elite as well as Iran needs the The Iranian political a case in point. It is getting neither and as a result commitment and support of its youth. Dr. Mahmud Sana'i: was recently warned by leading psychologist of this country does not The future of the youngsters concern bridges and roads and asphalt which if cheated loss and can be rebuilt with on only involve a material of this If the life of the young generation new capital. country is lost it is not obtainable again. coercive Student power in Iran does not rest upon organization, It rests instead upon human position. or political and economic abilities, elite The Iranian political skills and talent. comrnmitment and intellectual to implement and skill it is impossible that without this commitment realizes the Yet, the elite also recognizes programs. developmental successful power patterns fact that student power is directed against the traditional which form the roots of its own support. 2 to concessions Fundamental and administration, justice, student demands in the areas of education, of the elite itself. politics would undercut the position of many members have attempted to adopt a middle course by The present decision-makers When such as land reform and industrialization. introducing programs The and repression is introduced. coercion this fails, a policy of selective as this policy can only increase one, however, dilemma is an uncomfortable of the participathe availability student resentment. This, in turn, lessens for modernization. of young Iran which is indispensable tion and dedication

IRANTAN STUDIES

22

NOTES 1. The research resulting in this study was carried out in Iran between 1965-1967 under a fellowship granted by the Foreign Area Fellowship in this article, are those of the The conclusions Program. however, author and not necessarily those of the Fellowship Program. of the important Iranian middle class was 2. An early analysis introduced by T. Cuyler Young in "The Social Support of Current Iranian Policy, " Middle East Journal, VI (Spring, 1952), 128-143. In 1963, we called of the professional special attention to the significance intelligentsia in Iran. See J. A. Bill, "The Social and Econoinic of Power Foundations in Contemporary Middle East Journal, XVII (Autumn, 1963), Iran, 400-418. For a more extensive study of this new middle class and its role in Middle Eastern politics, see Manfred Halpern, The Politics of Social Change in the Midclle East and North Africa (Princeton: Princeton University IPress, 1963), pp. 51-78. Several interesting of the analyses professional middle class by Iranian scholars hiave been printed in recent issues of the Persian joturnals, Jahan-i Naw and Masa il-i I rin. 3. These figures have been calculated on the basis of statistics drawn from the two official Iranian censuses. See Ministry of Interior, National and Province Statistics of the First Census of Iran: November 1956, II, pp. 309-310; and P-lan Organization, National Census of Population and November Housing: Bulletin No. 3, p. 35. 1966, Advance Sample, 4. Mohammad Borhanmanesh. "A Study of Iranian Students Southern California' (unpublished Ed. D. dissertation, University of at Los Angeles, California 1965), p. 1. 5. Investigation

in

Ministry of Labor, Barras;-hi-yi Masa' il-i N-iru-yi Insani-of the Problems of Manpower (Tehran, 1964, I, pp. 567-570.

6. In hiis book, Javdni-yi Purran j (Suffering Youth), Iranian psychologist Dr. Nlsir al-Din Sahib al-Zaminf lists and discusses sixteen that plague Iranian youth: problems problems of work, education, independent study, recreation, acceptance and recognition, sex, mate-selectior and divorce, military service, generation conflict, togetherness without understanding, value conflicts, disharmony between home and school, too little or too much independence, lack of guidance and leadership, fear of rivals, and lack of social ideals. study is the most $dhib al-Zamdni's serious analysis of the situation of Iranian youth. The study is well research and well documented. JavanI-yi Purranj (Tehran, 1965), pp. 22-23.

23

WINTER

1969

7. The original questionnaire and administered Lipset and translated be referred This survey will hereafter Survey. 8.

pjiib

al-Zamnanl,

was drawn up by Seymour Martin by a trained Iranian social scientist. University to as the Tehran-National

Javani-yi

Purranj,

p. 60.

Report to the Third "Introductory 9. The Plan Organizations's Plan" indicates that in 1960 less than four percent of all students Educational has been slightly This percentage schools. were enrolled in vocational increa sing. 10. 11. Khvindanihi,

tIlhib al-Zamini, Khusraw 27th yr.,

Javani-yi

Purranj,

p. 33.

Shahani, "The Pain of Youth and Its Cure," p. 18. No. 4 (5 Mihr 1345/1966),

movie is Majid 12. An example of one such widely distributed Swallows "Parastau-hai bi-lainah-ha- shan bar migardand-The Muhsini's Muhsini has been a deputy to the 21st and 22nd Return to Their Nests.: and has traveled to Europe to try to convince Iranian students to Majlises Office began putting out a In 1966, the Prirne Minister's return. it to literary magazine entitled Talash and has distributed high-quality Iranians throughout the world. 13. The mnanwho directed the Iran study was Dr. Morteza of the Institute of Social Studies and Research of Tehran Nassefat were drawn of the following two paragraphs The statistics University. "Les Situation des Etudiants Iraniens a l'Etranger from his manuscript entre lIran et Leurs et Leur Role dans l1Echange des Valuers Culturelles Pays Hotes" (Tehran, 1965) and from United Nations document UNESCO/ 1964. The sample was selected Rev. -PRIO, Oslo, November, SS/COM/5 with regard to age, date of return, country of study, branch of study, level of education, type of student (scholarship), abroad, period of residence returned between 1955 and 1962 and had been All those questioned and sex. In the Egyptian and England, or the United States. studying in France, the host countries were Germany, England, and the Indian surveys, one and the Iranian The study itself is a very scholarly United States. well done. section is particularly 14.

See Alfred

1963.

IRANIAN STUDIES

Bakhash,

Kayhan International,

February

27,

15. Han Suyin, A N any-Splendored Thing Brown (Boston: Little, and Company, of Nationalism Mostofi, Aspocts 195Z), quotedt in Khosrow of Utah Research (Salt Lake City: University No. Monograph 3, 1964), p. 45. 16.

Masas

Personal

copy

of the

m--inutes

of the

April

1Q67 meeting.

17. 'Abdl al-Husayn and Iftikhar Nafisi Tabataba' il va Mushkilat-i va Danishamuz-i Javanan-i Danishju

An Examination and University

of the Problems Stucdents (Tehran:

i,

and Difficulties of Tehran Plan Organization, 1966).

Barrasi-yi Tihran-

Secondary

18, In a personal the Prime iinterview, Mlinister vigorously denied this. 'There are probably few such agents in the Youth Palace, but it inmmediately inherited this reputation as its predecessor, the Youth Guidance was well staffad Organization, with such agents. To counter the the Youth Palace criticizn)that to a privileged belongs few, Iranian have recently authorities established a dozen more youth centers throughout the country. It is also important to note that a conscious effort is being made to separate Palace theYouth from formal organization government affiliation.

sampled

19. This is particularly interesting wxere of lowxer class origin.

since

only

1/6

of the

students

HabTib NafTs-i, 20. "The Brain-Drain: The Case of Iranian " Paper Presented at the Annual Non-Returnees, of the Conference for International Society New York, Development, March 17, 1966, p.

7.

There 21. are many relevant but their statistics is reliability questionable. It canl be said with reasonable certainty though that 75 percent of the suicides in Iran are committed by young people between the ages of 15 and 30. In the early 1960's, there were half a imillion reported cases of opium addiction in Iran. Heroin is the near-monopoly of young people in Iran while opium is more common among the older generation. See SIhib al-Zamani, JavanE-yi Purranj, pp. 203-204. 22.

Personal

Interviews,

March

1966.

Prime 23. Minister Huvayda has been the problems of youth and, with the Shah's support, effort to understand and meet student demands.

25

especially he has

sensitive to nmade a great

WINTER 1969

24. (Shahrivar

1,

"New

Plan

1341/1962),

for p.

the 77.

Organization

of Schools,

"

Sukhan

For a detailed of the traditional 25. analysis patterns power of Infornial The Case see J.A. "The Plasticity Politics: Bill, in Iran, " of at the U. C. L. A. --Society for Delivery Paper of Iran, Prtepared on the Structure of Power in Islanmic Iran, Iranian Studies Conference 196'). June 26-28, Los Angeles, California,

IRANIAN STUDIES

THE TURKMEN OF IRAN: A BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT1 WILLIAM IRONS The Turkmen inhabit a portion of the Central Asian steppe extending east from the Caspian Sea to the Amu Darya, a region divided The and the Soviet Union. Afghanistan, among three countries--Iran, central part of this area is the Kara Kum, or "black sand, " a vast, largely in two The majority of the Turkmen are concentrated uninhabited desert. somewhat more fertile regions bordering the Kara Kum. One area consists of the banks of the Amu Darya; the other is a long strip of plains and low mountains, lying south of the Kara Kum and separating it from the Iranian The Turkmen number about a million and a half, Plateau (see Map below).

AREASHOWN ON MAP

7

Khiva .

_ GOR.AN..

~tAN

Teheran eTeheran

9

Bukhara

KARA KUM IA

AT

Ashkhabad

Meshed Meshed

eMer

USS

area indicates ~~~~~~Shaded

the region in which the majority at the Turkmen are concentrated. oHerat

IRANIAN PLATEAU

William Irons, a doctoral candidate in Anthropology will be joining Johns Hopkins University Michigan, of Social Relations. Professor 27

of at the University this year as Assistant

WINTER 1969

with approximately a million living in the Soviet of a million each in Iran and Afghanistan.

Union,

and rouLghly a quarter

UIntil a century ago the overwhelming majority of the Turkmen were nomads free of effective control by any sedentary state, and their nomadism was crucial in preserving their freedom from such control. The devotion of these people to a migratory way of life can be understood only in historic perspective. The Turkmen are by tradition a pastoral people, and for them nomadism is a way of using sparse and seasonably variable pastuLre for livestock production. But it was, in the past, something more: a means of resisting firm government control. Such resistance was a consciously maintained tradition amonig the Turkmen, and nomadism was the chief means to this end. to resist the power of sedentary states grew Their eagerness out of an understanding of what government corntrol meant to settled people. In the harsh social enivironment of the traditional Middle East and Central Asia, settled people were frequently exploited thiough the imposition of heavy taxes and rents. The Turkmen not only avoided such exploitation, but by raiding and collecting tribute from their sedentary neighbors, they went a step further and put themselves in the positioin of the exploiter. A century ago they were notorious as birigands arid especially as slave raiders. SlaviTng activities were conduchte d primarily in northeastern Iran, where Turkmen raiding parties made a practice of ambushing caravans ol attacking villages, and then retreating quickly with their captives to 2 Turkmeni horses are a breed outstanding for their their own territory. endutance, their ability to cover long distances of up to a hundred and fifty miles in a minimum of time, an ability which was especially ulseful in this sort of slave raidinig. The prisoners brought back by raiditng parties met one of three} fates. Those of wealth were often held for ransom. When there was no hope of ransom, captives could be sent by caravan across the Kara Kum to the slave markets in the Central Asian cities of Khiva, Bokhara, or Merv. Others were sold to members of their own tribe. The descendants of the latter group today form a distinct and socially iniferior group among the Turkmen. Today the situationi of the Turkmen contrasts sharply with that of a century ago. Now all have accepted the authority of one of three governments--Iran, the Soviet UJnioni, or Afghanistan--and the majority are sedentary. of state control and sedentarization Acceptance have tended to alter the traditional the way of life of the Tturkmen. However, establishment of firm administration and conversion to settled life were

IRANIAN

STUDIES

28

accomplished piecemeal, affecting some areas sooner than others. In a few arid and thinly populated regions the Turkmen have remained nomadic, and among these nomads tradition is largely intact. My own research was concerned primarily with the traditional social structure of the Turkmen and, for that reason, when I began my study in the winter of 1965, I decided to concentrate on those Turkmen who have remained nomadic. This research was cQnducted in the Gokcha Hills, 3 a patch of low hills protruding into the Gorgan Plain of northern Iran. The Turkmen that I studied belong to the Yomut descent group, one of two large descent groups represented by a substantial population in Iran. The other descent group vell represented in Iran is the Goklan who live to the east of the Yomut. The following is a brief summary of the way of life of the nomads I studied. Ecology

and Economy

All nomadic Turkmen are divided into residential groups known as obas, and my research was focused on a single oba consisting of sixty-one households. An oba is associated with a definite territory, and all of its members share common rights over that territory, including the right to use the pastures and any natural source of water there. All have the right to dig wells, but once such wells have been dug they become the private property of the persons who expended their labor in digging them. Similarly, all may plow up virgin land for cultivation, but once someone plows a section it becomes his private property. Naturally the Iranian government has different notions about the ownership of land, but in the Gokcha Hills, where land has little value, access to land is regulated for the most part by traditional Turkmen concepts.

Throughout the year the nomads of the Gokcha Hills live in yurts, a Central Asian tent, which consists of a hemispherical wooden frame covered with felt. They make their living primarily by raising sheep and goats, and their pattern of migration is largely determined by the needs of their animals and by variations in pasture and water supply. The climate of the Gorgan Plain is characterized by definite wet and dry seasons. The wet season begins in the winter, and during this season the Gokcha Hills and surrounding steppe are covered with a short, but relatively thick, crop of grass giving the appearance of a vast, freshly mowed lawn. Winter temperatures are mild, rarely dipping below the freezing point. Rain water, as well as occasional melted snow, collects in scattered depressions to form pools from which water is taken for household needs. During this season, the nomads camp where water and suitable pasture can be found. Ample pasture is usually available

29

WINTER 1969

close to their dry-season location, so that most of their migrations are quite short. In this respect, they differ considerably from many of the pastoral peoples in and around the Iranian Plateau who make long seasonal moves ranging over vastly differing ecological zones. Am.ong the from the movements alternately collect while the livestock thirty miles to the the Turkmen camp

Turkmen, the seasonal of camps differ migrations of livestock. The nomad camps of the Gokcha Hills at wells and disperse over the surrounding territory, move between the Gokcha Hills and the Gorgan River, south, thus covering a larger area. This means that near their herds only during a portion of the year.

The reason for this lies in the needs of their livestock. During the latter part of the winter, the lambing season begins and the Turkmen must be near their herds to assist in cases of difficult birth and to care for the lambs, which are kept inside the yurts at night to protect them from the cold. Because the lambs are too weak to travel far, they must be pastured near the camp. Even after the young animals are weaned, the adult females must be milked daily, and for this reason, the nomads still keep the livestock near their camp. With the onset of summer, the dry season begins, and the green of spring are gradually transformed pastures to a barren brown. The rain water pools disappear, anid now the nomads must camp near their wells. When the pastures become sparse and desiccated, the animals stop giving milk, and it is no longer necessary to keep them nearby. They are then sent south to the banks of the Gorgan River, where they graze the stubble of harvested fields. The younger men of each household accompany their family's livestock and live separately from the rest of the household, with only a small lean-to-like tent for shelter. This division of labor is possible because herding, as well as other forms of economic production, is organized by extended families, of consisting an older man and his wife, his married sons with their wives and and his unmarried sons and daughters. children, the nomads of the Gokeha Hills Although predominantly pastoral, as high-risk devote a little of their time to what can be described agriculture. wheat and barley are planted during In hope of a late spring harvest, the winter in valley bottoms ox other depressions where water tends to anid a crop fails to develop. collect. As often as not, rainfall is insufficient in those years in which a crop can be harvested, the yield However, is sufficient to make up for the losses of grain put down as seed in bad years.

IRANIAN STUDIES

30

The economy of the nomadic Turkmen is strongly oriented to urban markets. Each family produces only a part of what it consumes: milk and milk products, meat, felts and carpets for their yurts, and a small amount of grain. The rest of their needs must be purchased. Cash income comes from the sale of wool, felts, carpets, and animals The basic item in their diet is bread, and they purchase the for meat. bulk of the wheat from which the bread is made. Rice, tea, and sugar must all be bought. Clothing, cloth, metal tools, and nowadays, a hand-powered sewing machine and a transistor radio, are other items that a typical nomadic Turkmen family buys. About once a month, two or three men from each oba travel to the nearest city to purchase supplies and to sell their products: animals, wool, and carpets. Social

Structure

The organization of the extended family reflects a strong emphasis on descent in the male line, which runs through all Turkmen social institutions, When a man's daughters marry, they go to live with their husbands' fanmilies, whereas his sons bring their wives into his household, where they assume the dual role of wife and daughter-in-law. A man's grandchildren in the male line grow up in his household, and he commonly refers to them as his "sons" and "daughters. " When, with the passing of generations, his grandsons become old men and the heads of extended families of their own, they will camp together and co-operation between them will be extensive. If any one of them is offended by an outsider, the group will band together to seek redress. Small patrilineages of this sort provide the model in terms of which the larger political units of the Turkmen society are organized. The older men, who make the important decisions, know their genealogies well. Each of them can, on the basis of his genealogy, identify a group of people who share with himi a common ancestor in the male line four generations back, and a slightly larger group of people descended from a common ancestor five generations back, and so on, until he has identified himself with descent groups including thousands of families. all Turkmen believe they are united by their Ultimately as the descendants of a single man, Oghuz Khan. 5 Although genealogies the remoter generations of these genealogies are vague and legendary in character, this is of no practical importance since the Turkmen take them seriously as a basis of arranging their social obligations.

31

WINTER

1969

Traditionally, the primary function of these descent groups was defense of the individual's rights through violence, or the threat of violence. Defending one's patrilineal kinsmen when their rights were violated was a basic duty in Turkmen social life. This was extremely important, because the absence of state control and of tribal offices with sufficient authority to enforce law and order meant that the strength of a Turkmen's patrilineage was the only guarantee of his rights. When someone violated a Turkmen's rights by robbing him, injuring him, or killing him, his patrilineal kinsmen were obligated to seek redress by whatever means was necessary. In cases of murder, for example, either the murderer or one of his lineage-mates was killed in revenge. Who sought redress for the victim and who defended the culprit were matters determined by genealogy and by the gravity of the affair. Small problems could be handled by the immediate families of the victim and the culprit. As matters increased in seriousness, a wider and wider circle of people who shared common patrilineal descent were called upon for assistance. Those who were, on the basis of their genealogy, close to neither party also had a prescribed role. It was their obligation to attempt to bring about a peaceful settlement and, if possible, to prevent bloodshed. If the offense was slight, they merely advocated peaceful discussion and suggested compromise. In cases of murder, the neutral parties aided the culprit by hiding him from the victim's kinsmen and by helping to arrange his escape to some distant place of refuge. Protecting those who came seeking refuge was part of the obligation of neutral parties to prevent bloodshed. The Iranian government has been attempting to eliminate this traditional system of self-help and to enforce law and order itself; in remoter areas, however, it has not always been successful. The composition of Turkmen obas, like many other aspects of Turkmen social structure, reflects the importance of patrilineal descent. Most of the men of any oba are closely related in the male line; in addition, there are usually a number of unrelated families who have come to the oba fleeing feuds in their home territory. While these refugees reside there, the oba will protect their rights of person and property against outsiders. The men of an oba traditionally selected a headman, who took charge of all dealings with the outside world. Today, in theory, he is appointed by the government, but in practice the local officials usually

IRANIAN STUDIES

32

allow the men of the oba to indicate the man they wanit as their headman. Tre headman has no authority, but mernely acts as spokes-man for the Any important decisioni must be based on conisensus; oba as a whole. Ustually a by all the men of the oba. it mtust be preceded by (iscussion and itntegrity and for his ability for his intelligence headman is selected with whom he officials to speak Persian, the language of the government must deal. Orditnarily a group of fifteen to thirty obas, which belong to the same descent grouip anid occupy contigiuous tracts of lanld, form what the as tribe. In the days of Turkmeni call atn il, a word best translated the obas of sUCh a tribe wer'e usuially on1 peaceful intertribal warfare, and Tribes that adjoined were usuially hostile, terms with one another. there was much raiding between them. One of the functions of the Turkmen tribe that has not survived sedentary control is the practice of protecting neighboring government vulnerable to the raids of the These villages were (specially villages. and to gain a measure of security and protection each village Turkmen, paid tribute to the Tur kmern tribe nearest it. In returni, the tribe and to prevent raids by other Turkmen agreed not to raid the village, if they the village for losses They also agreebd to compensate tribes. In effect, the raids by othler tribes. were unsuccessful in preventing for raiding. exchange of protection for tribtute was a peaceful substitute The Role of Nomadism

in Turkmen

Life

control, to raid, The Turkmen were able to resist government and to collect tribute because their nomadic way of life made them an atnd were well They were good horsemen military force. effective Raids, both of sedetntary villages and of other supplied with horses. nomads, were frequent events and provided the Turkmen with excellent When clashes with the Persiani military forces militarv conditioning. normally hostile tribes would unite to turn out a large body occurred, of cavalry. cavalry could usually hold its ground against This seasoned the Tuirkmen but even when met by superior strength, the Persian forces, Instead, they would retreat into the desert north of did not surrender. with them. the Gorgan River, taking their families and livestock Thus, mobility Turkmen; this was why it. Much compromise fertile and was crossed

the power and independence of the preserved avoided anything that would they consistently they inhabited was niaturally of the territory of The construction by numerous streams.

33

WINTER 1969

could have made agriculture works and the practice of intensive irrigation houses at their' dry-seasorn locations Permanent this land more productive. would not The Turkmeni, however, their comfort. could have increased instead on They concentrated accept such trends away from nomadic life. of tribute. on raiding, and on the collection production, livestock of the Turkmen the political independence During the last century, have Advances in military technology has gradually been whittled away. shiftedi the balarnce of power between the nomadic tribes and settled society Most of powers. and have led to the conquest of the nomads by sedentary duiring the latter half of the the Turkmen were conquered by the Russians nineteenth centuLry. Those on Iranian soil were subdued and brought uirider firm control in 1925. 6 a has been to encourage of conquering govenments The objective Such a transition, and peaceful way of life. to a more sedentary transition The nomads viewed at once. could rarely be accomplishedl however, of govei-nmental authority over them, and as a consolidation settlement in the thirties For this reason, were niot eager to take up sedenitary life. not only of the began a policy of forced settlement the Iranian government The nomads I studied had been but of all of the Iranian tribes. Turkmen, in 1936. For locations forced to build permanent houses at their dry-season they lived authorities, under the watchful eyes of government five years, in these houses during the dry season and migrated with their yurts only life developed naturally This form of semisedentary during the wet season. camps. out of their pattern of pasturing sheep away from theii' dry-season is revealing. The nomads had That it caused no economic difficulties rather than for for political mobile existence maintaine>d a completely to a semisedentary could be existence and a transition reasons, economic made without economic difficulty. In 1941, Russia occupied northern Iran because it was fearful of was with the Germanis, and the process of settlement Iranian co-operation in modernization, but the The Iranians had been interested reversed. were interested oIder to keep their supply lines Russians only in sufficient forced to their Western allies open. Many of the Turkmen who had resented The people with whom I recently lived reverted to nomadism. settlement the houses they had been forced to build and returned to livinig destroyed and(i banditry became rifeZ in in yurts. Security deteriorated, year-round such as the Gokeha Hills. the remoter and more arid regions, After the Second World War, the authority of thes Iranian government in the Gorgan Plain anid efforts to moderniize the Turkmern was restored had (om(r to unde-stanid the limited value were renewed. The government

IRANIAN

STUDIES

of forced IeI 11t-CS U.e('d iIl I hi it'tjest . ItS obi(eitive was not to redcee the Turk-men lo the tra ditiolal position of an cxploile d peasanitry, bhit rath(er to integrate them inito zi somiet- that was on ttle way to becoming a modern nation. This meant Ihe I crms would haive, to be saLtisfactory to the T'ork-men tihernselves. In line withi this policy, persUnasion wai used rather than fotec. was ma(le ini the fertile Rapid anid extensive progress region sollth ol the' GOrgan River. This area beinig level, welt-watered, and underpopulated presented of idacl (ondlitions for the development

of t iI( typ)e

large-scale

m-echanized

has become

mout

farmss.

me(chaniz7e.d tha

As a result,

in any other

agriculture

in this

region

area of Iran.

less promisitig Ilt eeortomictlly regions such as the Gokcha Hills, things chlanged more slowly. By 1960, the government had eliminated banditry for this area , cl.earing the way for further progress. The 'Lurkmen of this region, however, have remained noma(lic to the presenit. Ne vertheless, there are indications that tftey too will eventually be caught up in thi trend of modernization. The Gokcha Hills Tuirkmeni are beginning to realize that their nomadic way of life has no place ini thie future. The men of this region are beginning to disc uss ways in which they ran share in the progress experienced by their kinsmen in thie populous regioiis to their south. They are beginning to discuss the possibility of building houses and volurntarily taking up a semi-sedentary existence similar to that forced upon them in 1936. There is also talk of schools and of irrigation schemes that might make their arid land more prosperous. of this sort, no doubt, Discussion indicates the beginning of a process which will draw them into the mainstream of Iranian national life.

NOTES tThis article is a revision of the article entitled "The Turkmen Nomads, " which appeared in Natural History, November 1968, pp. 44-51. Parts of the text have been rewritten, and additions, including a bibliography, have been made. The material in this paper is based on field presented research carried out in 1965, 1966, and 1967 under the sponsorship of the Foreign Area Fellowship Program and the University of Michigan Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies. I wish to express my gratitude to both inistitutions for their generous support.

Marvin, London,

2For a good description of TuLrkmen stave raiding see Charles Me rv and the Man-Stealing Turcomans, W. H. Allen and Co., 1881, pp. 177-200.

35

WINTER

1969

3The Gokcha Hills, when they can be found on maps, usually appear as the Gekcheh Dagh or Gekcha Dagh. These renderings, I presume, are the result of attempts to guess what the unrepresented vowels are by 4 someone who was familiar with the name only in its written form:

prefer

4The Yomut and Goklan are often described as "tribes", but I see page 3 3 . to reserve the term "tribe" for smaller groups,

of the Turkmen have been 5Many of the legendary genealogies recorded in Abul-Ghazi Khan's Genealogy of the Turkmen. For a critical edition see A. Kononov (ed.) Shajara-yi Tarakimah, U, S. S. R. Academy of Sciences, Moscow and Leningrad, 1958, (Russian and Turkmen). 6For a description of part of the military operation subduing the Turkmen of the Gorgan Plain, see Hassan Afra, Shahs, John Murray, London, 1964, pp. 172-183.

involved in Under Five

7A study by an economist of the development of mechanized agriculture in this region has recently been published: Shoko Okazaki, of Large-Scale The Development Farming in Iran; the Case of the Province of Gorgan, I.A. E.A. Occasional Papers Series, No. 3, The Institute of Asian Economic Affairs, Tokyo, 1968.

SELECTED I.

Sources

Relevant

BIBLIOGRAPHY

to the Turkmen

in General

"A History of the Turkmen People" in Four Studies on V. V. Barthold, Central Asia, (by the same author) vol. III, V. and T. Minorsky E. J. Brill, (translators), Leiden, 1962. A. Kononov (ed.), Shajara-yi Tarakimah, U. S. S. R. Academy of Moscow and Leningrad, Sciences, 1958, (Russian and Turkmen). Die Achal-Teke; zur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft einer W. Konig. im XIX Jahrhundert, Akademie- Verlag, Turkmenen-Gruppe 1962. Berlin, C. Marvin, Merv, The Queen of the Word and the Man-Stealing W. H. Allen and Co., London, 1881: this Turcomans, book is a good summary of material from travel journals, and of the numerous, provides a good starting point for an exploration

IRANIAN

STUDIES

36

volomitnous,

ac.:ontnis

anld frie quetil.vj j uri njinteetithde ating w itli ihi Turkmen.

cn lury i ravel

in Central As;ia; Being the Account of a Journey Travels A. Vambery, from Teheran Across the Tuirkornan Desert on the Eastern Shore to TKhiva, Bokliara, and Szimarcand, Performed of the (aspian in the Year 1863, Hiarper anid Brothers, New York, 1865: Part II of this bhok is n description of the peoples of Central Asia withouit the numerous irielivant digressions thlat characterize other than Marvin's Merv nmost travel aiiotriits, and, the-refore, providcs the best thiat can be gained from the nineteenth-century Fiiglishi

II.

oi

s.tiirces

T'11iilisi;h S10 *iiixs

thc

Tiirkmcn.

li lo1W

iari

Gor gan Plailn

At Ltollli1 VNj'tadlel, "Ani Aialtysis of Econioimic and Social Factors Ri laaled to Iniiovation of a Ric(iimine nded Agriciultuoral Practice il) tlii TUFkomo 1'T ibll Ciimmuiiity of Iran'', unpublished ( U'iriell IJliversity, Mlosic(r'.s 1 liesis, 1962. of Large-Scale Slioko Okoazaki, The Development Farming in Ir-an; the Case of the Province ilf Gorgan, I. A. E. A. Occasional Papers Ser ies, No. 3, The Iristitute of Asian Economic Affairs, Tokyo, 1968. H. L. Rabinio, Mazandar-5n anid Astar5bad, 1928, Chapters 8-111, pp. 67-104. C. F.

III.

Luzac

and(l Co.,

London,

Yate, Khurasan an(i Sistan, Willian Blackwood anid Sons, London, 19t)0, chapters 14 and 15, pp. 212-281: by the standards of nineteenth-century travel accounts, thiese clhapters constitute an of the Turkmen of the tulnusually good and accurate description Gorgan Plain.

Pe rsian

Sources

Relevanit

to the Gorgani PLain

M'lrza Baba Valad-i Mrrzd Safar 'Alf Bustamni, Ti'd5d-i Naufus-i 'AMtardbdd, 3 Muharram 1296/1878, Manuscriipt 4330, National Malikl Library, Tehran. vs Jughrafiya-yi Asad'ull7ah Mu'tini, Jughrafiya Tarikhi-yi va Dasht, Tehran, 'Isfand 1344 Hijri Shamsi/1966 Hus;hang Pur Na rim,

"TurkLimanha-yi

:37

Iran",

Gturgan

Hunar va Mardum,

Ministry

WINTER

1969

of Culture, pp. 28-42

of Culture,

Tehran,

'Isfand

"Turkumanha-yi 'Azar Tehran,

1344 va Farvardin

rran, 2, 1345/1966,

1345/1966.

" Hunar va Mardum, pp. 22-34.

Ministry

Zarninaha-yi 'Ijtima'i, "Turkumanhf-yi Iran; Barrasi-i 'Aban va Tehran, Ministry of Culture, 3'T Hunar va Mardum, 'Azar 1346/1967, pp. 48-64. Nukhbah-yi Sifiyah, Muhammad 'Ali Qdrkhanchli Saulat Nidhim, 690, Library of the National Assembly, Manuscript 1321/1903-04, Tehran. _ ,

National Abbas

Shuqi,

IRANIAN

Nukhbah-yi Kamrafil, 1327/1909-10, Malik Library, Tehran. Dasht-i

STUDIES

GurgTn,

Tehran,

38

Manuscript

'Aban 1314 Hijri Shamsi/

3935,

1936.

BOOK REVIEWS History of Iranian Literature. By JAN RYPKA. Dordrecht, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1967. 928 pages. $35. 00

Holland:

AMIN BANANI The English edition of Jan Rypka's History of Iranian Literature has been eagerly awaited since the appearance of the original Czech version in 1955 and its German translation of 1959. For this English edition, which is considerably expanded and brought up-to-date, Rypka has enlisted the aid of several of his former students, and colleagues. compatriots Otakar the chapter on pre-Islamic Klirma has contributed Iranian literature, Vera of the 20th century, Kubi'ckova on Persian literature Felix Tauer on Persian learned literature from its beginnings to the end of the 18th century, Jiri Becka on Tajik literature from the 16th century to the present, Jiri and Jan Marek on Persian Cejpek on Iranian folk literature, literature in India. Rypka himself is responsible for the chapter on Persian literature up to the beginning of the 20th century, and for an outline of Judeo-Persian literature. Like most eagerly anticipated works this book has its disappointand as an attempt of such magnitude it is bound to have its strengths ments, as well as its shortcomings. Since it comes a half-century after Browne's monumental Literary History of Persia, (and nearly a quarter of a century after Safa's) and since it will probably stand for a few decades as the standard work for students and scholars of this field, it is both inevitable and instructive to review it against the background of its predecessor. In concept and in organization Rypka's work is radically different from Browne's. The term 'history' occurs in the titles of both works and the key to the essential differences between the two is to be found in the divergence of the authors' conceptions of what constitutes history. For Browne a traditional succession of dynastic fortunes, lightly infused with Victorian liberal attitudes, provides the skein upon which to hang the narrative of poets and other men of letters. It is little more than a detailed chronology of literary Amin Banani is Associate in the Department Professor and African Languages at the University of California, 39

of Near Eastern Los Angeles. WINTER

1969

figures and events. In Rypka's volurne literary developments are placed, with a fairly firm ideological outlook, in the light of historical forces. It would appear then that the conceptual formula of the present work is more to the successful conducive writing of history. But it is this writer's view that after the shock of the defeatingly exhorbitant price of this volume, its next disappointment is in the fact that it is mistitled. It is not a history but rather a handbook of Iranian literature. As a handbook it is enormously useful and much to be appreciated. It gathers in one place diverse information based on current scholarship with excellent bibliographic aids. Modern students will be particularly gratified by the inclusion of folk literature as well as Persian literature in India and of literary life and activities in Tajikstan. By the same logic the absence of a section on to other works. cannot be rationalized Afghanistan by reference This brings up the ambiguity of the sense in which the adjective 'Iranian' appears in the title of this work. not used in the It is obviously to other Iranian for with the exception of brief references linguistic sense, in the pre-Islamic section there is no treatment of literatures in languages other Iranian languages such as Kurdish, Baluchi, Pashto, etc. of Rypka's characteristics It is as a history that the conflicting the book are most evident. The basic Marxian outlook that pervades various chapters of this volume to a greater or lesser degree is the source and of its weaknesses. both of its strengths By viewing literary developments in the light of social and economic conditions, many areas and or misunderstood problems hitherto neglected emerge in a convincing manner. The social world of the artist is no longer treated in the So long as a flexible Marxian superficial and anecdotal way of older works. approach is utilized as an analytical tool, the 'history' gains much that is bias -- as is the case When it is perverted to political new and valuable. with the last part of Kubickova's chapter on contemporary Persian -- the results are petty and ludicrous. literature But the inadequacy of in this leads to a much more fundamental distortion Marxian analysis volume. Such a conceptual approach is essentially incapable of dealing with Sufi-oriented literature in its own terms. Since this literature in its scope and magnitude constitutes perhaps the core of the Persian literary a critical failure to cope with its spiritual leads to tradition, resources unfortunate It is not that a Marxian approach fails in consequences. of the social and intellectual and trends that insightful analysis conditions of Sufi expressions It is rather led to a prevalence in Persian literature. that this approach ignores the all-important between artistic relationship and the full range of man's spiritual needs and responses. The creativity of Rumi can no more be explained and understood for poetic outpourings what they are, in terms of their socio-economic than the frescos milieu,

IRANIAN

STUDIES

40

of the Sistine Chapel can be fully explained and understood contractual with his patrons. Michaelangelo's problems

in terms

of

The inherent distortion leads to grotesque necessarily disproportion. Thus, in a volume of 928 pages, five pages are devoted to Sana'i, Attar and Rumi -- together. 200 pages are Approximately concerned with the entire range of Persian literature to the beginnings of the 20th century, and some 700 pages with peripheral material. Let it be restated that some of this peripheral mnaterial is among the most welcome features of the volume. But the basic lack of proportion is inexcusable. The charge would not be so heavy if the authors had viewed their task as a handbook rather than an impossible history of such comprehensive intent in one volurne. It is in the chapter on Persian literature in the 20th century by Miss Kubickova that history takes its unkindest cut, and all sense of discrimination and critical are subordinated aesthetics to the crudest political bias. One cannot escape the conclusion that the leftist writers who broke with the Tude party and became disillusioned and critical of the Soviet Union are systematically excluded. That their ranks happen to include some of the leading writers in Iran highlights the glaring omissions. Conversely some of the figures treated at great length cannot help but evoke a cynical view of contemporary letters in Iran. There is no mention Ebrahim of Ahmad Shamlu, Mehdi Akhavarr-Sales, Forough Farrokhzad, Yadollah Sa'edi, Golestin, Sohrib Sepehri and Ro'ya i, Gholam-Hosein Bahman Forsi -- to name only a few -- and instead we are given copious to such hacks and producers introductions and of pulp as San!ati Kermani This chapter also has more than its share of errors Javac Fizel. of fact, and transliteration. translation The inevitable question of transliteration comes up in this volume with all its inconsistencies and inadequacies. The illogic of transliterating modern Persian in accordance with a modified Arabic system is nowhere more amusingly demonstrated than in the chapter on -- and rightly so -- in Tajik literature. Here Becka has felt justified the system of the rest of the volume, rejecting and he uses a system closest to Tajik pronunciation. Why can't the same be done for Persian? Among the most valuable features of this volume are the excellent bibliographic appendices and chronological and dynastic tables alone worth the enthusiastic gratitude of all students, but not worth the predatory price of $37. 50.

41

WINTER

-

1969

of Development: The Sociology Iran as an Asian Case Study. By New York: Frederick A. Praeger, NORMAN JACOBS. 1966. 541 pages. $17. 50. FARHAD

KAZEMI

in Mr. Jacobs undertook this study because he was interested of Asian societies. the problem of the economic developrnent He was looking for answers to the questions: "why have European and Japanese while other societies-societies successfully developed economically the considerable economic especially contenentalAsian societies,despite anid political aid they have received- -have not? And, more important, how can the situation be improved? " (p. 3). Mr. Jacobs then defines " 'functional approach," his three key concepts of "economic development, " and "institutional sociological analysis. The author is convinced of the value of "institutional of development, for he feels that it is important sociological analysis" "to emphasize social as well as cultural considerations (the anthropological as well as interactional, approach) and institutional-structural problems (the human relations sociological approach)". (p. 12). 1 have no argument " However, for or against "institutional sociological analysis. I dare say that Mr. Jacobs' book will result in few converts to this approach. Mr. Jacobs then devotes one chapter each to the relevance of seven "social institutions" (authority, economy, occupation, stratification, and integrated and stable social order and legitimate kinship, religion, The remainder of the book is devoted to broad conclusions change) to Iran. and considerations of some alternative development models. Mr. Jacobs that in societies concludes such as Iran, economic development can only take place if institutional and social changes that are necessary for economic development accompany it. I agree with Mr. Jacobs that economic and social development should go hand-in-hand. However, Mr. Jacobs' view of the type of social development necessary for economic growth is, I believe, too Western

Farhad Kazemi of Michigan.

is Teaching

I RANIAN STUDIES

Fellow

in Political

42

Science

at the University

certain He feels that a developed economy requires and too exclusive. that are not found among the Iranians. (pp. interpersonal relationships to Mr. Jacobs, "The Iranians' adjustments personal 249-259). According .. are very poor. Individuals cling desperately to the social environment. to be inadequate at the to patterns of behavior which are acknowledged more insecurity least, and.which at the most succeed only in generating of accelerating in a syndrome rigid, with oimilar counteraction and frustrating behavior. " (p. 250). Mr. Jacobs Presumably inade'quate, is developed, thinks that unless a Western style interpersonal relationship in Iran is doomed to failure. economic progress of the "Iranian Edifice Complex" I find the author's discussion This 'flippant parody of Freud's Oedipus Complex, " is interesting. to the Iranian "conviction Mr. Jacobs' way of referring that a building and that if development program, program is equivalent to an economic sufficient natural real estate is covered with brick and mortar projects " (p. 74). Generally speaking there of some sort, Iran will be developed. I would is a great deal of truth to the above observation. However, use of the so-called "Edifice Complex" in caution against indiscriminate in Iran. In particular I am not certain explaining all building programs as another manifestathaL the proposed steel mill project can be dismissed tion of the "Edifice Complex. " Perhaps it is, or again perhaps it is not. And this Mr. Jacobs fails to In either case it needs to be demonstrated. do. with Mr. Jacobs' interpretations of the early I also disagree of Shi'ism rise of Shi'ism. Mr. Jacobs claims that the original followers to Shi'ism became were generally Iranian and that soon submission identical with submission to Iranian political authority and vice versa. (pp. 208-209). Studies by H.A. R, Gibb, Bernard Lewis and others 1960, Lewis in his The Arabs in History, challenge this interpretation. political points out that "Shi'ism began as purely Arab and purely faction grouped around the claims of Ali and of his descendants to the Lewis goes on to point out that added). Caliphate. " (p. 71 Emphasis I believe Mr. Jacobs many Persians supported the Sunni Arab regime. of Shi'ism with its early rise. confuses the later development Since this case is only one example of Mr. Jacobs' ignorance of historical I can only suggest that Mr. Jacobs acquire some substantive materials, knowledge of Iranian history and politics if he is thinking of writing a second book on Iran. of the book is the absence shortcomings Among the technical of an index. Since the author defines terms and concepts in his own to refer back to these original particular way, it often becomes necessary

43

WINTER

1969

1lad1 the author included *iefinition(is. have wo(uld to the originial diefinitio0ns

the ani index, beifln easier.

task

of referrinlg

Lack

a Itibliogra whichl, bhehook o(nutiains phy of seven pages for for somicone is not p)a rticularly looking illuoiniating book oni Irati. Moreover miaterial thouglh the title of 1>1r. Jaacobs' " hie hardly any of the available utilizes of developmnrent, sociology

unfortunately, source

is "the to such ge neral 'There are a few referenices lite rature Onl dieVeluP1oent. Organization and Economic of Social The Theory as Max Weher's works ICcontornic Growth. to References and(l W. W. Rostov. 's The StaLvs (-f ctit are far fromn adequate. on )olitical literature ueIvelopi

niot rely heavily on his bibliography. M r. Jacobs doet him)self of dailies for the 11oust part, tlhe to -t:nglish language Ilis soulrce s are, uses Mr. Jacobs andi Keyhan Ilott roa.tional. Journal Feleran Tehieran, In two dailies. 3i0t are base(d oni these Of thtese about 765 references. material source of the author's percent wvordls, nmore thian fifty-two other and(l Keyhan of Teheran Journal fronti the> 1959 to 1)61 issues conies of the witlh the unenviable Those w-ho are fainiliar Internationial plight in reading these can only a(lmnire Mr. Jacobs' persistenice Iranian press fi,, is no subsitittitc but doggedness so thoroughly for two years; papers or pouiti-tna to ask if a sociologist It m-iight he reasonable discrimiiination. of the U. S, based ott .i a study even dreamn of inaking would scientist even the New York linus, News--or of thie Daily careful reading, say,

for

that

matter.

I,';lit errtr-. and typographical are also a few spelling There (p). 24), reza Shah for Reza Shil. for Pahlavi (p. 83), Ptaklavi example, for kd(klula1-d khadkhodlm for Ahvaz Abwaz (p. 156), (p. 143), anmtak for anilak and mahar for mahr (p. 254. ) (p. 21?), (p). 189X), Shi for Shi'i

as a profoutnld this voluMe characterize In conclusiont, I must of substantial studties on tlht is a paucity It is true that there failure. but this hook can scarcely of Iran, and economics ntodern lhistory, politics, to have it-miproved the situation. hl considere,d

T RAN1AN

.STITTLES

t4

RECENT IRANIAN PERIODICALS Journal of Social Sciences. A Quarterly 'Ulumn-e Ijtima'i, Tehran: EHSAN NARAGHI and DARIUSH ASHOORI. of Tehran. Social Studies and Research, University

Edited Institute 1968-.

by for

ALI BANUAZIZI that of an Iranian journal of social sciences The publication dialogue among students of Iranian could serve as a vehicle for scientific to the and that might gradually make available society and culture, theory and research reader the vast body of social science Persian-speaking had long been awaited by all Iranian scholars. published in other languages, at home and abroad, made to realize this objective, Of a number of attempts that could continue publication none has resulted in an adequate periodical for more than a few issues. a quarterly of 'Ulurm-e Ijtima'i, journal of The appearance The a timely response to this genuine need. social sciences, is therefore of the for Social Studies and Research by the Institute journal is published Editor and of Tehran, with Dr. Ehsan Naraghi as Executive University Mr. Dariush Ashoori as Editor-in-Chief. The articles in the first (Autumn 1968) issue of the 'Ulum-e so far, cover a rather broad the only one that we have received Ijtima'i, review of The original contributions include a critical range of topics. an anthropological in sociology (A. Ashraf); the development of functionalism Life and Animal of the Peasant study dealing with the "Modernization Husbandry in the Zagros Region" (F. Benet, the late Spanish-born a delightful "A Journey to the Margin of Kav-ir" travelogue, anthropologist); in of data collection an article on some of the problems (J. Ale-Ahmad); "Rapid forecasts, and two demographic social research (M. Kotobi); of Labour Force in Iran Growth and the Development Population Problems Growth and Educational Zand) and "The Population (M. Sotudeh-ye 70 pages Approximately in the Coming Twenty Years" (F. Amin-Zadeh).

Ali Banuazizi and Assistant

at Connecticut of Psychology is Assistant Professor at Yale University. of Psychology Professor Clinical

45

College

WINTER

1969

are devoted to translations from the works of such C. W. Mills, T. B. Bottomore, 0. Flechtheim, C. In addition, there are three reports Meyerovitch. and seminars, conferences two book reviews, and annotated bibliography of the recent social science

authors as H. Gerth and and E. Bettelheim, of international a 10-page selected, literature in Iran.

To some extent, the contents of this single issue are representative of the current state of social science research in Iran. An almost total lack of analytic and critical studies at either theoretical or empirical levels; a good deal of confusion regarding the distinction between social on the one hand, and social philosophy and social criticism science on the other; a narrow definition of social research to include only problems of concern to the various governmental immediate, short-range such agencies as the Plan Organization, the Ministry of Education, or the Land Reform Program; these are some of the characteristic features of social science research in Iran today. in spite of the frequent acknowledgment Furthermore, of the critical value and utility of social science research in the resolution of social problems and enhancement of planned social change in Iran, very few Iranian scholars have found it possible to engage in rigorous research based on empirical data. The outcome is all too evident: the vast majority of studies of the culture, society, history, politics and economy of Iran have been, and still are, carried out by foreign scholars. These remarks should be taken neither as unqualified praise of the work of Western scholars of Iran, nor as a plea for a "Western-style" and "value-free" approach to social research. On the contrary, I am to the view that, given our limited resources, committed social science research in Iran--as, indeed, in other developing countries--should be devoted primarily to the solution of the country's pressing social problems. Our more significant contributions are likely to come from the study of the problems of underdevelopment and the contexts and processes of social change. What is required first, however, is a far more serious and to social research sincere commitment and to high professional standards, with more emphasis on empirical studies than on abstract theory. It is also necessary to investigate some of the significant problems that have so far been treated with "selective inattention. " Such questions as the structure of power in Iran, the extent of urban and rural poverty and its social and psychological the determinants consequences, of foreign policy, administrative barriers to social reform, ard urban and rural education may require more attention of the Iranian social scientists than they have heretofore received.

inception

The Institute for Social Studies and Research has, since its in 1958, pioneered a number of valuable projects in various

IRANIAN STUDIES

46

We hope that the Institute's publication important areas of social studies. in Iran, of 'Ulum-e lIjtima'i will further proimcote social science research of the journal. and extend our best wishes for the continued success

Jahan-e No, A Quarterly Journal of Arts, Social Studies and Literature, Edited by HOSSEIN HE-JAZIand AMIN ALIMARD. Tehran, 1964-.

MAJID TEHRANILAN One of the more encouraging signs in recent years for prospects of democracy in Iran has been a relative relaxation of press censorship and the subsequent appearance of some newspapers and periodicals which are worthy of note. Jahan-e No ( New World) is one such periodical, originally established in 1946, which has reappeared on the Iranian literary scene since 1964 as a quarterly of arts, social studies and literature. The journal is still under the management of Hossein Hejazi (as Publisher and Editor) and Amin Alimard (as Editor-in-Chief), but its new format and content give it the appearance of a "New Left" quarterly, which includes amnong its contributors a younger generation of writers, poets, artists and social scientists. The main objective of the journal is, for better or worse, to introduce the intellectual architects of the New Left in the West, but some notable articles also deal with Iran. This may be in part due to limitations of censorship and in part because of the predilection of Iranian intellectuals to look to the West for cultural inspiration. Whatever the reason, however, suffers and original contributions scholarship to Iranian studies by Iranian scholars who are uniquely equipped to undertake such studies remain in short supply. Among the notable exceptions to the main emphasis of the journal are a series of articles by Ahmad Ashraf, lecturer in sociology at the Institute for Social Studies and Research of the University of Tehran, on the social development of Iran in various epochs of her history. In these articles, Ashraf ably brings together the theoretical tools of Western sociology (particularly in their Marxian and Weberian formulations) to bear Majid Tehranian College.

is Assistant

Professor

of Political

47

Economy

at Lesley

WINTER

1969

on the considerable body of Soviet, Iranian and Western scholarship in He thus provides Iranian history. a reasonably good theoretical framework for further research into selected of the sociology aspects of Iran. A more venture into the study of Iranian social life is presented empirical by Arastoo Musanne'in his article on "Agrarian Problems in Iran. " The autnor, who served as a field researcher in the Institute for Social Studies and Research for several years, gives us in this article a bird's-eye-view of the main problems of Iranian villages under the impact of modernization. The short stories, cartoons and drawings in Jahan-e No are also poems, representative of a new and promising generation of younger artists and intellectuals who will hopefully lead Iran's latest period of cultural renaissance. We wish the editors and writers of Jahan-e No well in their worthy endeavours and sincerely hope that a further liberalization of the press and cultural activities would enhance the contributions of Iranian intellectuals to their own society.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

48

society will be anialyzed as they are institutions and culture of Persia.

reflected

fee for the conference Registration and the course the fee is $160.

in history,

political

theory,

is $20. 00; for the conference

Further information the conference and the course regarding rnay be obtained from Professor Amin Banani, Near Eastern Center, of California, University Los Angeles, California 90024.

ERRATA "The ingenious have not only judgment to discern, but courtesy to pass over small faults. The most remarkable are the following. (14th century scholar): Iranian

Studies,

Vol.

1, No.

4 (Autunmn 1)68):

Page 131, to the list of the nmembers of the Council add: in Economics, Lecturer Columbia University. Parvin, Page 154, add the following two footnotes: 2. See M. Parvin, op. cit. , pp. 48-51. The Military 3. See M. Janowitz, in the Political Development of New Nations. Chicago: Unliversity of Chicago Press, 1968. Page 167, line 4, delete (The Beggar, Line 5 should War). read: In a few (The Beggar, War), she shows an incipient social consciousness. Page 168, the title should read: WHAT ROAD TO OIL SOVEREIGNTY. In the second paragraph, line 3 should read: been on the other side--the side of the major foreign con-. Page 173, third paragraph, linie 7 shoutld read: purposes , V-e define rent as anything above cost plus normal. Page 174, second paragraph, line 2 should read: or force of lead the government circumstances of. Manoucher

IRANIAN

STUDIES

50

PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED

1.

ABBAS. ALNASRAWI, Economic Financing in Iraq: Development The Role of Oil in a Middle Eastern New York: Economy. Frederick A. Praeger, 1967. xii, 188 pp. $15. 00.

2.

BOYLE, JOHN A. (Editor). Cambridge History of Iran, Volurne The Seljug and Mongol Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University 1968. xiii, 763 pp. $12. 50. Press,

3.

ENGLISH, PAUL W. City and Village in Iran: Settlement and Economy in the Kirm.an Basin. The University Madison: of Wisconsin Press, 1966. xx, 204 pp. $6. 75

4.

FISHER, W. B. (Editor). Cambridge The Land of Iran. Cambridge: 1968. xix, 784 pp. $12. 50

5.

HUNTINGTON, SAMUFEL E'. Political Order in Changing Societies. New& Haven: Yale Unliversity Press, 1968. xi, 488 pp. $12. 50.

o.

HUREWITZ, J. C. Middle New York: Frederick

.

V:

History of Iran, Volunme I: Cambridge University P'ress,

East Politics: A. Praeger,

The Military Dimension. 1969. xviii, 553 pp. $11. 50

lSSAWI, CHARLES P. (Editor). The Economic History of the Middle East, 1800-1914: A Book of Readings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966. xv, 543 pp. $12. 50.

8.

KARPAT, KEMAIL 1i. (Editor). anid Social Thought in the Political Contemporary Mid(dle East. Ncw York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968. xiii, 397 pp. $10. 00.

9.

KEDDIE, NIKKI R. An Islamic to Imperialism: Response Political an(d Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal ad-Din "al-Afghan; Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968. xii, 212 pp. $7. 50.

51

WINTER

1969

10.

and The Conflict of Traditionalism LEIDEN, CARL. (Editor). The University Austin: in the Muslim Middle East. Modernism 1969. 160 pp. $4. 95. of Texas Press,

11.

The Rich and Poor Trade, Aid, and Development: PINCUS, JOHN. New York: McGraw -Hill Book Co., 1967. xv, 400 pp. Nations. $10. 00

12.

LEFTON S. Middle East: A Culture Area in STAVRIANOS, Allyn and Bacon, 1968. 72 pp. (paperback). Boston: Perspective. No price indicated.

13.

STEWARD-ROBINSON, Cliffs, Englewood (paperback).

IRANIAN

STUDIES

Near East. The Traditional J. (Editor). 1966. 183 pp. $1. 95 Prentice-Hall, N.J.:

52

JranZhtvi

StrJ~-niLnS"dtis

evtt- 0icttf>~~o

SyrttSu/mtr

99Q&.nIt

v

"

V

3

The Society for IranianStudies COUNCIL

Banuazizi Richard W. Bulliet Hormoz liekmat Abbas Heydari-Darafshian Farhad Kazemi, Treasurer Manoucher Parvin Secretary Majid Tehranian,

Ali

Iranian

Studies

Editor Ali Banuazizi, W. Mintz, Associate Jacqueline

Editor

for Iranian by the Society is published quarterly Iranian Studies It is distributed as a part of to members of The Society Studies. rate for non-members is The annual subscription their membership. The opincopies is $1.25 per issue. and the price of single $5.00, are those of the individual by the contributors ions expressed or the editors of those of the Society authors and not necessarily to the Editor for pubArticles should be submitted Iranian Studies. A L1communications or the concerning Iranian Studies lication. for Iranian to: The Society affairs should be addressed Society's 90024, U. S. A. California Studies, P. O. Box 24766, Los Angeles,

Cover:

Akvan-e Div. Rostam fighting A sample of the folk art of eidi-sazi (paper from woodblocks),

prints which

made

in Iran in the 18th flourished and 19th centuries. Copy of Mr. Manuchehr Anvar. courtesy

Jra*iu4r

>nretnZ of 7n; So e

Volume II

6tdk for 2r7,xtv

Spring-Summer

SWt4is u

1969

Numbers 2-3

CONTENTS

54

HISTORICAL03STACLES TO THIEDEVELOPMENT OF A BOURGEOISIEIN

Ahmad Ashraf

IRAN

80

AKIIAVAN'S"THE ENDING OF SHAHNAMEH": A CRITIQUE

97

THE CHRONOGRAMS OF KIIAQANI

Sorour

Soroudi

0. L. Vil'cevskiJ by Jerome W. Clinton)

(Translated BOOKREVIEWS 106

FISHIER: The Cambridge Hlistory Iran,

Volume

I,

The

of Land

Paul W. English of

Iran 108

113

BOYLE :

The Cambridge liistory Volume V, The Iran, and Mongol Perxod

BALDWIN& Planning

and

of Sal ug

Development

in

Amin Banani

Vahid

F.

flowshirvani

Iran 115

117 126

REPORT OF THE UCLA-SIS

CONFERENCE

PROCEEDINGSOF THE CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED

Ali

Banuazizi

HISTORICAL OBSTACLES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BOURGEOISIE IN IRAN* ASHRAF AHM4AD I.

ECONOMICHISTORYAND EPOCHALANALYSIS

The processes of development in the "Third World' are of great concern to historical and economic historians. sociologists However, cespite the great interest displayed by the founding fathers of sociology in the nineteenth century in similar questions, and despite their historical and liking orientation of historical periodization, present day sociologists tend to be uninterested in both this subject matter and this orientation. In this respect they have lagged behind economists interested in questions of development and economic historians. in Marx & Weber's tradition of social-economic Following science the objective of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of historical for a deeper understanding of the analysis of problem economic development. From the outset the basic question will be the proper use of history to construct the historical processes of development both in the past and the future. Historical sociology society and its historical the principle of historical in understanding guideline and their development.

gives us a structural view of a total development. It also directs us into specificity which should be taken as a and explaining socio-economic phenomena

This principle of historical specificity, used as a rule of and reflection, inquiry leads to an analysis of the trends of a certain era as well as to the discovery of processes by which that era comes into being and is transformed into another. On exactly the same basis a model of the sub-stages of development of a specific society can be constructed. The advantage of following such a procedure is that it forestalls superficial and premature generalizations beyond the confines of a specific epoch, whilst at the same time, leaving the question of general theory of social is Research Associate and recturer in SocLology at the Institute for Social Research of Tehran University, and Chairman of the Department of Social Science, Literacy Corps College of Education.

Ahmad Ashraf

'This paper was presented to the Conference on Economic History of the Middle East at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies in August, 1967. It will appear as a section of a forthcoming book: Studies on the Economic History of the Middle East, edited by M. A. Coo0. IRANIAN STUDIES

54

chanqe,

open.

since

Further,

from this

theoretical

perspective

are historically both thought and action conditioned, we reqard human nature and man's conceptualizations of the human condition as (scientific as well literary and philosophical) as specific to Thus we are cautious of economic each era. and sociological concepts of an unhistorical character.1 The division of controversy. A review different interpretations

Persian Hlistory into periods is of the relevant literature will of the historical evidence.

a matter of reveal four

The first of these consists of attempts made by Soviet Iranologists to divide the historical development of Persian society into four stages: primitive conmunes, slavery, feudalism and bourgeois society.2 Thus, according to this theory, the Median, Achaemenian and Parthian periods represent a typical stage of slavery.3 The Sasanid period is categorized as an incipient stage in the development of feudalism,4 the period of the caliphs as "underdeveloped feudalism" brought about by the expansion of the state lands;5 and in the Saljuq period we witness the growth of feudalism The Mongol invasion of proper.6 is dubbed as a stage "nomadic feudalism."7 For the highly centralized state system created in Persia under the Safavids, the term "centralized feudalism" is used,8 whilst the nineteenth century is thought to be a period of the disintegration of feudalism in a situation of Western penetration.9 Finally, the present century's history is interand analyzed preted in terms of the rise of a "national and dependent bourgeoisie." Although, the Soviet historians have illuminated the area of Persian Hfistory, their preconceived theoretical commitments distorted their portrayal of the course of historical developments in Persia. The existence of slavery and the ensuing stage of is doubtful, feudalism and the Soviet historians have been unable to verify the unilinear theory of historical developments in Iran. Consequently

development specificities

they

of slavery of social

have

been

and feudalism and economic

unable

to

substantiate

from the standpoint formation in those

the

of the eras.10

A second approach has been introduced more recently by those who have attempted to revive Marx's concept of an "Asiatic mode of communities production." According to this view the early tribal with a few other societies) of the Orient (together bypassed the of slavery stages and feudalism and developed into "Asiatic socieFor Marx this type of social ties." system exhibited special characteristics. said:

Of the

relationship

between

town

and

is a kind of undifferentiated "Asiatic society unity town and country (the larqe city, properly, must be as a princely on regarded merely camp, superimposed real economic structure)."l1 55

country

he

of the

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

lie also pointed out that, in the vast of dry territories the East, the need for water works, irrigation and other systems large-scale communal creates facilities a superior central organitoe historical in which overall zation and givesrise stage unity communal suspends over real itself and in which, unity as a conseof the means of production is absent.12 quence, private ownership Wittfogel, the issue whose Oriental Despotism revived after of the nearly a century, focuses al ost on the question completely vital role in the Orient. of the water supply on the basis Working ideal of Marx's and Max Weber's theory of Asiatic society type of he has formulated three oriental patrimonialism, overlapping key

concepts,

"hydraulic

"oriental

in the history, of other

civilization,"

despotism";

fact

that,

Wittfogel historians

however

instead

"agromanagerial the

of

weakness

of undertaking

has rather casually to support his

society,"

this

attempt

a research

cited examples conclusions.T3

and lies

on Persian from

the

work

The third and fourth consist on the one interpretations of, hand, the work of those scholars who claim that the socio-economic system of the East more or less resembles that of the feudal West,14 and on the other hand those who stress the differences between the feudal system and Persia'.s historical institutions.15 These latter stress the differences between the urban structures of Persia and the West, or the expansion of trade and the growth of a money economy or the persistent and important element of bureaucracy and the bureaucratic nature of land tenure in Persian society. Whilst the former are close, in some respects,to the views of Soviet historians, those who hold the latter view come close to the analyses of Wittfogel, Marx and Weber. Of all the various schools of thought it is those who see the structural differences between the pre-modern history of Persia and the pre-modern history of the West who are most aware of the historical obstacles to the development of a modern bourgeoisie in that Both Marx and Weber were acutely country. with concerned this problem. For Marx, "The Asiatic stubbornly. This is based, that is, of the community,

unity

of agriculture

form necessarily survives longest and most due to the fundamental principle on which it that the individual does not become independent that the circle of production is self-sustaining,

is

and craft

manufacture,

etc.

"16

Thus the

theoretical absence of property in Asiatic society masks the tribal or communal property which is its real base. Asiatic systems may be "centralized or decentralized, more despotic or more democratic in form, and variously organized. Where such small community units exist as part of a larger unity, they may devote part of their surplus product to pay the costs of the larger community, i.e., for war, religious worship, ... "17 irrigation, ... communication. The closed nature and undifferentiated unity of agriculture and craft means that the cities of the Asiatic epoch hardly belong to the real economic structure, expanding "only where the location is particularly favourable to external trade, or where the ruler and IRA1NIAtI STUDIES

56

labour, against product) change their revenue (surplus his satraps that the which they expend as labour funds. "18 Marx concludes more and economic evolution disintegration system resists Asiatic system because its characterthan any other historical stubbornly and economic evoluto disintegration "make it resistant istics "19 force of capitalism. until wrecked by the external tion, In Weber's view, patrimonialism, several in differs tal manifestation, the pure type of western feudalism.

particularly significant

in its orienfrom aspects

houseof the ruler's government is an extension "Patrimonial rebetween the ruler and his officials hold in which the relation dependence. and filial authority mains on the basis of paternal by a contracrelationship the paternal Feudal government replaces "20 It is militarism. on the basis of knightly fixed fealty tually between the that Weber makes his sharp distinction in this respect in the Occident The former predominated "Fief" and the "Benefice." gave rise to a Whereas feudalism in the Orient. and the latter amongst the fief holders, of the feudal nobility consolidation could not meant that the landed notables patrimonialism oriental The feudal ruler was more class. social into a cohesive develop the and the power and status-of bound by the rules of tradition decision regimes the arbitrary whereas in the patrimonial nobility, in Weber is in agreement with Marx that, of the despot prevailed. and the development the emergence of a bourgeoisie this situation even though a strongly obstructed is severely of modern capitalism The regime is often dependent on trade. patrimonial centralized, for profit in the fact that "the important openings reason lies are in the hands of the chief and the members of his administrative regime "under the dominance of a patrimonial Further, staff."21 It leaves are able to develop. types of capitalism only certain for trade, mercantile amount of-capitalist room for a certain and the sale and lease of tax farming, organization capitalistic for the for the state, of supplies for the provision of offices, capitalistic circumstances, of wars and, under certain financing obsta"22 The main historical and other enterprises. plantations regimes under patrimonial of a bourgeoisie cles to the development to economic activiattitude to Weber are a "traditional according and the lack of "a activities" in financial "arbitrariness ties," and of the extent of of obligations for the calculability basis activity."23 acquisitive freedom which will be allowed to private adminiare directly enterprises "insofar as productive Moreover, the development of capitalism group itself, stered by the governing "24 obstructed. is thereby directly specific be listed

But let us turn from general characteristics historical as follows:

models to the interpretative These can of Persian society.

machinery bureaucratic of a traditional a) The superimposition of over the real economic structure and Asiatic) (patrimonial These were operated communities. the urban, rural and tribal "patrimonial ofthe Asiatic from the town or "princely-camps" ruler" and his staff. 57

1969 S3PRING-SUrNMER

b) The result of this first feature was that a traditional bureaucratic landlordism capitalism and bureaucratic developed. c) It seems that the coexistence social of the trichotomous system had important conseof urban, rural and tribal communities, quences for each individual system and for the social system as a whole. d) The fluctuation of the whole social system between centralization and decentralization. was always advocated Centralization by powerful shahs and their bureaucrats an imwho constituted portant stratum in the machinery of despotic and who domination had an idealized view of centralized government. During such periods of strength on the part of the political center huge public works such as the construction of roads, irrigation systems, and so on were undertaken. caravanserais Moreover there was a tendency towards the development of bureaucratic capitalism and the expansion of state lands. e) The lack of western type of aristocracy, and the dispersion of the landed nobility. f) The arbitrary rule of the despot over every group and strata of the society. g) The peculiar structure of numerous urban communities, and the existence of money economy and traditional capitalism. these characteristics we can now cite three imporFollowinq tant objective obstacles to the growth of an independent western type of bourgeoisie in Iran. Firstly, the rise of strong shahs and a centralized political authority meant that capitalistic activities became dependent on the state and the ruling group. Secondly, the existence of powerful tribal groups, the frequency of tribal invasions and the dominance of the tribes in the countryside during times of weakness on the part of the central power, inhibited the growth of stable commercial activities. Thirdly, colonial penetration, followed by the decline of the traditional bourgeoisie and the asnaf, gave rise to a "dependent bourgeoisie. " The period selected for this study stretches from the age of the Safavids to the modern era. The Safavid period is of significance for various reasons. It is contemporary with the colonial expansion of Europe; it is a typical period of Asiatic patrimonial despotism; it evidences the growth of trade, industry and bureaucratic capitalism, and is considered as the period of the unification and revitalization of Persia; and finally, in a sense, it is considered as the golden age of the shi'ite ulama and the agents of trade and industry. the Safavids Following we witness a typical period of tribal chaos and the fall of trades and crafts. The Qaj5r period is important because it shows the collapse and disintegration of an Asiatic patrimonial system in a situation of colonial penetration. The Reza Shah period evidences several serious attempts in the revival of the Asiatic patrimonial system, which fails to achieve total success. More recently there has been rapid growth of bourgeois activities. However, the forces of are still history at work, the patrimonial nature of political domination over the whole society obstructs the development of a modern bourgeoisie in Iran. IRANIAN STUDIES

58

II.

THE GROWTH OF TRADITIONALCAPITALISM AND ASIATIC PATRIMONIAL DESPOTISMUNDERTHE SAFAVIDS

The founders of the Safavid dynasty were the charismatic of their sects, the major carriers leaders of the Sufi and Shi'ite Qezelbash.25 orders being the Turkoman tribes--the charismatic in the domination was realized of charismatic The routinization with of the Safavid dynasty and was in accordance establishment rulers.26 It is of the tribal and ideal interests the material of the dynasty can be represented, in this sense that "the beginning as a third wave of the eastwards movement of the not inaccurately, amirs were the major ruling Thus the Qezelbash Turcomans.'27 8 century. the sixteenth elements throughout of the foundations However, at the turn of the century, staffs of Shah to the patrimonial power were partly transformed In tnis way the centralized Asiatic Abbas I and his successors. The was established.29 domination of the Safavids patrimonial the land Abbas I-changed members of this dynasty-particularly tendency which had policy to minimize a quasi-feudal appropriation in the previous period.30 by granting the soyurqhal been increased and attempted of the new soyurchal the appropriation They limited temporary of toyul to the original to set back the appropriation Following period. nature of egta of the earlier bureaucratic and the waqf lands this policy the state the crown lands, lands, and private lands.31 were expanded at the expense of the soyurqhal signifithe bureaucratic Consequently, network iad the functional under rapidly--again particularly cance of its members increased Shah Abbas I.32 methods of Oriental all the familiar This monarch utilized a situation of total power in his territory.33 despots to establish He in order to unify the kingdom. He leveled the aristocracy, and the clergy, the old families troops, crushed the Qezelbfsh in the country and Georgian slaves who were baseless by recruiting Chardin says "il n'y a point de dependents.34 were his own personal et lVon n'y non plus que dans tout l'Orient, en Perse, noblesse au merite extraoraux dignites qu'aux charges, porte de respect aux richesses."3H et particulierement dinaire, and its developof the staff recruitment The patrimonial of high officials under Shah Tahmasb in a list ment is manifested and under in the Alam ArZ-ye Abbasi,36 and Shah Abbas I, presented Shah Safi presented in the Khold-e Barin.37 During the time of were recruited from Shah Ismail and Shah Tahmasb, high officials the foundation of the the tribal who constituted ruling families the under rule of Shah despotic authority. However, patrimonial of political AbbRs I, new developments toward the consolidation of the amirs surrecruitment took place. Patrimonial domination the amiTrswho khans and also included passed that of the tribal that Minorsky concludes (slaves) of the court.39 were gholims 20 per cent of the high administration had passed "'consequently but to to new elements owing their rise not to their origin important of the Shah.. .these personal merit and the confidence 59

SPRING-SUMMER1969

statistics reflect the situation at the death of Shah Abbas I (A.D. 1619) who so profoundly cf Safavid the foundation changed power. Under his grandson Shah Safi the changes go still deeper.40 under Shah Abbas, Further, the system of army recruitment he was changed; "diminished the number of tribal forces and side by side with them created new troops, armed with up-to-date weapons and fully on the central dependent His army was comgovernment. "41 prised of 44,000 permanent raised and paid by lhimself, troops and 77,000 of the old tribal forces. The amirs of the new troops were appointed from the Georgian and Armenian slaves of a Private tiousehold distinguished by devotion to hlis Majesty.42 To summarize, he created a strong army from the non-tribal population, the power of the tribal reduced leaders, split up and resettled and consolidated some, central As a administration. result a traditional "bureaucratic landlordism"43 and a traditional "bureaucratic capitalism" became highly The theoretideveloped. cal absence of property was utilized in order to extend an iron control over the basic means of production in the rural, tribal and urban communities. Together with his amirs he superimposed his bureaucratic over machinery the real economic structure of these communities and ruled from the cities which were his "princely camps." from his major economic Following of establishing policy an Asiatic patrimonial type of state capitalism, Shah Abbas created a network of state controlled system of commerce and industry. He commenced certain monopolies and royal industries and protected local industry and trade through various measures. The construction of roads, caravanserais, official postal services, and customs houses were instrumental in his policy. The amirs were responsible for providing all facilities and for protecting the caravans against the raids and lootings of gunmen; otherwise they were compelled to compensate for stolen merchandise.44 The foreign economic policy of Shah Abbas was to encourage European countries to buy Persian manufactures and raw materials on the one hand, and to re-open, the trade routes between the East and West through Persia on the other. He sent commercial envoys to France, England, the Netherlands,and Denmark and began active political and commercial relations with these countries at the turn of the sixteenth century. He gave concessions to Dutch and British companies to increase their trade with Persia and to expand the export of Persian manufactures and raw materials to Europe and the Far East.45 To prevent the flight of liquid resources from the country he encouraged his people to pray at the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad and prohibited them from going to Mecca. He also set a firm rule against the Banyans, a group of Hlindu money dealers, whose activities were disastrous to the Isfahan economy.46 pets,

In this period exports camel wool, some precious

IRAN4IAN STUDIES

comprised stones, GO

silks, tobacco

brocades, and dried

carfruits.

article The most important each bales, ted to 22,000

was silk weighing

whose yearly 276 pounds.47

musical of copper, steel, and coins.48 gold, silver

instruments,

curtain,

export amounconsisted Imports

paper

velvet,

trays,

of the last that at the time the item reveals The import was in Persia's although the money collected favor balance of trade in was hoarded ever appeared treasury and hardly by the royal This predisposition by the rich was also exhibited circulation. rise of prosperity The general money dealers and merchants.49 of the kingdom, but only in of the cities stimulated the growth to policy Since it was Abbas the Great's the central areas. areas of the conquered cities at the expense develop the central of the shah it was mainly that were the favorites the cities

which

cities

The most important

benefited.50

were Isfahan, Tabriz, and Mashhad, Ardebil

Yazd, Kashan, Bgrforush.51

Bandar

during Abbas,

period

this Hamedan,

Qazvin,

Tabriz and Kashan were of the utmost Isfahan, Among them, and its prosperity to Kashan reported importance. All travelers who "went up to KAsh3n in 1573 G. Ducket commercial significance. be a that merchaunaltogether of it to town consisteth reported there, beyng greatly trade of all the land is dise, and the best called it of India."52 frequented by the merchuntes J. Cartwright

in 1600

"the very magazeen

for stuffes."53 in comparison

being

of all

and warehouse

Sir T. Herbert in 1627 said, than York or Norvich, not less

accounted

in here."54

The population

of Tabriz

contained

at this

15,000

houses,

15,000 fairest

"These are the shops, 250 mosques and 300 caravanserais. . . . their vast Basaars that are in any place of Asia, of merchanthe vast quantities largeness, ...and ...their which

they

are

550,000.

It

was

extent, with dise

be

cities

city is families

period

estimated

to

the Persian

"This noble about 4,000

filled.

"55

under Shah was reconstructed the new capital city Isfahan, It had been, the most famous industrial for centuries, Abbas I. celebrated and commercial in Persia. Khosrow, the city Naser "the money who visited the city reports that in 1052, traveler 200 of them are working."56 bazaar in which dealers have a special in the whole In this industrial city period it was the most active of As it was the center and its bazaar expanded rapidly. country and induscontrolled monopolies many state patrimonial capitalism increased of Isfahan there. The population tries were located in the middle to 600,000 in the late sixteenth from 80,000 century of the seventeenth century.57 consisted of urban community in this period The structure his his staff, the tribal chiefs of the shah at the family, peak, constructed the ruling class. The and the ulama who together and merchants The prosperous come next. rank bureaucrats middle the lumpenproleand finally the craftsmen, manufacturers, large of the in the downward hierarchy located tarians are respectively

urban social

and economic

class

system.58 61

1969 SPRING-SUMMER

crafts were developed concomitant with the expanin the century. Various strata of artisans, the numerous into were highly active in the senfs, Iran in general in particular. and in IsfahAn more than historical talk sources of the period about the asnaf For their is not accidental. func-

Trades and sion of the cities loosely organized cities of central The fact the that the previous ones tional

was

signWicance

elevated(

in

the

of

context

patrimonial

domination.

senf consisted of the Each differentiated loosely and shaqerd. ostad kar, khalife, The senf had to certify nical the -ompetence of kar, and a special ost&d ceremony of the for the announcement Each had ostadi. an elective had to be officially by the recoqnized city authorities.

ranks the was

of techheld , who general,

ras

In

the people of every a person neighborhood, village and senf elected and granted themselves him a certificate and a salary. amongst Then the naqib town (deputy the document, chief) stamped and finally the kalantar (town chief) issued an official certificate The for him. and recognized elected rai'swasthe of the association representative the economic for meeting nTeeds of government.60 The had the asngf right of administering their internal afbut the subjected to the supervision of authocity thEeywere The ostads of each senf had own meetings.61 their In the three months of the hold year the kalantar would a meeting all the rai'ses at his house, where he assigned the share of the taxes to be paid by each collectivity. Scme of the asnaf their taxes in cash and others in kind (the produced commodi-

fairs, rities. first with total paid

ties).62 There was no autonomous municipality in this period. The head of the city or kalantar was appointed by the shah. He was rarely appointed from the merchants, the only exception being the kalantar of JolfA who was elected from amongst the prosperous Armenian traders of the town.63 Asnaf Dervishes lahi seventeenth

had a close who were eighteenth

relationship highly influential centuries .64

and

with

the HIaydary and in Persian cities

Ndmatalin the

We may conclude that trades and crafts were subject, like the Byzantine guilds and the Maml13k asnaf, to rigorous external state control. Though internally morediemocratic and loosely organized, the asnaf were not like their counterparts in the West, spontaneous and autonomous corporations. The kadkhoda or the head of the senf

was On

appointed his

to

election

his he

position had

to

He administered

authorities.

be

by

the

shah

recognized

his

senf

or by

by

of

kalantar the

the

help

of

the

town.

city

dependent

rish

sefids

whose intermediary position to consider the causedEthem interest merchants and craftsmen; but they were not the spokesmen of their independent interests against the huge and powerful Asiatic patrimonial machinery. The shah and kalantars through their mohtasebs, or market supervisors in the bazaars, firmly controlled the dai-ly

activities IRANIAN

of STUDIES

the

asnaf.65 62

of

with political, The asnaf combined their economic function ones and could benefit amount from a certain social and religious the used the authority However, Asiatic autonomy. of corporal and tax the administrative by assigning kadkhodas and rish sefids to them, and thus created barriers to serious collecting positlons of the asnaf. Although the asnaf played development the independent and economic life of the city, they an important role in the social type of power system had no voice in the machinery of the Asiatic of the country as a whole. and in the life and of the kadkhodas was tax collecting The main function As Minorsky for the shah. to do corvees calling on the craftsmen but the latter's compeelected representatives says "they possessed except in the case when tence seems to have been rather restricted carrying out corve'es for for they had to call up their guildsmen the King."66 Those guilds which were exempt from these corvees had workers The construction padeshah. to pay a levy called kharaj-e for the king and the most. were exploited They had to build palaces any pay, and usually the amirs without receiving durinq the corvee 67 had to live at their own expense. activEiies were as in other Islamic cities, traders, The prosperous They were supported by the shah rich, powerful and esteemed people. and his amirs who utilized them for their commercial enterprise.68 brokers, traders, international as wholesalers, They were active power Although they advanced their wealth, and so on. money dealers in all of their they found themselves and status in this period, Asiatic patrito the subordinated linked and activities intimately agents estabShah Abbas I and his bureaucratic monial domination. Conselabor and materials. lished over property, a firm control the prosperous as the shah's semi-bureaufunctioned traders quently, in each of office a reqistration crat agents. Shah Abbas established all commercial transthe major caravanserais to keep a record of the caravansaradars.69 agents: actions through his official Shah Abbas selected from the merchants and appointed a chief for their bankinq, diploto act as a liailsn him as ra s al-tojjar and fiscal to the state. duties matic, the silk trade through firm state conShah Abbas monopolized The state monopoly agents collected the silk from the protrol. and stored them in the state warehouses, to supply the raw vinces factories and to sell the surplus in foreign materials for state The merchants who were engaged in the silk trade were all markets. the Armenians of Jolfa Shah Abbas appointed the agents of the state. whose function to that of Karimi as the silk traders was similar in of in the cities Mamluk's state Egypt and Syria spice traders The Armenian silk traders expanded their during the same period. into the other items of commerce and were sent commercial activities as official countries envoys. They expanded their to the foreign as They also functioned trade to the West as well as to the East. The in the Bazaar of Isfahan. state bankers and money dealers to the foreign lands and traveled Armenians of Isfahan usually traded with the liquid wealth of the state or that of the ruling. class elements. 63

SPRINC-SUMIEP.1969

Shah Abbas, the royal family and his amirs qave direct employment to the Armenians because of their extensive manufacturing and activities. trading About 60 rvo.wux riches existed amongst the from 60,000 to 200,000 tomans in Armenitn merchants who accumulated cash. The state the largest factories installed in the country.72 There were about 32 royal workshops with approximately 150 workers each. The annual expenditure of the workshops was approximately 350,000 tomans. This was the largest in the whole country enterprise and the total expenditure to half of the royal revenues.73 approximated These state manufactories produced silk and wool carpets, wool and cotton materials, velvet and brocades. They also produced the best copper handicrafts, watches, leather and guns. china, They were in a good position to export Persian goods to the European countries.74 As Minorsky says "the Shahs are now the largest capitalists; they amass goods in their Buvatits,they and court European attract merchants, they use their Armenian subjects as their trading a ents for disposing of the chief exportable commodity, namely silk. "75 Although economic conditions in Persia and all the flourished historical sources evidence the growth of traditional capitalism during the rise of centralized patrimonial domination, and the country was able to resist the European colonial forces at the incipient stage of their expansion, the total situation was not favorable for the development of an independent bourgeoisie and ensuing modern capitalism in Persia. The trichotomy of urban, rural and tribal communities with the superimposition of the oriental patrimonial authority over the real economic structure of all three community types, and their undifferentiated unity created serious barriers to set in motion structural conflicts and dissolution of the whole system and its evolution toward the other societal type. Traditional attitude of the patrimonial staff and the traders, the non-rational practice of hoarding by treasury and money dealers, and disposition toward the luxurious standard of livinq and ensuing corruption set strict limits to the development of rational economic activities, modern capitalism and a western-type bourgeoisie in Iran. These conditions, prevented the sustained growth of traditional capitalism as well. Minorsky casts doubt on the expansion of capitalistic enterprise and says "the amount of Persian trade could not be called vast. "76 The fall of Safavids and ensuing tribal chaos is an example of the situation which impedes the development of trade and industry. When Aghi Mohamad Khin rose to power, total chaos and Insecurity was predominant throughout the country. The tribal leaders "had become accustomed to revolt and plunder, and were reluctant to submit to any kind of authority; the countryside had been ruined by repeated pillage. Security on the roads was virtually non-existent and commerce had greatly "77 declined. IRANIAN STUDIES

64

III.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY IN A SITUATION

OF WESTERNtPENETRATION

The Asiatic system of Persian society and its rulinq class surrendered to the West's colonial power and to its ensuinq--penetration in the middle of the nineteenth century. After the IranianRussian War of 1828, the ill-fated military expedition to Ilarat in 1855, and finally, the Anglo-Iranian Wqarin 1856, Persia lost its independence and moved into a semi-colonial situation in the modern world. This peculiar type of "contact" between the West and Persia took place through the process of western penetration and through direct contacts between western aqents, i.e., the representatives on the one hand, and of the colonial ruling class and power elite the major Persian structural The peculiarity forces on the other. of this total of the two great powers situation is due to the rivalry in maintaining the collapsing political community in Persia. Moreover, the rulers were forced to accept a policy of balancinq irreAs a result sistible Persia did within the new situation. pressures as a buffer not enter into a formal colonial but survived situation state between the expanding Russian appetite for the South and the British policy of the defense of India. their so-called Followinq "special interest" the two colonial powers arrived at a general agreement to divide the country into their zones of influence.78 The rivalry of the two powers intensified durinq the last quarter of the nineteenth century and their political goals merqed with econis what Dr. Keddie has judiThis new economic policy omic ones. ciously called by the two powers in Persia. "concession-hunting" "In general, in Iran was a qame of speculators concession-hunting whose wits were matched out for quick profits, and adventurers, and the shah, who equally wanted against those of wily courtiers as little trouble as possible. "79 Britain's in this period were to estabprinciple objectives and to defend her possessions lish and expand British trade, in The main qoal of Russia was "to extend her territorial India. as far into Persia as was feasible, possessions wlhilc laying the withi Great Britain foundations for a contest for the conmmercial and polotical domination of Persia.80 The major economic

concessions

Inay be sunniarized

as follows:

A maximum 5 per cent customs duty for imported (Toods was extended to other European countries under the "nmost favored nation" clause of the treaty withi Russia. Immunity from road tolls and internal transit taxes whichl were collected from Persian rmerclhants was qiven to foreiqners. A comprehlensive country-wide monopolv of railway construction, mining, and bankini'r was qiven to a britislh A concession subject, Baron de Reuter. given to Britain to orea65

SPRIICJ-SUMME;R 1969

in issuinq nize Bank of Persia the Imperial with a monopoly currency an agency to establish and anoth,er to Russia the Bancue d'Escompte, of Finance as a political of the Russian functioned which Ministry and a Casto Tabriz,, instrumenit. A railroad concession from Jolfd pian Sea fisheries A British monopoly were qranted to Russia. subject the D'Arcy obtained a tobacco concession. concession and another also Persia loans with in various received disastrous conditions, and finally, from the two powers the riqht forms, of capitugranted lation to the colonial powers.81 the total to the power of the shah in relation Althouqh tribal chiefs ane the agents powerful of the colonial powers dimihis absolute nished, elements power and that of his ruling over and craftsmen remained traders as an behaved The shah still intact. Asiatic with an absolute despot right resulting from the Asiatic patrimonial principle that the people and their land, everythinq--the his possessions. property--were "TThe Shah is thus, in fact, the government--the nation. All are his servants--his slaves; to be raised into his affluenice and favour at his pleasure,to be degraded and destroyed at his caprice, wvithout "82 remonstrance or appeal. Thus the atmosphere of autonomous commercial activities which existed in the medieval European towns and which contributed to the precapitalist formation of a bourgeoisie was conspicuously lacking in Persia. This situation of total power discouraqed the British bourgeoisie--the investors and merchants--from their lives and riskinq fortunes in Persia. The British pressed 14Nser al-Din Shah qovernment for a life and property decree. Finally the shah announced an important proclamation which was drafted by lAin al-Soltan with Volf's assistance on 22nd May 1888. The life and pronerty decree is of utmost because significance, it is a leading idea of the western bourgeoisie and was instituted to protect traders and invesBritishl tors.83 Ostensibly it was not the Persian bourgeoisie who benefited from this but British proclamation, adventurers. British endeavors for the so-called purpose of "strengthening" Persia were designed to make her resist Russian pressures and attract British speculators and adventurers to step into the Persian economy. Contrary to the assertions of the British authorities and Salisbury's statement in hlis note to the Lord of Commissioners of the Treasury in 1889,84 British economic activities were neither intended for the independent economic development of Persia, nor as a latant function did they have such a consequence. Russian and British economic activities in Persia, fruitful in the dissolution thouqh of Asiatic society, were disastrous for the independent economic development of this country. mountinq

The history economic

IRANIAN SITUDILS

of Persia in the nineteenth century interest and commercial activities 66

evidences of the two

the

conconsular The act of 1889 which established powers. colonial in Persia was "the natural outgrowth subjects trol over British in resided who subjects numbers of British of the increasing the opening of of the banking activities, Persia as a result and the mining exploralines, of telegraph operation Karun, the tions.85 of Russia and Britain economic interests The increasing in the in Persia gave rise to the growth of commercial activities century of nineteenth orbit country and moved its economy to the However, the growth of economic activities expansion. colonial type and had- paramount consewas of specific in Persian cities century the commerce of While in the early nineteenth quences. and balance of trade in its extent the country was very limited and while we can find some manufactured was in favor of Persia, was reversed the situation of export,86 goods among the articles at the turn of the century. years from 1873 to 1883, the value of the im"In fifteen rupees. by about 5,000,000 of Bushire increased ports and exports In a period of ten years from 1878 to 1888, the trade of Bandar In 1874 the customs of Bushire extent. to a similar Abas increased were farmed for 40,000 tomans, in 1889 for 99,000 tomans, in 1874 those of Bandar Abas for 30,000 tomans, in 1889 for 53,000 tomans, in 1874 those of Lingah for 6,500 tomans, in 1889 for 12,000 tobut that of the total This growth is by no means exhausted, mans. to trade by the Gulf may be expected value of Anglo-Indo-Persian from The exports in the future."87 much larger dimensions attain at Persia to Russia and the imports from Russia were estimated in 1889, pounds and 881,920 pounds respectively about 1,164,968 cencompared to the early nineteenth which shows a rapid increase tury.88 8 in the late trade with Persia increased Though British century it did not nineteenth century and in the early twentieth Over half of the foreign trade. exceed half of the Russo-Persian hsad only agencies trade was in the hands of Russian firms; British century.8Y trade in the early twentieth one quarter of the foreign it is not in favor Regarding the balance of trade in this period, and India in partiand in trade with Britain of Persia in general century the exports of Persia to In the early twentieth cular. one fifth of its imports England and to India were approximately in 1907 the Hlenry-Ren6 D'Allemagne reports from those areas.90 the total trade with import in Persia's foreign mounting increase of francs. and export 162,153,000 of 200,153,000 The growth of trade in rise to an increase in the urban of Persia and the capital cities of Tehran doubled in the second

century gave the late nineteenth in the commercial population The population city of Tehran. half of the nineteenth century!

67

SPRIN(-SUIJMER1969

According to E'temad al-Saltane, 2,000 miles were constructed shops, and 600 caravanserais Naser al-Din Shah.92

of roads, 100,000 during the reign

of

Western penetration, which was achieved through colonial policy and superior technology, destroyed the Persian manufactories As a result which were important during the Safavid period. European on the one hand, manufactured goods superseded Persian local products that of manufactured and the export of raw materials materireplaced the decay of als on the other. The nineteenth century evidences industrial in the cities activities of .Isfahan, Kashan, Tabriz, Yazd, Kerman and Mashhad.93 that the import of Flandin who visited Kashan in 1840 reports British materials has destroyed the large factories of KashTan. The of dumping which is possible practice who for large foreign traders have local tax immunities has systematically and low customs duties caused the decadence of Persian Isfahan which was famous industry.94 in manufactured is now the consumer of "manufactured materials cotton goods, almost wholly from Manchester and Glasgow." And "of the exports whose value and bulk are both greatly inferior to the imports the principles are: opium, tobacco, cotton, almonds and rice."9 Curzon reports that in Yazd "Silk weaving was formerly the chief local industry, the mulberry being cultivated in great abundance in the neighborhood; and as many as 1,800 factories, employing some 9,000 hands, were in the middle of the present century engaged in the business. This has however declined, and its place has been taken... .by the cultivation of the poppy, 2,000 chests of the opium extracted from which are now said to leave Yazd annually. "96 I-le also points out that "In the middle ages Kerman possessed a qreat for the manufacture of arms; but this, like that of reputation Meshed is a thing of the past. "97 Not only were the traditional manufactories destroyed in the new situation, but the various attempts of the independent Persian bourgeoisie to establish themselves failed for two basic reasons. the resistance Firstly of the Asiatic type of social, economic and political order with all the impeding factors of the Safavid period, and without its advantages. Secondly, there was the intervention of the colonial powers on behalf of their bourgeois elements. Two major examples of genuine endeavor amongst the Persian bourgeoisie for independent growth are the establishment of new factories and the creation of a local and national banking enterprise. Jamal-Zade reports that 30 major factories which were installed in the later Qajar period were closed partially due to the intervention and competition of the companies.98 For example, foreiqn a modern sugar cane factory, which was installed in 1899 by Amin and whose products were of better quality al-Dowle, than Russian went bankrupt as a result sugar, finally of Russian dumping practices.9 IRA1NIAN STUDIES

68

and of Persian money dealers Another example is the failure banking syslocal and national an independent to establish traders in local were active Persian money dealers tem in their country. which had the Bank of Persia, The Imperial markets up to 1888. with concomitant currency and other concessions, monopoly of issuing an agency of the Russian of the Banque d'Escompte, the activities dominated the money market of Persia and limited of Finance, Ministry Persian money dealers of the local money dealers. the activities banks but independent to organize attempts and traders made several The banks. due to the imposing power of the two colonial failed Bank of Iran to create the National of Persian bourgeoisie failure Mloreover, majles is a dramatic story.100 at the time of the first due to the same failed large corporations five other relatively The growth of trade, reasons.101 the decay of local manufactures bourgeoisie of independent and the failure qave rise to the emerPowerful in the late Qajar period. gence of a dependent bourgeoisie representatives or appointed firms opened up their offices foreign Curzon of Persia in this period. in the major commercial cities zone in the British firms were active that six large British reports "A good deal of trade is done bv native merchants;. of influence.102 passed through the hands of transactions but the bulk of mercantile as English firms, whose activity be described what may indisputably with the apathy that has been displayed contrast here is in pleasing many prosperous in other parts of Central Asia. '103 Consequently into the agents of Russian and British traders were converted Persian The predominance of commercial firms and lost their independence. banks over the Persian money market, the apathy of the two colonial in a situelements toward the local bourgeois rulers the Asiatic and the intervention of the patrimonialism, ation of decentralized of their traders and investors the interest two powers to protect firms to survive.104 to work with thie foreign traders forced Persian One of this period is achieve status in this period, funds in land. of development

in of the bourgeoisie the important characteristics their tendency to seek land ownership In order to The sale of state lands and crown lands, and power. their liquid invest to gave them an opportunity to the This should be taken as another obstacle in Persia. an industrial bourqeoisie

of 1905, which was a quasiRevolution The Constitutional due to accumulated discontents was partially movement, bourgeois and the petty-bourgeosie amongst the Persian traditional bourqeoisie in which the in a society in this period. Ilowever, it was defeated forces were system and stronq tribal Asiatic patrimonial particular of revolution were still In the first predominant. majles the ideas in the were Thus, elements foreground. in the air and its active and 15 the petty-bourgeoisie 22 per cent of deputies represented while the landlords the mercantile-bourqeoisie, per cent represented In the representations. constituted only 8 per cent of the total the petty-bourqeoisie was moved out from the scene, second maj4la also qradually deThe portion of mercantile-bourgeoisie forever. in the Qajar period of majles life.105 clined that

in this the major developments To epitomize and bureaucratic landlordism both bureaucratic 69

period we may say capitalism

sPPIr1C-S;UHrER1969

the Qajar period. collapsed the abolition of toyul durinq Finally by the first transformed nature majiles the administrative of land into the lnstitution tenure of private All the advanproperty.106 tages of the Asiatic of system total of trade power for the growth in the Safavid and industry whilst were absent, all its period disfor the rise of an independent advantages were brougeoisie present. of the trade The rapid and the failure qrowth of traditional manuand the factums independent bourgeoisie to the emergence gave rise of the dependent on the one hand, bourgeoisie and increasing pettybourgeois activities in trade, the importance of the diminishinq industrial on the other. petty-bourgeoisie, IV.

TIHE REVIVAL OF CENTRALIZED ORIENTAL PATRIMONIALIStM AND STATE CAPITALISM IN TIE REZA SHAHI PERIOD

The reiqn of Reza Shah may be divided into two phases, the first from the coup d'etat lasting of 1921 and his coronation in 1925 to 1930, and the second from 1931 to 1941. lie revitalized the Asiatic system of power in the former and established period state capitalism in the latter. It was in the second that the period difficulties from the world and arisinq depression the foreign trade made the shah fulfill problems his Asiatic patrimonial mission by state intervention in all facets extending of the economic life of the country.107 We may find a good statement on his in the policy following official remarks which mask and rationalize 30 centuries' tradition of patrimonial intervention in economic enterprise: "The weakness and incapability of individual initiatives which has been since proved the World lWar, has forced all countries to abandon the laisser-faire and compelled policy all governments to take an active in the economic part life of their countries. Our country has also followed this universal trend, and the government of Iran has directl or indirectly controlled 33 per cent of the imports and 49 per cent of the exports the state throuqh monopolies. ''18 we should liowever, notice the hiatus between the planned economic policy the followinq Great in the sphere Depression of western legal-rational domination and the state controlled economy in the sphere of arbitrary and nonrational authority of the Persian patrimonialism.109 Serious action in this direction was set in motion by a law declaring a monopoly on foreign trade in 1930,110 which was supplemented in 1932 and partially revised in 1936 and 1941. Following this direction the qovernment created 17 companies by 1935 for the implementation of the law. Consequently the state controlled the major part of foreign trade and possessed the largest comtradinq panies in the country. It also acquired an increasinq of deqree central control over the financial affairs of the country, and the volume of state financial activities particularly in qrew rapidly, the second phase of Rzeza Shah's reign. For example, the estimated state revenue in 1924 was under 237 million rials, while it had risen to over rapidly 3,613 million rials in 1941.111 In April 1927, the maj_les passed a law for the establislhment of the Bank-e Melli-ye Iran and the right of issuinq notes was withdrawn from the Imperial IRPAJNIANSTUDIES

70

Bank and transferred to this bank, which functioned state bank as well as a state commercial bank.112

as a central

Another state initiative in the Asiatic tradition was in road construction. Reza Shah raised the already active, Road Department into an independent Ministry of Roads in 1930. Road construction activities extended the carriage roads from 1,286 miles in 1921 to 16,000 miles in 1938.113 Several attempts such as tariff exemption for trucks and buses were also made to encouraqe the use of motor The import of motor vehicles vehicles. and spare parts increased four times from 1927 to 1936.114 There were about 25,000 motor vehicles in 1941 in Persia. However, the master project of the shah's transportation and communication program was the Trans-Iranian Railway. The project was carried out mainly by western contractinq companies with the assistance of a few Persian companies.115 Finally, 850 miles of railway with the total cost of 2,552 million rials, which was raised by the tax on tea and suqar, were constructed in the latter period of the Reza Shah reign.116 As a result of these construction activities, a group of contractors emerged as a part of the Persian bourgeoisie. Over ten of the contracting companies of this period have survived up to the present time and are registered among the leading contractors.117 to industrialize Serious attempts the country were made in the period lasting from 1934 to 1940. in these projects Priority was qiven to light industries, largely to make Persia less dependent on imported qoods. By 1941 about 200 plants that might be considered as industrial establishments in the country. Out of these, existed 30 large factories directly owned by the state were the largest establishments in their particular trades and some of them had a monopoly of production.118 Private enterprise was subordinated to the large establishments of the state and functioned under the firm control of

the

Ministry

of

Mines

and

Industry.

The total number of workers in these 200 plants may be estimated at 50,000 to 60,000. About 120 factories employed from 30 to 100 workers, about 10 had from 100 to 500, and some 15 large plants, some of the textile including factories in Isfahan and Tabriz had 500 to 1000 workers. The larqest factories at this time were the state arsenal with 2,300 employees, and the state tobacco plant with The most important 3,300. which employed industry was textiles, half of the total labor force. state-owned industrial Consenuently tlhe bDtal workers in these industry employed almost 40 per cent of 80 per cent of and possessed the larqest factories If we plants. add the number of workers in the state owned railway system and mines, the percentage of government workers would rise to 60 per cent. The most were sugar refinerimportant state owned factories cement plants, arsenals and tobacco factortextile ies, factories, which started eight sugar refineries The total output of ies. from 2,300 tons of sugar their operation from 1931 to 1937 increased Over 4,000 workers were emcane in 1932 to 33,000 tons in 1940. A cement plant started in 1934 ployed in these plants. operation and its total annual output increased from 25,000 tons in 1934 to 71

SPPING-SUMMIFR 1969

The The plant employed about 1,000 workers. 70,000 tons in 1940. which started factories four modern textile government installed from 1930 to 1937 and employed about 8,000 workers their operation by 1940. was in texinitiative private The most important area for plants were created or extended Some 20 large textile tile industry. employed about 35 per cent factories in this period. These private number of wool The total by 1940. workers industrial of the total from 2,000 in 1925 to 7,920 in 1930, and to was increased spindles from 3,842 in 1921 to 25,548 in 1940, and that of cotton spindles of However, the spindles 16,142 in 1930, and to 200,000 in 1940. for the period from 1930 to are included the state owned factories 1940.119 the trend of its translandlordism, Reqarding bureaucratic which was begun during the landownership, into private formation The institution in this period. period, was intensified earlier and received a of private landed property was well established a good portion of confiscated The shah himself solid legal basis. the in country. landowner the largest and became villages prosperous and large landchiefs the power of tribal Although he demolished in the 'Asiatic' tendencies owners and scorned their aristocratic of prithe institution he strengthened and established tradition, Not only were 57 per cent of majles deputies, vate landownership. who were (and half of the deputies in this period, landowners but the higher also government employees were from this class), and successful the public bureaucracy, echelons of the military, businessmen into the landowninq class.120 were incorporated in this period of the bourgeoisie As far as the development As of this class. strata is concerned, we should examine various of in the fields private initiative we have already demonstrated, was dominated by mining and construction transportation, banking, in these developed of bourgeoisie state activities and no strata state capitalAlthough in the areas of trade and industry, areas. of the middle strata initiative, ism subordinated entrepreneurial and in these fields their activities intensified elements bourgeois In this period the hiatus grew in numbers and economic prosperity. in the bazaar and who resided between the traditional bourqeoisie or the bazaar behind,physically the modernized elements who left work with could easily strata The latter mentally, was intensified. These strata western bourgeoisie. and the bureaucratic elements for depeneagerness Reza Shah's regime and manifested supported petty-bourgeoisie While the industrial dent bourgeois activities.121 the petty-bourgeois in both periods, lost its functional importance grew rapidly. traders V.

A NOTE ON THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

continues

In the recent period, which to the present time, the

IRANIIANSTUDIES

72

begins in the mid 1950's and resumption and rapid increase

in

oil revenues which was followed by the growth of small industries, foreign capital investments, private banking enterprises, transportation firms, local and foreign trade, brouqht about a drastic structural change in the society. The social order and security, which were maintained by the use of absolute force in this period, werepartially designed to attract both domestic and foreign capital for investment. Consequently, the modern bourgeoisie entered into the infantile stage of its development and qrew rapidly within a decade. As regards state capitalism, by adopting the western capitalistic model for development, the major economic policy of the government became the development of private enterprise. Hiowever, a community of interest has been established between the hiqher echelos or bureaucracy and the economic elites. coaliwithout tion with these elements, the wealthy bourgeoisie would lose its power and probably its prosperity. Because the increasing oil revenue is instrumental in the maintenance of the absolute economic and political power of the government, the economic of the state, formulated by the policy modernized patrimonial staff has vital consequences for all sectors of private enterprise such as the support of local industries, the attraction of foreign investment and tle allocation of money to the contractors. we may epitomize bourgeoisie as follows; a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

the recent

developments

of the Persian

in this period. The industrial bourgeoisie Priqrew rapidly vate firms Dossess 12 larae industrial each of establishments, which employs over 1,000 workers. The remaininq 4 large factories of this type belong to the state.122 The number of commencement permits issued for industrial establishments increased from 55 permits in 1956 to 596 in 1965.123 There were rapidly over 300 private industrial companies which employed over 100 workers in 1963.124 hits also The industrial and mercantile dependent bourgeoisie in the past decade. The amount of foreign developed private inves tmgnt increased from $414,313 in 1956 to $12,763,340 in In Banking activities 1966. 2 eight mixed banks were estabwith a total investors lished by Persian and western paid-up of $25,000,000 in this period. capital hlowever, the main area is the oil industry. in this respect with a total In reqard to banking, 10 private companies paidwere created in this period by leadof $12,400,000 up capital elites and have been Ihiqhly ing economic and bureaucratic utilize in their enterorise. the successful They usually for their executive elite former bureaucratic positions.126 increased from 52 The number of contractina companies rapidly 100 leadinn contractors firms in 1953 to 500 in 1967 including members or who have a elite who are either former bureaucrttic 27 with these elements. coalition also have shown Bourgeois activities in transportation enterprises Persian aaencies of rapid development in the past decade. and several larae a few boat lines international airlines, The number truck operating companies have been established. 73

SPRINC-SUMMER1969

of truck holding companies more than 20 trucks possessing nas reached 50 firms have over 10 companies which 100 including trucks at the present time.128 We may conclude that the Persian bourgeoisie is still in its formative period. Though it has gained functional significance, wealth, prestige and power in the past decade, it is not an independent, force in this country and i s still dependent on powerful the bureaucratic which carries the burden machinery of the centuries of 'Asiatic' tradition of total power,

NOTES

2.

3.

4. 7.

8. 10.

11. 12.

See for example C.W. Mills, Imaqes of Man: The Classic Tradition In Socioloqical Th,nkinq, Socioloqical N.Y.1960;, Imagina1959 N.Y. his tion, 5 on article "Uses of H1istory6 " especially pp. 143-64; The Marxists, N.Y. 1961; I.L. Horowitz, The tJew N. Y7194; M. Stein Socioloqy, and A. Vidich, on Sociology Trial, N.Y. 1964; M1. Weber, ;Nethodoloqy of the Social Sciences, N.Y. 1949. "All peoples travel what is basically the, same path...The development of society proceeds throuqh the consecutive replacemenit, accordinq to definite laws, of one socio-economic formation by another." 0. Kunsined, Ed. Fundamentals of MarxismLeninism, London, 1961, p. 153. See N.V. Piqulevskaya, A.U. Yakubovsky, I. Petrushevski, L.V. A.1. Striyeva, Tarikh-e Belnitski, Iran az Dowre-ye B3stAn ta Payan-e Sadeye Hejdaho;n (The Iiistory of Iran from the Ancient Period to the End of Eiqhteenth Century), 2 Vols. translated by K. Keshavarz, Tehran, 1346/1967, pp. 5-67 (hereafter T.I.). See also I.M. Diakonov, TArikh-e Mad (Ilistory of Media), translated by K. Keshavarz, Tehran 1344/1965; M.M. Diakonov Ashkaniyan (The Parthians) translated by K. Keshavarz, Tehran, T.I., pp. 68-149. 5. oIbid., pp. 150-237. 6. Ibid., pp. 238-324. Ibid., pp. 325-490; see also D. Vladimirtsov, Le Regime Social des Mongols: Le Feodalisme nomade, P'aris, V.V. 1934; Barthold, Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion, London, 1928; I.P. Petrushevski, Keshavarzi va MonAsebAt-e Arzi dar Iran-c Ahd-e Moghol, (Agriculture and Agrarian Relations in Iran; in the Monqol Period), translated by K. Keshavarz, Tehran, 1345/1966. T.I., pp. 491-596. 9. Ibid., pp. 597-664. See for example M.A. Khonji, "Tirikh-e Mad va Mansha-e Nazariyeye Diakonov" (A Critique on Diakonov's "Hlistory of Media"), in Shahrivar-e 1346 Ketab, Rahnema-ye (October 1967), appendix, also see A. Ashraf, pp. 1-36; "Nezaim-e Asia'i ya Nezam-e Feodali" (Asiatic Society or Feudal System) in Jahan-e Now, 1946/1967, Nos. 5-12. K. Marx, Pre-Capitalist Economic Formation, edited with an introduction bv E. Hiobsbawm, N.Y. 1964. p. 78. K. Mrax, "British Rule in India," New York Daily Tribune, June 15, 1852; also June 25 and August 8, 1853: See also Marx to Enaels 2.6.53 and 14.6.53 and EnqelstOcMarx 6.6.53.

IRANIAN STUDIES

74

13. 14.

15.

16. 17. 20. 21. 22. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 30.

31. 32.

33. 35.

New llaven, 1957. Despotism, Oriental K. Wittfoqel, Hlistory of Iran, See for example E. ferzfeld, Archaeological London, 1935; also Iran in the Ancient East, London, 1914; 1937. Bruxelles, du servaqe, iranien N. Adontz, L'aspect L'Iran sous les sasanides, A. Christensen, Copenhague, 1944; in Annales de Iligta IX au XIII siecle," C. Cahen, *Llevolution 1953; No. 1, Paris, (Economies--Societ4s--Civilisations), Islam, Vol. I, Leiden, 1958, in A. Ben Shemesh, Taxation pp. 62-64. Vol. 1. Leipzig, Islam-studien, See for example C.11. Becker, London, 1924; A. K. S. Lambton, Landlord and Peasant in Persia, "The Evoreflections, 1953, pp. 53-74; see also her excellent Iran, Vol. V. 1967, pp. in Medieval Iran," of the lqta' lution "La F4odalit4 41-50; A. Poliak, islamique,i ' Reveue des etudes islamicues, 1936, pp. 247-65; Fr. Ldkkenaard, Islamic Taxation Period, in the Classic Copenhaqen, 1950; see also B. Brandage, "Feudalism in Ancient Mesopotamia and Iran' and R. Coulborn, editor, Feudalism in History, 'The case of Iran," in R. Coulborn, 1956. Princeton, pp. 77-78. Economic Formation, Marx, Pre-Capitalist p. 38. Ibid., 19. p. 71. Ibid., 18. Ibid., 33-34. 1960. Portrait,7N.Y. R. Bendix, Max Weber: An Intellectual p. 359. N.Y. and Economic Organization, M. tWeber, The Theory of Social 1947, p. 355. Ibid., 23. p. 357. Ibid., p. 355. Siasi-ye See also A. Ashraf "Jame'e Shenasi-ye p. 355. Ibid., in Sokhan, Nos. Socioloay) Max Weber," (Max Weber's Political 1346/1968. 10-12, A Manual of Safavid AdminisTadhkirat al-Mul6ik: V. Minorsky, T.I. pp. 550-3. T.M.), p. 12. London, 1943, (hereafter tration, p. 502. Ibid., pp. 507-8. cit., p. 188; see also Lambton,op. T p. 106; T.I., Ibid., pp. 16-18. 29. p. 507; T.M. pp. 14-16. Ibid., The soyurghal was granted under tlhe Monqols and their which Hlowever, like the "fief." was, to some extent, successors, under Ghazan Kahn tendency already realized the centralizing was contradictory Safavid predecessors and Ahmad Aq-qoyunlu--the its practice. Minorsky says and limited to granting soyurahal in January 1942, on Ahmad Aq-qoyunlu conpleted 'In the artice the same sources as used practically Petrushevsky Professor on the purport of the myself and came to the same conclusions the against tendency of the qovernment directed centralizing Twenty Articles, Tehran, Iranica, (V. Minorski, fief-holders." pp. 72also Petrushievsky, op. cit.0 see 1964, pp. 224-41); 478-88. T.I. pp.497T, 74; Lambton, o pp. 197-211; cit., pp. 105581; Lambton, op. cit., 551, 557-59, pp. 510-11, T.I., 128. of Shah Abb5s I, character For a good account on the despotic Shah Abb3s-e Avval (The Life of ZendegXni-ye see N. Falsafi, and Vol. 2, pp. 77-211. Shah Abb5s I), Tehran, 1334/1955, Vol. 3, pp. 119-200. 34. pp. 551-6 & 581-90 T.M., p. 16; T.I., pp. 543 and 556. T.I., 1811, Vol. V., Chardin, Paris, Chardin, Voyaqes du Chevalier n -T.M. p. 16. cited pp. 224-25, 75

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

36. 37. 38. 40. 42. 43.

44.

45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 59. 60.

Iskandar Monshi, Abbasi, Xlam Ar3-ye 1314/1935, pp. 104-124 and 761-7. Khold-e Barin, Appendix to the Alam Ara, 1317/1939. T.M. p. 15; T.I. p. 507. 39. T.M. pp. 17-18. Ibid., p. 18. 41. Ibid., p. 30. See Ibid., pp. 30-6; T.I. pp. 544-6, 556; Chardin, Vol. V, pp. 7W7?32; P. Della Valle, Viaqgi, Brighton, 1843, pp. 476, 759-68; Hasan-i Rumlu, Ahsan al-Tavarikh, Sedon, 1931, p. 368. Under Abb5s I and his successors a bureaucratic landlordism developed. In the expanding lands state and crown lands opium, tobacco, barley and fruits were cultivated. to the According authors of Tadhkirat-al-iiulllk the shah possessed and Olearius, the best and most numerous cattle in the land. See T.I. pp. 564-70. See for example. T.I., pp. 551-6; R.Z. Safavi, Iran-e Eqtesadi (Economy of Iran), Vol. 2, Tehran, 1309/1930, p. 78; B. Parizi, Jazr va Madd-e Siyasat va Eqtes3d dar Asr-e (FlucSafavilye. tuations of Politics anrd iEconomy in the Safavid Period), in Yaqhma, No. 2, 1346/1967, 62, and No. 3, pp. 121-2. p. ?7afavi, Iran-e p. 61; T.M., Eqtes5di, pp. 19-20; Parizi, No. 2; T.I., pp. 551-6. op. cit., IV, p. 64. CFMTh, 7Vol. p. 162; T.I., Ibid., pp. 577-9. Chardin, Vol. 4, pp. 162-6; Safavi, op. cit., T.I. pp. 70-3; pp. 579-80. Chardin, Vol. IV, p. 64; Mohammad Mohsen, Zubdat al-taw5rikh, p. 208. T.I., p. 551-2. Ibid., p. 373; Safavi', o pp. 74-5. cit., C. N. Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question, London, 1892, Vol. 2, p. 13,- hereafter P.Q. Ibid., p. 13. Ibid., p. 13; uI. Naraqi, T3rikh-e KNshAn, Tehran, EjtemAi-ye 1345/1966, p. 132. P.Q., Vol. 2, p. 250; See also V. Minorski, Tarikh-e Tabriz, trans. by A. Karang, Tehran, 1337/1958, Etemad alpp. 55-7; Soltan, Mir'at al-Buldan, Tehran 1294, Vol. 1, pp. 554-61. Naser Khosrow, Safar Name-ye Khosrow, N3ser Tehran, 1335/1956, P. 123. T.I., 58. T.M., p. 554. pp. 12-23. See for example, Du Mans, Estate de la Prese en 1660, Paris, 1890. pp. 195-211; Chardin, Vol. IV, pp. 95-151; T.I. p. 570; T.M., p. 20. According to Tadhkirat al-Muliik, the Kalantar appointed the Kadkhudas, contributed to the reportation of taxes among the the desiderata quildsi,Tformulated of the latter.' (T.M., p. 148). See also E. Kaempfer, Amoenitatum exoticarum, Lem
IRANIAN STUDIES

76

61.

62. 63. 64. 66. 67. 68. 70.

71. 72.

73. 74. 75. 77. 78.

79. 80. 81.

82.

'the of Tadhkirat al-Muluk, quilds to the author Accordinq IV, p. 93. but Chardin, meetinqs, some professional held oraanization their never met and that the guilds that asserts of Tarikh-e authors the Soviet (T.M. P. 148); loose." was quite See T.I., p.T71. view. the former with Iran are in agreement pp. 571-2. Ib., probably that "Most maintains However, Minorsky p. 572. ibid., thouqh we notables, from amonq the local to be chosen bothEhad pp. 148-9. T.M., election," of their of the system know nothinq p. 149. T.M., 65. p. 571. T.I., IV, p. 93. Vol. 20; Chardin, p. Ibid., VI, p. 119. Vol. Chardin, pp. 20-1; Ibi.7, p. 80. cit., Safavi, 0o. 69. 576. p. 551, T.I. the cities, in all ra'is al-toj jar e that says Chardin to According p. 149). an T.M., V, Vol. (Chardin., who about Malik at-tuijar "The T.M. savs nothinq Minorsky p. .' (T.11., by the merchants tieelves was elected probably on had to decide of the merchants "Thie chief Le Brun says 149); and the the weavers and also inspected proceedinqs mercantile p. 149). in T.M., (Cited of the court." tailors Vol. IV, p. 167: Chardin, pp. 19-20; T.!1., See for example p. 576. P. 183; T.I., Du Mans, op. cit., Safavid industry, of capitalistic "ln the absence says Minorsky had and contemporaries, predecessors to their similarly Kings, deand objects necessaries of certain production to segure Many of these own household. of their at the work-shops luxe such as the kitchen, departnents, domestic were simply buyutat were, there etc.; kennels, stables, stores, various scullery, state-owned real which were run like some buyiitat however, tailortwo mill, a weavinq mentions Our source manufactories. the of seven departments, the mint consistinq ing departments, etc. " (T.Al. , p. 29) . Arsenal, of Tadhkirat the author whereas 32 workshops, counts Chardin p 79VII, Vol. See Chardin, 33 workshops. counts al-Muluk p. 30. TFiT.tl., a ; pp. 73-4. Safavi, See for example op. cit., 20. 76. Ibid., p. p. 14. T.1., of Persia, Sir John Malcolm, History o p. cit., p.TI14; Lambton, London, 1720, pp. 182-3. Vol. 2, and Persian Question, Persia Curzon, for example, See, of India, London, and the Defense Persia R. Greaves, pp. 554-85; M. 1964; Pittsburgh, in Iran, Nationalism P.. Cottam, 1959; Khater5t-e 1912; London, of Persia, The Stranqling Shuster, 134/1965. Tehran, by A. Jali, trans. Kasakowski, Colonel Tobacco The Iranian in Iran, and Rebellion Reliqion N. Keddie, 7. 1966, p. London, of 1891-1892, Protest 1961, p. 7. Cambridge, The Hiistory of Modern Iran, J. Upton, Greaves, 2, pp. 528-85; Curzon, op.cit.,Vo1. See for example, 1335/1917, Tehran, Ganje Shayegan, M. Jamal-Zade, op. cit.; and Monetary Financial Recent E. N. Yeg5negi, pp. 100-116; of on II llistory "Phe Ch. 1934, N.Y., of Persia, llistory pp. 15-46. in Persia," Influences Politico-Economic Foreign N.Y., of Persia, ive Account and Descri Iistorical J. Fraser, p. 227 . 1834, 77

SPRINC-SUJMER

1969

833.

See

'Correspondence

Majesty

the

Respecting

Shah

Persia

of

for

the

Issue

the

Protection

of

a

Decree

of

by

Riqhts

Hlis

of

Property in Persia, British Parliamentary CIX, 1888. Papers, (C. 5434). See Office to Treasury," 2 July 1889: F.O. 60150. 'Foreign to Law R. Greaves, Office op. cit. p. see 175; also 'Foreign and Wolf to Officers of ?he Crown, 7 May 1889 (F.O. 60/518), Salisbury, No. 3, Consular, 30 March 1889 (F.O. 60/518). Jams Fraser esti-mated the and total a unt of exports imports as about one the million and a quarter in early sterlinq

84. 85.

86.

Nineteenth

Century,

37. 88.

Curzon, ibid.,

90.

safavi,

9i.

H. D'Aliemaqne, by Farrah-Vashi, Sani' al-Douleh, Tarikhche-ye si

92. 9.3.

op.

cit.,

p- . 94. 95.

E. Flandin, Safar trans. by Sadeqhi, Curzoui, ojo cit.,

96.

Ibid.,

pp.

see Vol. 89.

cit., op. p. SW6-

v.

J.

Fraser,

op.

p. 572. 2, Jam5l-ZAde,

0

.

cit.,

p.

211.

cit.,

p.

9.

159.

Safar NEmeh-e Az KhorAss5n t.a Bakhtiari, Tehran, 7335/1956, pTT6T27 al-Asar, Tehran, 1306/1888, Ma?SseX Bank-e Tehran, Melli-e Iran, .Sle-ye

211-12.

Name-ye seco5id Vol. 2.,

97.

Flandin dar Eugene Iran, Tehran ed. 1324/1945, p. 41.

Ibid..

*

.

p.

trans. p. 90. 1338/1959,

1840-1841, 107.

245.

. Cit1 pp. iatT-Zade, 99. Ibid., p. 99. 795. Ibid., p. 10 Si Sa1e-ye bsii~7eMelli-ye Iran, 11ihche-ye "Bank 1 Da3TThr Bnk-e Markazi No. T. 54; Iran,' BuMlt4n, 1340/1960, pp. 1-9. Jamal-ZSde, it., pp. 98-9. OP. Curzon, Vol. 2, p. 573. cit., p Ibid., 41. K. Khosrovi, dar Iran, Tehran University, Memo. Bourgeoisie 1344/1965. dar Melli i, Bisto Yek Shaji ShorN-ye Majles-e Nam5yandegAn-e

98. 100.

101. 102. 103. 104. 105.

106.

107. 108. 109.

Dowre-ye T ihran, 13T44/1965, Qanun GozAri, pp. 185-189. For an account on the collapse of state landlordism in this see N. Keddie, period "The Historical obstacles to Aqrarian in Iran," Chanoe See also Claremont, 1960; L.ambton, op. cit., 178. pp. 152-6, See for example A. Banani, The Modernization of Iran 19211941, Stanford 1961. Lambton, op. cit., pp. 131-93; ll. Makki, Dist TiarTkh-e 3 vols. Sale-ye Iran, 1324-26/1945-47. Tehran, No. 9, December, BEnk Melli Ir3n BuleItin, 1936, p. 6. As Professor Charles Issawi expounded on this in a sesmatter sion of the Conference we can understand the situation vertically and horizontally. Hie means by the former the historical forces at work and by the latter the contemporary necessities. The fact that the nature of political domination in this country has been the fusion of traditional patrimonialism and leqal the Constitutional rational authority, since Revolution of 1905, may help us to understand the situation more deeply. Ilowever, I do believe that have the forces of tradition played an important and consequently part patrimonialism has assimilated the rational leqal apparatus own frame work up to the into its time. present The fact the that qovernment emphasizes

IflANIAN STUDIES

78

110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 116.

117. 118. 119.

120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 127. 128. 129.

25 centuries domination for the legitimization of patrimonial is of utmost significance in underof political authority from within. standing the situation Majmu'e-ye Qavinin-e Mowzu'e (8th Majles), pp. 171-93. Ibid., 5th, pp. 316-23, 12th, pp. 528-33. See for example Bank Melli Iran Bulletin from 1933 to 1940. Bink Melli Irnn Bulletin, July 1938, p. 211. Ibid., p. 212. 115. Ibid., February 1933, p. 29. May 1940, pp. 82-91. EITd., Surat-e Peymnankaran-e Sazeman-e Barname Dar Barn5me-ye Sevvom, April 1967. See for example Bank Melli Iran Bulletins from 1933 to 1940. in this part are basically The figures estimated from the followinq sources: Bink Melli Iran Bulletins from 1933 to 1940; Vezarat-e Amar-e Amalkard-e Sanayel 'omde-ye Kar, Keshvar in Geographical ano London, 13267947;Persia, Series, 1945, pp. 457-64. See N. Keddie, "The Historical Obstacles to Agrarian Chanqe in Iran," Claremont, 1960; Lambton, op. cit., pp. 181-93; Shajii, op. cit., pp. 174-205. Vol. 3, p. 395. II. Makki, p. cit., Shanzdah Bozorg-e Keshvar, (16 large factories) Arkh5ine-ye Vezarate-e Eqhtesad, Tehran, 1343/1964, p. 8. on Commencement and Operation Permits for Industrial Report of Economy, Tehran, p. 41. in I965, Ministry Lstablishments Iran, Rahnama-ye Maa'aden va Krgah-ha-ye San'ati-ye Bozorg-e (A Guide to Mines and Large Factories) Lghtesad, Vezarat-e 1964, pp. 178-99. Central 126. Bank, Unpublished. Ibid. of ContracSurat-e PaymAnkaran-e Sazeman-e Barnamie (TThe List tors of Plan Orqanization), Tehran 1346/1967. Interview the authorities with of the Union of Truck IHolders. A research project on the recent developments of Persian of the is beinq Bourqeoisie carryed out under the supervision at the Institute of Tehran Univerauthor for Social Research to this sity. The present paper is an historical background research.

79

SPRING-SUMIER

1969

AKHAVAN'S "THE ENDING OF SHAHNAMEH": A CRITIQUE*

SCROURSOROUDI

la*-ad -these

A considerable amount of Persian poetry has been transother 'languages lincluding English. Quite frequently tr.y,-anslations are free renderings of the original, only

t-to

vaguely conveying the message of the poet. other translators have o be mocre faithful and to give the English to the original cried of the meaning. reader a 5loser understanding However, even such the poem as in the the reader -t experience attempts ;;o not enable original

language

attempt

tc present

with

its

poetic

a Persian

felicities.

poem 4In a different

The

following

is

an

way, by providing

a 16teral literal translation accompanied by a commentary. 1The translation is accompanied by the Persian text so that those who even the slightest -ave with the language fa.miliarity may be able to experience the poem in a fuller and deeper way. In addition of the !-Ieas the litsral translation are numbered so that the reader may refer to the related subjects under discussion.

The poem "Akhar-e Shahnameh" ("The Ending of Shahnameh") .s a celebrated work by the contemporary poet Mehdi-ye Akhavan-e ""he poet who is known by his pen name M. Omid, is one of Sales. the leading poets of Iran. He has had an important part in the radical departure of Persian poetry from its classical patterns, i6 prosody as wel'l as in rhetoric and diction. Social and political conditions in Iran have had a great influence on Omid's public and creative life. He supported the Tudeh Party for several hoping it would be able to bring years, about the drastic changes needed in the country. Disappointed with the failure of the party, he has disengaged himself from public activities in the recent years. finest

"The Ending of Shahnameh" is considered one of Omid's works. The very title of the poem is an important clue to

*The author wishes to express for his guidance and criticism Sorour Soroudi is a Ph.D. University of California, IRANIAN STUDIES

her thanks to Professor Amin Bananl in the preparation of this article.

candidate in Persian Los Angeles. 80

Literature

at the

its content. Shahnameh by Ferdowsi,2 which is the greatest: epic work in Persian poetry, relates the history of the golden aqe of Iran, beginning with legendary kings and heroes, and endinq with the defeat (in 635 A.D.) of Iranians at the hand of the Arabs. This last chapter of the Shahnameh, in contrast to the rest of the book, gave birth to tie faOus ironic Persian proverb: 'It is the closing chapter of the Shahnameh that is pleasant.' It is mainly the mood of this proverb which-dominates the poem. The poem is written in free verse, in which, contrary to the strict forms of classical prosody, the rhythm evolves organically according to the needs of the poetic expression. T,.herefore, the poem, though rhythmical, does not have any discernible metrical pattern. Nor do the division of the poem into stanzas and the rhyme scheme follow traditional patterns. frequently figure.

'Akhar-e Shahnankeh' is a symbolic poem. Metaphors, raised to the level of symbols, form its maini rhetoric The

figures,

first

stanza

begins

harp and harp player,

in

a lyric

mood.

The

familiar

are in unustual conditions.

The

harp is broken and the harp player crushed under the load of an eventful and unsuccessful life A harp as was the poet's lot. ()* which is broken cannot function properly--what it relates will necessarily be aberrant and delirious (3) like most parts of the poem. the poet's Failure in real life leads the harp,

gination, links

him with

to daydreamiing. the

ancient

In these times

is

dreams everything

beautiful

and

shining3.

that The

time when Zoroaster sang his heavenly songs4 (4), when the rays of sun5 (5) illuminated There are every corner of human life. other lights, this time on the altar of the mosque (10), but these lights turn out to be false (8), like the hope they symbolized6.

There are two main sets of metaphors in the first stanza. Zoroaster's beloved (4), the luminous court of the sun (5), the the the and meadows of joyful fairy (6) moonlight (7), convey a the feeling of tranquibright and shining picture. They create and glory. The element of light dominates this piclity, gaiety On the other hand when the light dies away in the ture. (flames) lagoon (9), and the mosque, where the false lights appear, replaces the court of the Sun (10), a feeling of sadness and disappointment prevails. The words 'false lights" (8) are of special importance in connecting or separating the two sets of metaphors. The word to the previously described still 'lights' belongs while picture, the mind for the following the word afalse" prepares opposite this function In Persian is visually emotion. demonstrated, since the the adjective light' precedes 'false.' Mhe nMei~brs in parentheses end of the article.

to the linies

refer 81

of

the text

at the_

SPRING-SUMELR1969

The sadness and disappointment of the closing lines of the first stanza leads to the grievance and anger expressed in the three following stanzas. The poet brings the present world to for its trial, falsehood, meanness strangeness, and cruelty. In a world that great has enabled technological man to get progress very far, to other planets (23), people are alienated from each other (24). An era in which the whole world8 is terrified and shaken (28) by a single bomb thrown by a flying airplane9 (27). This passage begins in a complaining tone con(14-19), tinues with irony and sarcasm in indignation (22-31) and ends and resentment (32-37). Those situation are sought responsible for this (38-41). The poet's kindred spirits are warned against temptations and distractions. the assault on this They are exhorted to join century and not to be engaged (42-43), but irrelewith glittering vant mattersI0 (44-45). as the symbol 'Century' of the era is the main figure in these three stanzas (14-45). The Twentieth Century, the atomic era, indeed symbolizes almost everywhere the great progress made by mankind. Yet in countries like Iran, where the products of technological achievements exist side by side with old traditions, the progress seems more astonishing. This association of the 'century' and the response evoked by it intensifies the disappointment caused by its evil character as described in the poem. The feeling of disappointment and anger the evil over of the 'century' becomes more intense in each stanza. At first the "century" is of false faith (15), then of evil faith (21) and finally it loses its faith (38). To show the irregularity and the madness of the world and 'century," day and night, light and darkness are used metaphorically, by replacing the function naturally assigned to each of them (16-17). The dreadful with miserly castles (18) and the gates smiles (19) create fear, suspicion and distrust, the main causes of alienation in our time. This feeling of alienation is more strongly expressed in the ironic tone of the following image, in which man's material progress (23) is confronted with his increasing frustrations (24). The personification of the 'century" as a bloodthirsty creature (25) makes the following picture of destruction and ruin a vivid one. The verbs to rock (28), to demolish (30) and to sweep (31), by their connotations and their onomatopoetic effects, add to this vividness. The cause of the destruction, the fantastic 'dropping' of a bird (27), emphasizes the absurdity of human behavior which cuts the very branch on which he rests. The general resentment (14-31) becomes more concrete in the broad picture of destruction, introduced the particular distress IRAHIIAN STUDIES

expressed in the previous stanzas the following lines (33-38). Into oppression, and injustice is now of human beings (34-37). Thus, 82

by making the disaster more concrete and more perceptible, the poet succeeds in touching the personal interest of the reader and involving him deeply in the following emotions. At this point a kind of impatience is felt. This feeling is manifested in three short questions (39-41), which in Persian are even shorter and thus even more effective. The key word Owhere' (39) is in Persian a monosyllabic word ku." One may mention also the effect of the sound 'k, which is the initial sound in the three words, where (ku), which and what (kodam). Being repeated three times, at the beginning of each question, this sound reverberates in the mind and creates a kind of restlessness. The warninq of the following lines 42-45) is, again, conveyed metaphorically. The word 'watchmen' 1 which stands for the leaderz. of this era, emphasizes their great responsibility; for their sliqhtest negligence, like that of the ancient sentinels on the border, could thave fatal results. Of course, the temptation to be negligent is great. A sentinel could gaze at the stars instead of fixing his eyes on the earth. Similarly, the present day warriors the magic of the stars might not be able to resist (44) and the charm of the moonlight's silver cityl2 (45). It solves The daydreaming of the harp continues (46-82). After the every problem in the imaginary world that it creates. It is diagnosis of the problem, comes the prescribed treatment. not a routine medicine, but one of bleeding (46), and liquidation the diagIt is a radical (53-57). surgery (50-52) which confirms nosis (48-49) and cures the disease by removing the affected organ (52-56), i.e., evil and injustice13. mirrors events in itself, This passage, though meaningful ideas in his revolutionary in the life It reflects of the poet. in the necessity the framework of the Tudeh party, and his belief The struggle should go the status of drastic actions against quo. of the old on (61) even if those at the helm--representatives solutions toward partial make some gestures system (57)--will (58) in the hope of disarming their opponents (59). in the followfor all this is expressed The justification Those who want to change this crooked situation ing lines (61-74). are those who have reached the peak of glory in the past (61-63); which is delightful, those who stand for everything and benevolent, to the world the purest messagel5 those who have introduced purel4; intended to show that the are apparently (66-74). These last lines or material is not that of military glory under discussion victory but that of the spirit. success, the changes in the Throughout these passages (46-82) The derogatory in the tone. are reflected feeling language of the one. stanzas has given way to a laudatory There previous (14-45) is produced, This feeling is a feeling in victory. of confidence and sails of 'blood' on the one hand, by personified ships of rage On the (46) and by the description of the battlefield (49-51). 83

SPRING-SUMMER1969

other hand, the real nature of the enemy, and thus his weakness, is uncovered. The present, in spite of its glittering appearance, and beyond its puzzling is nothing but a 'hollow drum' intricacy, (49). The three following lines (49-51) give a livinq picture of the battlefield. The associative power of the words chosen16, the echo of their sound, and the syntactical arrangement of the wordsl.7, combine to make the reader feel as if he is present at a real battle. The effect of the laudatory tone of the passage is further strengthened by putting the word "we," the subject of the praise, in separate lines (61, 64, 66)18. The laudatory tone begins to change in the middle of the stanza. The peculiar compound *sad innocence" (65) gives us the first 'Innocence' used in its hint. broad sense, is part of the self-justification and so is praised, but at the same time, it is sad' because it is felt that 'innocence" is not a current coin anymore. From This change is spiritual glory reader back to the end of the the flight into the cold nights

now on (67-78) the poem continues in a lyrical tone. necessary in order to adopt the language to the the poet tries to depict. It also brings the the starting point of this imaginary journey at first stanza The friend's warm hand, like (13). the sweet memories of the past, is a shelter against of the city, the frustrations of the present time.

The contrast between the past and the present is again demonstrated by confronting the bright and tranquil view of the country side with the darkness and cold of the city. The vague feeling that this past is not restorable colors the remaining lines of the stanza (75-82). There are no more battles--only the voice of the harp and the cup of wine (75-76), the only way to flee from the real world into the legendary (77-78) If murmurs of 'conquering' (81) and "nothingland" (82) are still heard the confidence of the beginning of the stanza no longer exists: self-ridicule has washed it out. This lack of confidence and self-ridicule is achieved by the harp's repetition of the same laudatory claims, which are only begun but never completed (82), The last stanza witnesses the previously hinted at effort! of the harp player (2) to retune the harp. The appearance of the "broken harp' (83) completes the process which began toward the end of the preceding stanza, thus returning to the starting point of the poem. Now that the harp has chanted to its heart's content, it is the time to reveal the "absurdity' of its imaginary thinkinq (83). This admonition is not reproachful but sympathetic, and this sympathy is demonstrated in the word "sad" (83), which deliberately is put before "absurd thinker" to modify its effect. is

The order given now to the harp to "change Xthe tune" a flashback to the first stanza where the harp is described

IRANIAN STUDIES

84

(87) as

it is this command (2). tamed" in the hands of the harp player Thlis of breaking with the past. the necessity that dramatizes through the image and mercilessly decisively is expressed necessity The poet urges the figures. and historical of two mythological harp to stop dreaming (87) because son of Dastan19 who could bring the story of Now the time lhas come to relate is dead. salvation is the epitome (90) whose moaning (92-93) the son of Farrokhzad20 language there are few in the Persian situation. of the nresent hope so the vanity of an illusive images which can demonstrate For the as the combined image of these two fiqures. powerfully past the idealized symbolizes reader Rostam, son of Dastan, Persian only his with it. associated Therefore, with all the goodness he can put an end to the hopes death is declared dramatically of his death The great times three (89). repeated

for. stands in a sinqle, popularity

fact rhe bitter word, terrible of the figure

The hero is does not reduce the liter-ar-y value of the symbol. mentioned by his popular name, Rostam, but by ore of his titles, enough to let the This title, thouqh explicit son of Dastan. him, is far from being a worn out expression. reader identify

not

(90), is much the son of Farrokhzad The second figure, for the average reader less famous and may cau.se some difficulty he fits once identified, But, hin immediately. to identify is helped by the choice rhis process iato the picture. smoothly for both of them, the pit of the well (88, settinq of an identical which does not the son of Farrokhzad in the well, Placing 91). with that of the his destiny associates basis, have any historical his moaning, which comes out of the In addition, son of Dastan. and of helplessness cries his subsequent foretells deep well, of the return of the past He knows that the illusion despair. Yet, he also knows that this is only an (97). exists21 still and are fatigued a baseless hope, because the fighters illusion, They boast of (95) and their weapons worn out (98-100). disabled and of which no (102-103) that have long been forgotten victories one else wishes to be reminded (105-107). is achieved by modifying of this last passage The realism In their meaning. metaphors and thereby reversing the previous (46), of blood' this way, the same ships are moved not by 'sails (96). of froth' but by "sails a feelsucceed in creating (97-100) lines The following This is due to the power of misery and distress. ing of fatigue, those in the the weapons (especially describinq the adjectives adjecas compared with their previous form of past participles), (63) are now gone cities of splendor Similarly, tives (49-51). (67) are forand sweet tales with the wind (102) and the cheerful (103). gotten to dream, those who dreamt continue of all this, In spite (108-109). waking from time to time, as did the cave companions22 It might seem to them that the dream is over and the "golden But the dream is not over, (110). charming morn" has risen alive. Daqyanus, is still because the source of their plight, 85

1969 SPRING-SUMUMER

conThe 'magic sleep' connotations; (108) has different of the poem and the preceding the general sidering subject phrase as the passive Swaking from time, to time,." it can be understood in spite of the desire with the past, preoccupation to act realistically in order to change the present. This desire appears as 'the golden palace of the charming morno (110) and, like the other is resplenmetaphors which represent the good and the benevolent, dent. The legendary the symbol of figure of Daqyanus (111), the is not generally injustice, considered immortal. Immortality,, in the world, eternal is attributed injustice to Daqyanus in order to convey the internal lines. pessimism of the concluding In conclusion, 'The Ending of Shahnameh' is a poem with a great multiplicity of meanings.. It is like a rich archeological site: the more we excavate, the more we find different levels of meaning. These levels are based on great imaginative power, borrowing from myth and legend, This technique, and diverse symbols. along with the shifting rhythms adapted to the changing tone and mood, evokes strong emotions. Understanding the full meaning of the poem requires a considerable knowledge of the "raw" materials and the way they have been put together. But, even if the reader does not succeed in grasping the full meaning, the poem succeeds in communicating to him its special mood, that of despair. The poem can be considered as a lyric poem, expressing the poet's own despair after the failure of the revolutionary in his country. It may be considered attempts as an epic work demonstrating the present distress of the young generation of Iran and the yearning In its for the idealized past of their country.. broader and, I think, more relevant meaning, this is an elegy on the present of man and the emptiness frustrations of his life, in The fact that most of spite of his great technological progress. the images of the poem have their roots in Iranian mythology, does not limit this broad meaning. These imaqes--as well as the theme and the mood, the borrowing from the myth and the legend, the contrast between the past and the present--have a remarkable affinity with the universal imagery of other great poets of the twentieth century such as Eliot and Seferis.

The Ending

1

This

2

In the hands of the pale,

3

At times

it

4

Of being

Zoroaster's

broken,

IRANIAli STUDIES

of Shahnameh

out of tune harp

seems

old

harpist,

to dream beloved 86

tamed,

5

In the

6

Or, a joyful

7

In the pure and bright

8

False

9

The caravan

luminous

court

of the

fairy

lights

it

meadows of the moonlight. -

sees

of dead flames

10

On the

11

It

12

The memory of the times

13

The sad song of exile:

14

sacred

sings

Say,

sun,

face

in the

lagoon

of the mosque.

joyfully of glory,

pride

and innocence

where is

15

The metropolis

16

With its

17

Its

18

With its

19

With the miserly

20

"Say,

21

The metropolis

22

The crooked

of this

nights

rigid,

dreadful,

faith

and madness?

at the depth

night

of the

legend

and hard castles its

gates,

cold

of evil

faith

and strange

is of this faced

century

and terror?

century

23

Which has passed But is

25

The bloodthirsty

26

The century

27

In which,

28

They rock the

four

29

They demolish

utterly

30

They sweep completely

31

Every existence,

'The Persian

the

of

smiling

of false

day

like firm,

24

far

like

bright

dark days,

where

century

the orbit

of the Moon, of

the Sun.*

frightening

message,

from the pivot century,

of the by the

fantastic pillars

every

word mehr,

dropping

of a far

of God's

seven

height,

used

every

bird

climes

lowness

in the original, 87

flying

means both sun and love. 1969 SPRING-SUtMLER

is

where

32

'Say,

33

The metropolis

34

In which,

35

Every newly

36

Just

37

Whose respect

38

Where is

39

Where?

40

On which

traceless

41

At which

side?

42

Tell

43

On the top of their

44

Not to be deceived

45

By the charm of the moonlight's

46

On the

47

We are coming to the

48

To lay

49

The wide,

century?

any respite

without

who has borne

as the aged one,

of

the metropolis

its

hands of

the wind

fruit, blasphemy,

of denial,

the victim

is

in the

a plaything

is

grown blossom

and treachery oppression.

a century?

such

summit?

asleep

the watchmen not to fall

alert

sentry,

and cautious

by the magic of the

with

of rage,

ships

and faithless

shameless

this

of

stars,

silver-city. of blood

sails

to conquer,

metropolis,

century's

bare nine

folded

of this

noise

of our sharp

By the dreadful

clashing

50

The frightening

thunder

51

The stone

splitting

52

To snatch

quickly

53

The life

54

From the amulet

55

Out of the hands of their

56

To dash it

57

And if

bottle

heedless,

nothingland

of our dread

leap

swords,

drums,

of our fleet

arrows

of the demons in the

fortress

hidden

magic

guards

to the earth

the Earth

IRIANIANSTUDIES

- that

weary cradle 88

of the world,

dusty

place

hand of

58

Offers

the soft

59

To hide

60

We shall

61

We are

62

The conquerors

63

The witnesses

64

We are

65

The survivors

66

We are

67

The narrators

68

The stories

of the clear

69

The flowing

light,

70

The cool

71

The stories

the

verdure

from us,

stone

gash

its

face

its

deeply.

of history's

of glory

fortresses

of each century's

of splendor.

cities

of the epochs.

of the sad innocence

of the cheerful

tales,

and sweet

sky,

the water, the earth.

breeze,

message

of the most delightful

72

From the

73

The stories

of the dense

74

The stories

of the

75

We are

76

The caravan

77

Gipsies,

78

Intoxicated

79

Say,

80

The metropolis

luminous

of time's

limpidity

friend's

brook. it the mountain, at its foot the river in the cold nights of the city

behind

thicket,

warm hand,

of the wine cup and the harp,

our harp,

singers

and drunken

of the

fables

of our lives,

cup bearers.

where is of the

century?

81

we are coming to conquer

82

To lay

83

This

84

The singer

bare

broken

its

nothingland

harp, of the

......

sad and absurd lonely

sanctuary 89

thinker, of

imagination, SPRINIG-SUMIER 1969

85

Covered

86

What stories

87

0,

88

Son of Dastan

89

Died,

died,

90

Begin

the

91

He whose groan

92

Moans and weeps,

93

Weeps and says:

94

with

secrets it

helpless,

eternally, to itself

relates

delirious will

day ani niqhlt

Change the

one!

not escape

the pit

tune.

of the step-brother

he died. story

of the Son of Farrokhzad. seems

Oh, henceforth

of a deep well.

we are

95

Like hunchbacked,

96

On the

97

Our hearts

ships

to come from the depth

old

conquerors,

of waves,

sails

of

froth.

98

bound by the memory of the lambs of splendor, in the fields of empty days, Our swords rusty, worn out, and weary,

99

Our drums,

100

Our arrows,

101

We are

forever broken

102

The conquerors

103

We relate

104

In a voice

105

Nobody will

106

As if

107

Or,v a prince

108

At times

109

Like

110

We rub our eyes There

the

winged.

of the cities forgotten

too weak to

they

gone with

come out of the chest. or spare

are of a foreign

is

IRANIAN STUDIES

for our coins

overthrown.

we hope to wake up from this

is,

a copper

king,

whose dynasty

companion's

the wind.

stories,

pay attention

the cave

it

silent,

spellbound

sleep,

sleep,

and we say:

the golden

rare 90

palace

of the charming

morn

111

But,

deathless

112

oe,

e,aas.

is

Daqyarm,

a.Lat. ,,,d,5

)jf_

t))jP 2so

JL

J

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JL1"X

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L% Yd

Le

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Ue4,

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,ur

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L \o

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LT~~~~I

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te

r-'.-

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NOTES

by the method so I have been inspired 1. In doing New York: Burnshaw (The Poem Itself. first set forth by Stanley both the length of However, considering Schocken Books, 1967) I have departed from of the original, the poem and the alphabet in some respects. Burnshaw's pattern 2.

Ferdowsi,

940 - 1020

(1025)

A.D.

to the ancient Iranian according 3. Liqht and darkness, are the two major powers in the world. They are in religion, the which light, at the end of struggle with each other, constant the evil power. god, will conquer darkness, benevolent to beloved, is an allusion 4. The harp as Zoroaster's songs of the Iranian prophet which were the religious Gathas, recited, accompanied by music. apparently one of the most important 5. The Sun (Nithra), figures; for the soundness was responsible Iranian pantheon, in the ancient In modern Persian the word has the of contracts and alliances. as well. meaning of love and affection who 6. False hope on the part of some of the Iranians Islam, would put an end to the that the new religion, expected of the country. situation religious social, degenerate 7. world

is

Supra,

footnote

5.

.8. According to the Zoroastrian divided into seven climes or areas. 9.

between

Cf.

The atomic

sources,

the whole

bomb thrown on Hiroshima.

10. Probably the race in space the major powers in technological 95

and the general progress.

contest

SPRING-SUMMER

1969

11.

This

12.

Supra,

word is

used

footnote

in the Shahnameh,

frequently

10.

are the 13. Iranian mythology, Demons, in the ancient agents of Ahryman, the evil god of darkness who is in constant Demons god of light. struggle with Ahura Mazda, the benevolent in fortresses and using magic means to are thought to be living deceive the people. 14. to the water, wind andemrth according Light (fire), of the world and hence conbeliefs, are the four elements to be sacred.

ancient sidered tion

The Zoroastrian 15. of the two as introduced

mentioned

the socialism, message, by Mazdak.

The weapons are those 16. in the Shahnameh.

or a combina-

used at the ancient

times

and

are placed and fleet The adjectives sharp, dread, 17. at the end of each verse and separated by a comma from the rest of the so

sentence. that

In Persian 18. the subject 'we'

the can

verb comes at be separated.

the

end

of

the

sentence

a mythical in Shahnameh, Son of Dastan, figure Rostam, 19. for a long time and as He lived hero of Iranians. is the national her enemies. Rostam to overcome Iran was able long as he was alive of his step in a deep well as a result was killed when he fell brother ' s trickery. Son of Farrokhzad, 20. who was defeated by the leader Rostam, contrast to the first country.

also called was an army Rostam, Arabs who invaded Iran. So, in he symbolizes the decline of the

with the prophet, Zoroaster, and is Lamb is connected 21. symbolizes the This mythical figure considered to be sacred. but can be taken also as a symbol golden age of the Iranian empire, of the great gap between the present of the world and the situation sense it may represent In a more limited idealized past in general. the lost hope of the poet himself. 22. Daqyanus

According

(probably

Decius,

to the the

Islamic

sources

Roman emperor)

(also persecuted

in Koran) the

be-

there lievers six of whom fled to a cave and slept (Christians?), but nobody for 309 years. When they woke up they went to the city, could understand their language and nobody would accept their they asked God to make them die. money (coins) so, in their despair, IRANIAN STUDIES

96

THE CHRONOGRAMSOF KHAQANI*

Translated

O.L. VIL'CEVSKIJ by Jerome N. Clinton

As with the majority of qreat national figures of the Middle Ages, we know relatively little about the facts, and, in particular, about the dates of the life of the major Persian lancentury, ode-writer to the Shirvinshlhs, quage poet of the twelfth son of a carpenter of Shirvin, al-din Ibrahim Khaqani. Af;il A brief sketch of the biographical information concerning the poet, which was compiled from oriental sources by N. Khanikoff almost a century ag, 1 was then somewhat expanded and supplemented by K. G. Zalleman. With some insignificant variations aad this summarx was then reproduced in all the works on additions, Khiqinl up to our day. The question of the role cf Transcaucasian in the works of Khaqini was raised in the study carried elements out by Ju. N. Marr, in cooperation with K. I. Chajkin, during the last year of his life.4 tradition Following the excellent cf V. A. lukovski4, both sought first of all to extract bibliographical material In particular, from the poet's divan itself, K. I. of brilliant surmises and calculations Chajkin, through a series dates important based on this material, the way to several pointed the most likely for the bi?graphy of Khiqini, date of including his birth. Nonetheless, we may consider only two dates relating to the biography of Rhiqini as definitively established. They are, the date of his death--Shavvil is prefirst, 595/ July 1199--which in one of the cemeteries of Tabriz; and, served on a gravestone 551 A.H., the date of the poet's first which is second, pilgrimage, well established by his famous Isfahan qasida, which N. Khanikoff introduced to the world of scholarship.: Thus the chronogram, so much is found to be a sufficiently interesting This is far the biography of the poet. of poetic master of words and virtuoso a master of same time just as excellent

enjoyed by medieval authors, and valuable source for from accidental. A great technique, KhNqini is at the the subtle, refined art of

appeared in Egfi originally Vostoka, *Th"i article translationT-.ave th8 In preparing Vol. XIII, pp. 59-68. drawn upon the profound knowledge of the Russian quently of my friend Donald L. Stilo. Jerome W. Clinton Eastern Languages

1960, frelanguage

in the Department of Near is a Ph.D. candidate of Michigan. and Literature, University 97

SPRING-SUMI51R 1969

intertwining the complex pattern of a chronogram into the splendid ornamentation of a verse, and thus forever recording a date important either For us for the poet or the person he is addressing. who are of another epoch, it is sometimes difficult not only to but also simply judge this forgotten skill a'ccording to its value, to discover the chronogram, to discern it in the figured weave of the polysemantic verse of the medieval author. To -discover where it is, is,perhaps the master's more difficult than to discover mark or date in the ornamental ligatures of a decorative inscription. This is especially difficult because for us the numerical significance of the letters is quite lost,-while for Kh5qinl and his contemporaries, they' (the letters) always served as graphic representations not only of sounds, but of tdates as well; that is, they were simultaneously letters and numbers.8 If a date was expressed by a combination of letters, and this combination, in graphically coinciding with a word, acquired a semantic meaning, then it became a nnemonic assisting the remembrance of the given date. Thus in the chronogram of Kh;qSn1 taken from his Isfahan qasida, which is mentioned above, 551 A.H., the year of the poet's first foreign journey, which brought him world fame, is felicitously expressed by t hose letters, the combination of which forms the word Le salutation.' the phrase Le a- may be read "praise, Consequently, either "the year 551,' or "the year of praise." We will find those same principles of the mnemonic device based on the numerical symbolization of letters in a chronogram of Khaqanl contained in one of his odes in hionor of the victory of the Shirvan armies over the Russians. But here they occur in combination with the principle of the rebus, so widely employed in the composition of medieval chronograms, which complicates the solution. In the middle of the ode, the poet, turning to the Shirv5nsh5h Akhsitan, for whom the ode was written, says: "Your victory in the battle with the Russian army Became for them a date (fixed) in the heavens. "9 the word isman into two words, consisting Dividing same letters and arranged in tie same order, ism 'name," and that," we obtain a second reading for this verse: "Your victory The date (is)

I-7r over shin

of the an

U )l { L2 >Mb ( o) i the Russian army dal, their name (added) to it.

This gives us the next reading of the chronogram: (-300+) 4+ .2O0+ i 6+'(6O=570, the Hijra date of the victory over the Russians. This date, corresponding with 1174-5 A.D., exactly coincides with the date of this event, which was established by Kunik in his time, on the basis of a comparison of the information in a number of oriental sources.10 The date indicated offers extraordinary interest for the history of Transcaucasia and is important for the biography of Kh3q3ni. It determines both the time of his meeting with Andronicus Comnenus, who took part in the campaign against the Russians, and-the time of the poet's second hajj IRANIAN STUDIES

98

to Mecca), which (pilgrimage and during which Andronicus, of al-mustad! the caliphate from 566-575 A.H.

he set out on after his meeting with he visited Baghdad and Mecca during the Abbisid throne who occupied

that even clothing characteristic It is extraordinarily the required Kh5qSnl presents the chronogram in the form of a rebus, in sum the which possess set of letters, not in a meaningless date, but seeks out two words whose meaning is value, numerical required most value

to suited of their

reminding letters:-"

one ylj

of the date riis shud,

by expressed Russians 'the

the numerical departed.'

as characteristic. which is just factor is another There the chronocram allows which verse, of a given reading The correct of in the old manuscripts only is preserved to be comprehended, contemnearly is the manuscript, among which the poet's divan, o?f the AN' SSR No. IJ.st,ittte of the Orlental the poet, with porary by the hand of tliwhlich was copied -n KhwAr-'.zm, possiblyv C 1424, iff -nl Vatvdb. std ai--diin Rh,ijini, o rival and poetic friend en-Kct. theve. have corrected scribes of the maniuscripts, major-ity not better avparently meaning., of a superficially in the interest. of thb Eveti the editor of a chronoqiam. the existence. suspecting text, or a -corrupt his editio,:n bdses of -he divan edition printed as varrants. correct readiriqs including di-van by Later of Khaqdn'i's such corruptions Apparently the -Xh5q5nT' s chronograts, of a number of the less caused copyists of the substitutlion with lbecomes impossible of which deciphering which of such a distortion, exaimple A typical even one letter. is coincidence, to a fortuitous thanks only can be established 2trsln, ode in honor of Xizil great in Khaqanl's the chronogram to the amention works according arranging K. I. Chajkin, KhaqAi i's the anti' ipated before remaining in them of the number of years !iI one planets seven all united which in 582/1186, conjunction ode on of this of composition the date determined sign, zodiacal would event this that author of its of the assertion the basis that Hence K. I. Cha&kin reckoned in six years.12 take place the line a.d.Il3 However, in 576/1180-1 ode was composed 'this which a verse precedes attention K. I. Chajkin's attracted that of the edition In the printed a chronogram. contains clearly it has the following form: divan

'For in the year 550, a fortunate will conjunction In a desirable It is not a mistake the place

simply stands

is in

which

qives

a separate

us the

A number question

star I see. '14

there in the given that form, to note of letters combination and this copyist, one: and correct sole possible date ! SOO+0 50+ v 6+20=576. necessary diffi-cult of the of the

of

examples similar to I intend which 99

could touch

be cited. upon in

But another

is this place.

SPRIENG-SUMlMER1969

Within the limits of the present we will dwell upon the article decipherment of two chronograms of Uhaqnin;, which up to now have not attracted to themselves, attention and which have vital importance for the biography of the poet. Both of these chronograms are found in the lines of his which beprison elegies cycle, longs to the group of the poet's most intimate works. The first of these chronograms is contained in the last line of a brief 'prison elegy." This little known work is a beautiful specimen of the craft of KhZqZni, and I will allow myself to cite this brief therefore lyrical work in its entirety:

fW A;L re

j, j z ejj5<j A =;

&JJ9

.)VIV L

4vu

)

.

a,

..4,rzt

a.

L..t

1.

a. BSecause of our weak and hopeless (r ~, we condition were reduced to staking our life in the mortal game(O,X~J )*,IS b. Playing fairly,-we read in the dots of the die the design of. annihilation.

2.

a.

By

the

bier

of

the

world

of

decay

( A.

Pi

)

we

recited

prayers.

b. We scattered dust on the peak of the dome of decrepitude. 3. a. The whole of your history was the sword, and (at) our necks. b. We are not brave men who rebelled .r-) from the PU (rA sentence. 4. a. Like a lamp, seated to be slain at the head of the executioner's mat ( ) e16 b. With a cold wind we extinguished the lamp of the age. 5. a. For a night or two (we were) with three or four of our kindred for four or five hours. b. By seven or eight strategems we accomplished nine or ten of our desires. 6. a. With twenty or thirty griefs and forty or fifty misfortunes like a hunter's . bag ( 4 b. For sixty calamities we mourned for seventy days. 7. a. Khaqan; has, sword tongued, grieved to such a degree, b. That we have freed his body, thin as a hair fro complaining of the sword.

4;

*1 have elsewhere in this translation followed renderVil'Zevski3's ings of KhiqFnm's original Persian, but since I found some of his translations here doubtful, it seemed wiser to retranslate the poem. IRANIAN STUDIES

100

The decipherment of this chronogram is somewhiat more To begin with, in accordance with the demand of the complicated. free' both half-lines of the 'Last verse second half line we must of the of the letters contained in the phrase' .r,"'lamentation

,

.j?,

sword;

As a result,

we obtain

Li

a new verse:

3 r ceqr; Jminted coins of (his) Khqilnt tonque Let us free (his) body like a hair!'

Jv

V.,

And after

we also this of vfreeinqr the phrase have the possibility body like a hair from the second half verse, which is a mnemogran for the date if we add up the numerica'L that we obtain 7., 400+0 so-SO value of the letters contained in this phrase: i 3+ 6+ (40+J) 6+ ( 10515. This cypher designates the vear 515, the CSr>yp

year of KhAqinl 's birth. As was previously K. I. Chajkin menti-oned, suggested 514/15 as the most probable date for the birth of the poet. In this regard he proceeded from the fact that Khdaenil says, in his ode in honor of the Khw3rizmshlh Atsiz, that at the moment of he was twenty-four years old, and this ode, judging by writing, the events mentioned in it, may have been written in 539*18 Thus, K. I. Chajkin's conclusion with regard to the year of hAqini 's birth is completely in agreement with the results of the decipherment and the date of the of the poet's chronogram, birth may be considered once and for all. poet's to be established The ode in honor of Atsiz, which K. I, Chajkin used in determining successfully the possible date of Kh5q5ni' s birth, is also the starting point for fixing the date of the birth of Rashid al-din one of Atsiz's As is well known, courtiers. Vatvit, this ode of KhiqinI, written in 539, proved a poetic reply from in which there were thirty-one lines with (in accordance Vatvit In the thirty-first line of KhAqanil's message Vatvl 's age). it that is noted at the moment of writing this to Valvrt, answering message, KhAqinx is twenty-five years old and Vatvat thirty-one, is six years older than Khagqnt.19 the and that the latter Thus, it is established birth date of KhlqAnI having been determined, that the date of Vatvlt's birth is 508-9. from his

The second chronogram is contained most famous prison elegy:20

)J O; LfJJj-6 J -a

s 1

)

-5 )1^

)

in the

following

line

X

and they may not be joined, "Gold is composed of two letters, it be possible How then will to join them to my solitary heart."21 101

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

nogram is

As is so typical with connected to a second a;

'The lettersi,i,,

4.

Khaqani, the solution readinq of the first J

land Ld,'-'

A

fell

out,

of the chrohalf-verse: ,

. Jjj,

join them with

and

the numerical value of these letters Tallying gives us: j 7+j 200+ v 4+ L8+ J 200+-.80+ 5+( 40+ 3 4+) 6, 554 A. [. --the date of Khaqani 's confinement in the prison where he wrote his 'prison elegies." This date is of interest not only for the biography of Khaqani, but also for the clarification of a number of facts about the history of Shirwan. The point being that Kh5qn'l, having performed his first hajj in 551, returned to his homeland in 552. Shortly after his return from the hajj, bemoaned the death KhaqanI of his patron the Shirwanshah ManUchlhr, and then found himself in prison. Consequently, the most likely date for Manichi hr's death can be taken to be 553 A.Hi., as was pointed out by K. I. Chajkin.22 v)).

With that it would be possible to bring the analysis of the chronogram under discussion to a conclusion, if it were not for the fact that it possesses one other peculiarity which is extremely characteristic of KhSqani . That is, if, having determined the date of KhAqAnPLls imprisonment by means of the first we will half-line, be obliged to establish the relationship of this date with 'my solitary heart," as this half-verse requires. To do that, let us add to 554 the numerical value of this phrase, which equals 565, and also the age of the poet,23 which by the time of his imprisonment was 40. Thus we obtain the number 1159, the year which by the Christian calendar is equivalent to 554 A.H1. Curiously enough, this date is calculated by a very simple system which is valid only for the years nearest to this date: in the next year, 55, the year from the death of Christ was obtained by means of doubling the Muslim date and adding 50, that gave 1160; in reading forward from this date, it was necessary to take the doubled Muslim date, and each year diminish by one the number added (49, 48, 47, etc.), and reading backward to increase by one the number added (51, 52, 53, etc.). We well know how strong Christian elements are in the poetry and world view of Khaqan;, who asserted, not without pride, that "like Jesus Christ he was the son of a carpenter." In several places in Khaq3n1 's divan the name of Jesus Christ is encountered several times more often than that of Muhammad. Therefore, by itself the appearance in a chronogram of a Christian date ought not to surprise us. Consideration of the present case suggests another: that of basing chronology on the birth of Christ--a phenomenon of great rarity during this epoch in the majority of Christian nations, including Georgia which was a neighbor to Khiqini' s homeland. Chronology was usually calculated from the creation of the world or according to the Byzantine systen of So much the more interesting indices. that we repeatedly find dates in Khaqinl that are based on the birth of Christ. In particular, according to this system of dating, there is first his ode in honor of Manuel Comnenus,24 which is completely filled with Christian reminiscences and New Testament citations, and which was IRANIAN STUDIES

102

to in 1168 A.D., during that period when it corresponded written 564 A.H. (that is, between 5 October and 31 December 1168). to Manuel's cousin and Second, there is the fragment addressed Andronicus Comnenus, with the news of Manuel's rival, political I intend to dwell in greater death and a chronogram of its date. dates in with the Christian connected on those questions detail work, their significance in the poet's KhZqinL's chronograms,.and let us note by way of general in a special study. For the present, of chronograms for the clarificathe great importance conclusion poet and for the dating of of the medieval tion of the biography encoded that his works, but also that they have been so skillfully of the researcher. they escape the attention

NOTES

Persan du XIIe siecle," t. V, 1865, p. 296-367.

1.

'Memoire sur Xhacani, poete N. Khanikoff, t. IV, 1864, p. 137-200; J. As., VI serie,

2. 3.

1875. SPb., Xakani. Cetverostisija K. G. Zaleman, l BSOAS, 1945, Comnenus, V. Minorsky, 1Kha(qnT and Anaronicus XI--3. a bibliography also cf. 1935: Nezami. Rustaveli. Xakani. L., of Die works of Ju. N. Marr. biografii dat Xakani. nekotoryx K ustanovleniju K. I. Chajkin, Rustaveli. Nezami. Xakani. Cb. 1 v, r ' A' i1 I l> 151 r, The inscription reads:J.,;l urno~~~~5 av25 "P s;_ Je_ n W

4. 5.

6.

7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

15.

whose correctness about date was the sole this As it happens, had his doubts. K. G. Zaleman 1857,' 8-20 avril a M. Dorn. Tabriz 'Lettre N. Khanikoff, XIV, No. 23, col. de S Pb., de l'Acad. et phil. hist. Bull. 353-76.I - t d JL"-0! , p. 317 for typical Cf. Shams al-qays, which have been thus interpreted. exameles of letters p. 39. ed. Abd al-rasfili, Divin. Shirvani, Khaqani p. 240. 1874. SPb., Kapij. B. Dorn, p. 27. cit., inio. K. I. Chaj p. 24. Ibid., I., p. 31. of the the editor to this With regard verse, Ivan, p. 284. 550 by the abjad the year - f-is in a note; writes aTva that it signifies t 500, 0 50; but many have written system: as i', it is recorded and in the commentary the year of the pig, 556.is, that backin round of play the last decisive game,n C).'-Pmortal to recoup and wishing lost all having gammon, when a player, his oppothis In case, his head or hand. pledges losses, his must that is, to win the round, in order j-nent must get ) and on the board ( i in sequence six of his counters place of movement. of the possibility his opponent deprive by that characteristic are highly the game of backgammon Images-from not in their and are used by our poet poetry, of Khiqini's 103

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

for example, but in their figurative sense. literal Consider, this line from the ode in honor of Andronicus Comnenus: 'I am KhAqAnL, with Where

shall

I place

my soul made prisoner in the shishdar of your separation. my counter,

for

I have

square?' or this

one in the

tarji

A.0J

Jus

band on the death cp-

18. 19. 20. 21.

22. 23.

273)

Ju$

v

you in the mortal game. which remains after orbit, you.'

17.

p.

of Manuichihr:

COAJD-

'The gambling moon defeated But it disfigures its lunar

16.

no open

(divan,

(dlvin,

p.

542)

This poetical than an discourse concerns events more serious unsuccessful game of backgammon. which took These events, place in the troubled times between the death in 553 of the to the throne of Akhsitan ShirwRnsh3h Manuichihr and the accession in 557, lead (h1q3nL:, who took active part in them, to jail. Not by chance, at the conclusion of another and also little known 'prison elegy' which was also written after his release from prison, the poet, speaking of the accession to the throne of Akhs-tan, does not at the same time hide his joy on the occasion 'of the murder of Khiqunt's blood enemy.' (d;vvan, p. 73) t4;A leather sheet on which executions are performed, and also a chess or backgammon board. DlvFn, p. 805. The first half-verse of the last line has the place of .jf.4 which also gives, as A. N. variant.'.p,S)in Boldyrev has drawn to my attention, a satisfactory context, 'KhAqAni sharpened like a hair the sword of his tongue...' If we prefer this reading, then, of course, it would be necessary to reject the decipherment of the chronogram offered below, and to offer a more simple variant of its solution which would give the same result: to 'free' ingeniously the second half-verse of the phrase & J 4 However, the first solution, constructed on the multi-meaninged verse, in which the chronogram is included is more characteristic of Khiqinl's work. K. I. Chajkin, op. cit., p. 15, and p. 195. Divin, p. 30-33. The first portion of this elegy was translated into Russian by A. N. Boldyrev. See 'Dva Shirvanskix poeta, Nizami i Xakani.' Pam2atniki epoxi Rustaveli. L., 1938, p. 134-6. Divan, p. 329. Such a reading of the given verse, which was suggested by 0. I. Smirnova, is irreproachable with regard to meaning, but is grammatically awkward and unusual for so subtle a master of words as Khiquni. This is indirect evidence that Khaq3n! was bound to the second reading which is necessary for a chronogram. K. I. Chajkin, o p. 30. cit., Court Polisher to Nior al-din Sh3h& Muzafar Mul)ammadibn Yiisi, al-din discusses Shih, in particular such a device--that is, the addition of the age of the poet or addressee to the number

IRANIAN STUDIES

104

24. 25. 26.

4,-i Ari,Yc'"'A his composition<)> in a chronogram--in contained See also the above mentioned corresponp. 118. (Tehran 1320), dence between Vatvat and Kh5q3n1 in which the age of the plays such a large role. addressee verse of the given ode, which The sixteenth Divan, p. 19-25. attracted has repeatedly a chronogram, within itself contains to Ju. N. Marr. from N. Khanikoff of scholars the attention a chronogram, is which contains The last verse, D;van, p. 662. form. here given in a distorted has suggested I have recently that M. S. Sultanov learned for the chronogram with the date of the another solution its for C,LJ He substitutes the Russians. victory against throne, " the numerical value i"throne," "heavenly synonym 3f is quite per570. In theory such a solution of which equals as Kh5q5nl is insofar but in the given context, missible, monarch, L, may not be used his enthroned directly addressing an attrithrone"--characteristically in the sense of "heavenly Such a double entendre might cost monarch. bute of a deceased tl.e makes possible However, this device a court poet dearly. chronogram. of another and more nearly tvyical decipherment . j U, In the poem "Gift of the two Ira7 s,( rL- a, J,,.. to in the chapter devoted r JX , . ' f l o I w. 6 I Kh5q5nl, addressto the throne, Muhammad's ascension eulogizing to the latter, says: ing himself 'The noble date which is on the date Rose (there)

of the heavens, of your birth."

is completely . synonymous with L)" In this context, vS>, really Khaq5nI is here naming 570 as the year of Muhammad's Consequently, to It is impossibie But by which system of chronology? birth. for it was established to the Hijra, this year relative indicate calendars The Iranian and Byzantine after Mu)ammad's birth. to the age of according with him were calculated contemporary Arabs of the pre-Islamic The chronologies the ruling monarch. the same character. Of the fact that at this were of exactly of the earth" had from the "creation time the seventh millenium There thus line. the poet speaks in the subsequent passed, And, based on the birth of Christ. remains only the chronology first year of the Hijra-from 622--the if we subtract in fact, tradition to the most widespread the 52 years which according Tashkent, (cf. Abu Rlh3n al-B!rUn-1, Izbrannye Proizvedenija, 1957, t. 1, p. 139) Muhammad had lived up to this time, we in the chronogram of 570 A.D. as the the date indicated obtain be doubted that the decipherIt can scarcely date of his birth. lost because of which was subsequently ment of this chronogram, shifted was mechanically by later Muslim comits singularity, in form which also concurred in the to one closer mentators value of the chronogram with the date of the victory numerical this later tradihas followed Mr. Sultanov over the Russians. tion. 105

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

BOOK

REVIEWS

The Cambridqe liistory of Iran, Volume I, The Land of Iran. Edited by 14. B. Fishier. Cambridee University Cambridqe: 1968. Press, xix +784 pp., maps, biblioqr., index. $12.50. PAUL W. ENGLISII The Land of Iran is the first of a projected eight-volume of the Fistory, of Iran reconnaissance and civilization culture, subsidized by the National Iranian Oil Company and Cambridge University Press. The qoal of this survey is to identify and elucidate the special genius and character of the Iranian nation from prehistoric to modern times. rhis first volume provides detailed description of the geography of Iran as background for an appreciation of its historical development. The Land of Iran is composed of twenty-two scholarly essays organized systematically into three sections devoted to the land, the people, and the economic life of Iran. The natural environment of Iran (400 pp.) is treated in eleven chapters on physical geography, geoloqy, qeomorpholoqy, the oriqin of the Zagros defiles, climate, soils, hydroqraphy, vegetation, mammals, lizard fauna, and ornithology. Three essays on early man, settlement, and population are included in the section on people (100 pp.). Economic life (200 pp.) includes chapters on minerals, industrial activities, conmmunications and transport, aqriculture, water use in northeast Iran, pastoralism and social anthropology, and land Most of the authors are Europeans; native reform. Iranian scholars are poorly represented. The major

aim

of

The

Land

of

Iran

is

to

identify

the

com-

plex relationships between terrain and people (xvi), and to explain how the natural elements of location, geological structure, physiography, and climate shape the course of human activity in Iran in distinct and recognizable ways (xv). In fact, only six essays in this volume treat interactions between man and environment, and these are its most useful and convincing papers. W. B. Fisher's essay on "Physical Geography" describes the four major physiographic regions of Iran (Zagros, Northern Highlands, Eastern H?ighlands, and Interior Desert Basins) in terms of the relationships Paul W. English sity of Texas. IRANIAN STUDIES

is Associate

Professor 106

of Geography

at the Univer-

between

geography

Vegetation

and ways of life.

(Hans

Bobek)

such as stockbreeding,

considers

cultivation,

The very

brief of

the

impact

fuel

collecting,

essay

on

human activities

and charcoal

disde Planhol Xavier of vegetation. on the structure burning defining in Iran, of settlement and ecology the history cusses in terms of environmental habitation and rural types of nomadism on aqriculThe two chapters and historical-cultural parameters. (E. Sunderland) anthropology and social ture (H. Bowen-Jones) The factors. and environmental economic historical, integrate

techof traditional agricultural a good discussion former provides in Iran; regions and agricultural land tenure practices, niques, of Iranian society division the tripartite describes the latter paper on D. J. Flower's and urbanites. peasants into nomads, one of the most insightrepresents Iran" "Water Use in North-East to be irrigation of Iranian systems discussions ful integrated found in the literature.

of organization however, the systematic By and large, in tradition of the British this volume, which is characteristic of geographitreatment ecologic a genuinely precludes geography, of at a variety The essays are written in Iran. cal processes the volume fragleaving and abstraction of generalization levels fauna lizard essays on Iran's highly specialized Detailed, mented. drainage of transverse the geomorphic history (S. C. Anderson), and Iranian ornithology in the Zagros (T. M. Oberlander), basins to the aims and audience Read) are remotely connected (S. Jervis importopics of critical several Simultaneously, of this volume. The history are not included. and Iranologists tance to historians urban shifts of Iran, patterns in of trade and communication use and of population centers through time, and chanqing resource The brief, at all. or not superb in Iran are treated tanqentially of sources on Iranian historical discussion qeoqraphy (Judith Brown) exception. is a refreshing on

the

The regional

Land of Iran environments

should have included of Iran written by

chapters integrated Iranian geoqraphers

an6 terrain climate, Soils, scientists. and social hvdroqraphy, but separately A from one another. professionally are treated information essays based on the qeological series or regional map and air photography coveraqe by NIOC, the detailed generated and data on agriculture Institute, Cartographic of the National studies in Iranian ministries, and population available irrigation InResearch in the essay by J. Behnam) by the Social (represented a more intimate have and penetrating produced might stitute glimpse work at in Iran. processes of the geoqraphical The Land of Iran is an encyclopedic collection In summary, volume be used as a reference by which will essays of academic It may be that a better culture of this particular students reqion. at this of accomplishment book is impossible more useful integrated, will remain the basic this Until such time as one is written, time.

source

book on Iranian

geography. 107

SPRING-SUMMER1969

The Cambridge History of Iranc Volume VI The Saljuxj and M4ongol Periods. Cambridge University 1968. Press, Edited by J. A. Boyle, Cambirdge: + 763 pp., maps, tables, index. bibliog., xiii $12.50. AKIN BANANI and rely who have come to respect For students of history as monuments of summation and synupon various Cambridge histories is cause for into new fields of this series thesis, the expansion the appearance of of Iranian history For students jubilation. eight-volume volumes 1 and 5 of a projected Cambridge History of not only an attempt at Iran is doubly welcome for they represent Many of to fill a vacuum. effort summation, but also the first volume are inherent the strengths and sthortcomings of the fifth is imposed by Since the duality in this dual nature of its aim. of Iran, muclh of the blame for the in history the state of scholarship of its from the shoulders of this volume is lifted shortcomings of the perspective. But let there be no distorting Before authors. of all the things which this book is not, we proceed to an analysis tile worth and avow, with gratitude, let us affirm its undeniable owes to enormous debt that the community of Iranian scholarship the editors and the Press, the Syndics of the Cambridge University of There is now in historiography to this enterprise. contributors at least a landmark and a point achievement, Iran, if not an ultimate of departure. of J. A. Boyle supervision That volume 5 under the editorial The pertia vacuum there can be no doubt. in filling has succeeded in the state of scholarship the present is---given nent question the possible standards of cohesion, has it attained stmmiafield, no. must be a qualified The answer, regretably, tion and synthesis? The main reason for this seems to be the lack of a general and in a histhat one expects framework and policy editorial integrated of the Since volume 5 is the first work of this nature. torical whether to ascertain volums to come out it is difficult historical framework is due to non-sequenthis absence of an overall historical In case there any this volume. to or is peculiar tial publication given for a unitary or epochal is no explanation or justification One in Iranian history. of the Saljuq and tlongol periods treatment divia convenient and reasonable that it represents must conclude there is no evidence Furthermore, sion of time spans and volumes. as to what is covered in this of editorial policy or consensus correlation volume and what is left out; nor as to the proportion, It appears that contributions of what is covered. and integration on elsewhere who had already written from scholars were solicited but there is no further evidence of any collatheir special fields, the present volIn this respect among these contributors. boration and is, essentially, a ume is unlike all other Cambridge }{istories Nor is the selecarticles. of selective encyclopedia historical the whole. Thus, for example, indicative of a conceptual tivity "The Exact Sciences in Iran under the Saljuqs final chapter entitled of natural omission serves to point out the glaring and Mongols,' The encyclopedic immusic, etc. sciences, medicine, philosophy, the volume in that the basic of is pression heightened by strength An-in Banani California,

is Professor Los Angeles.

IRANIAU STUDIES

of Hiistory 108

and Persian

at the University

of

it represents--in at the frontiers contains volume characteristic and not enough

findings most recent chapters--the most of its the As such, fields. in the respective of research is of the kind that information too much detailed research, of first-hand to reporting essential of-and history. of an analytical of the elements

an exhaustive review to offer of this the scope It is beyond 5 of that comprise volune one of the ten chapters of every critique are divided seven chapters The first of Iran. Hlistory The Cambridge and socio-economic to one each on the political-chronological, respectively; and Mongol periods in the Saljuq conditions religious The last Isma' ll state. to the Niz3r! devoted the odd chapter with phenomena, treatment of cultural a partial represent chapters three and arts the visual only), (in Persian writers and prose poets i.e. centuries. in the same three sciences the exact of the Iranian lHistory and Dynastic 1, "The Political Chapter vihose preC. E. Bosworth is by Professor 1000-1217)," (A.D. World Ghurids Tahirlds, the Ghaznavids, with had dealt publication vious his constitutes therefore, chapter, The present and Saffarids. and Khwarazmshahids, of Saljuqs period the perilous into voyage maiden comprethe first It represents it is. excursion and an auspicious and complicated of the tortuously at unravelling attempt hensive in any of the period history and dynastic political overlapping extant the all of virtually on examination and it is based language, preoccupaexhaustive of this because Precisely and known sources. dynasof every and registration identification discovery, with tion it is occasionworld, of the Iranian corners in various tree tic of In defense the contour of the fbrest. to recognize difficult ally Bosworth Professor that it must be said approach this unassimilated backof a factual to be the providing his task conceived probably to touch it necessary But he finds chapters. drop to the subsequent nature, and ideological of institutional generalities upon certain where certain generalizations from interpretive yet he refrains of the on the "origins" Dwelling demand it. and events problems lost facto and apparently of an ex post on the basis Saljuqs--and the basic to obscure atthat--tends such as the Malik-ndme' source misrule the intolerable namely in Khorasan, success of Saljuq cause is of Nizam al-Mulk The assassination of Mas'uid and his appointees. of event as the focal to emerge and it fails too summarily treated The divan vs. succession. for Saljuq struggles the concentric that were the polarities and the central-anticentral tensions dargah have himself Did Malikshah of Saljuq history. dynamics fundmental the chronothat It seems also a hand in the murder of his vazir? the role, to diminiish schleme tends logical-dynastic-territorial a receiving of Sanjar. Despite and responsibility personality, actor the more as supporting leading he emerges treatment lengthy The history. that he is in Iranian figure rather than the central attention the idealizing to capture of the man who managed paradox did so of character and whose flaws world cultural of the Iranian is not taken of thiat world and security the defense much to destroy inevitIt is perhaps history. Saljuq theme of late up as a major but none be open to some criticism effort able that any pioneering of our debt to the grateful lessen acknowiedqement of it should is valuable Bosworth. chapter part of this Professor N4ot the least

109

SPRING-SUrUl11H1969

in-

the information provided on minor provincial and dynasties a dimension in Professor that is curiously lacking Boyle's on the dynastic and political of the Mongol period. history

rulers, chapter

2 is written Chapter A. K. S. Lambton and is by Professor called, "The Internal of the Saljuq Structure Hier eminence Empire." in the community of historians of Iran and the value of her contributions to the field are too generally known and appreciated to require And it is with reiteration here. explicit acknowledgement of those contributions, amply reflected in the present chapter, that I limit here to offering myself of a general criticism. Needless to say it is her penetrating that makes these scholarship critical observations The chapter possible. suffers from a failing all too common in the works of many historians, namely succombing to the tyranny of written With all sources. the judiciousness and thoroughness of the authior in handling of her sources, it is difficult to escape the impression of thie internal structure of the Saljuq empire as Nizam al-Mulk hiave wishied might it to be and not as it was--certainly not as it was for any length of time. Essentially it is the values, objectives and schemes of the orthodox rluslim-Persian-urban-centralist-civil-financial-bureaucrataristocrats that are reflected There can be no doubt that hiere. for a short and by adroit span of time, manipulation, Nizam al-Mulk made his schemes work. But to idealize that and brief precarious balance and to present it as a more or less static model of the internal structure of the Saljuq is to submerge the all-important empire tensions of divan and dargai and to cloud the reality that preponderance of power gravitated to the military There institutions. can be no more revealing indication of the ultimate failure of of control Nizar, al-Mulk than the loss of iqt ', the very lynchpin of his tenuous At any rate, that the forces structure. of dargah emerged triumphantly is a fact. To have viewed the dynamics of that struggle from the vantage of the divan is to have intensified the and accidental catastrophic nature of-that fact. If Professor Lambton's contribution suffers from too muclh reliance on paradigmnatic sources such as th1e Six;sat-IJamL, then Professor Bausani's two chapters on "Religion in ttc and Sal juq -Period" 'Religion Unider the Mongols," suffer from reliance on the wrong sources such as the Tabsirat al- 'I,w_an. His approach to the problem of religion in tiTese chapters is basically territoral distribution of sects. One would expect that the purpose and value of a confessional atlas in a volume of history such as this would be in of the socio-historical relating causes and consequences of those patterns of distribution, butthie author chooses not to delve into that discussion. Lven for th-e purpose of a descriptive panorama it is curious that he shoulcd have put so much confidence in a source that is little more than a thinly disguised sectarian polemic instea& of turning to the much more reliable genres of geographly, travel and local history. Thle odci thing is that Professor Bausani is fully aware of the confusion and unreliability of the Tabsirat al-'Awr.m yet lie allows himself to be misled by it. Thus, For example, in discussion of the sh'i ' sects in Iran lht speaks of tihe IPRAHIANiiSTUDIES

110

Nasiris

who were

the are Islamic

well-known Iranian

of

condition

the

of

discussion

In

Bausani.

Professor

is

Jews

the

under

we

Ilkhans

made by misinterpretation speak of the rise and fall as well, al-Din Fadl-Al.lah in the power and influence

of a come across a reverberation To in his Die Monoglen in Iran. only SaT' al-Dowla but of Rashi
to

is that they tend to continue they have ceased to exist.

sources danger of sectarian long after sects particular

Another mention

is

But the Tabsirat so

and

time,

this

at

preof

of retention to charges open

and crypto-Zoroastrians.

disposition

their

on

silent

reality,

in

These,

shl'is.

considerable them left

whose practices

Nusairis cultural

pseudo-Muslims

being

other

all

to

anathema

Spuler of not as indicourts

hue the Surely, history. into much too reading is Mongols the of bureauMuslim the from came al-Dowla Sa'd against raised and cry removal, for his the pretexts preparing who were chancery the of crats plot. religious Jewish real any of as proof be taken and cannot beyond things stretch to is vein the in same al-Din Rashid To mention aside fact thiat central the to obscure serves this All credibility. abolition the of the Ilkhgns, tolerance religions general from the of center the of political and overthrow caliphate the of title of momenwere and Jews Christians in which a vacuum created had Islam a question was Thus it restrictions. dhimmi their of freed tarily of of possibility than rather relations social of of readjustment conversions. religious

the

activist

and

improvements,

earlier cuous

that

he

faces

the

leave

the

shape

of

events,

for

work

appears which of

most

reconstructed is

It

sources.

one-sided

infra-structure his

and

be extracted

can and

of

this

to

be

limited

it

is

impossible

conspi-

a

pity

with

But

sources. lhe

rigor

greater

and

his

of

particularlv

hostile

of

problem

same

is

revisions

minor

Hodgson

Mlarshall

success

His

insights

history

tradictory

late

the

with

is,

State,"

Isma'1li

by

subject.

the

historical

deeper

"The

digest

a on

as

on

chapter

work

orders.

and

traditions

The

of Professor inwith primarily not he does neglect

best part is the sufism concerned being While of strains sufism,

of treatment contribution. and philosophical

The Bausauni's tellectual

demonstrated

has

from

complex,

that

he of

relating

by

to

to the

Thus

exposed.

reconstruction

conhad

has a

of

chiain

and

causes

determine

effects. The

which

maps,

volume,

the

throughout The

on

chapter by

Professor

Il-Khans"

is

composite

reconstruction

too

are

generally

are

particularly

the

and

"Dynastic Boyle of the

and

small

Political

himself.

In

Mongol

invasion

not in

inadequate

too

chapter. of

History it

helpful

this

he

has

attempted

on

the

basis

the a of

Once again the nature of the sources. nearly all the available With the and some omissions. has led to some distortions sources in the divan of of Nasawi whco had been a scribe exception single to him-hostile are implacably Khwarazmsh3h, all our other sources 111

SPRING-SULMER1969

either because they are friendly to the Mongols or because of their pro-Caliphate sentiments. And rlasawi is too full of the internal acrimony and factional squabbling of the Khw5razmshahid court to be an objective source. Not tllat any amount of unbiased reporting would alter and total theutter outcome of the Mongol invasion; but the familiar picture of MuhammadKhwarazmshah once again emerging from the pages of Professor Boyle is one of an astute and ambitious ruler who is suddenly transformed into an insane imbecile at the first news of the Mongol advance. The erratic behavior of: Khwarazmshah would seem more plausible if Professor Boyle had given more weight and credence to his mortal fear (certainly not unfounded) of the machinations of the 'Abb3sld caliph, to his rear. al-Nasir "The Socio-Economic Condition of Iran Under the Il-Khans" by Professor is in many ways the most satisfactory Petrushevsky part of the volume mainly because by a deft blending, juxtaposition and corroboration of the widest variety of chronicles, literary, archival, geographic, folkloric and other sources the author has demonstrated what rich harvests of historical information can be reaped. The reader actually develops a feeling impression of life as it must have been lived in that cataclysmic age. Fascinating discussions of taxation policies and practices create a thirst for more information. One only wishes there had been more on the role of great families in the actuality of exercise of power particularly in the cities and towns. The glaring fault of the "cultural" component of this volume does not belong to the respective authors of these final three chapters, but must be placed at the door of editorial responsibility which in such cavalier and cdreless has allowed this fashion ill-conceived and truncated view of what is without a doubt one of the most creative periods of Iranian culture to be presented. The late Jan Rypka has contributed the chapter called "Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods." It is in Persian. limited, however, to those writing What justification can there be for this arbitrary dismemberment of an essentially integrated Iranian creative cultural a significant process, portion of which was still in Arabic? Nor is Rypka himself immune from criticism. For his treatment is really nothing more than oldfashioned literary more than narrative history, capable of little and certainly pedantry by itself out of place in the context of analytical history. One searches in vain for those life lines of motivation, stimulation, and interaction causation, that connect the writer with his time and society. The chapter on "The Visual Arts, 1050-1350," is by Oleg Grabar, whom the editor with characteristic nonchallance introduces as the Professor of Middle Eastern Art at "The University of Ann Arbor." (He has since moved to Harvard which, it ishoped, is better known in Manchester). It is altogether a temperate and good The author should be complimented chapter. for having resisted the facile and fashionable to attribute temptation in Saljuq everything art to "inner Asiatic" influences. IRANIAN STUDIES

112

'Professor E. S. Kiennedy, the leadino historial of Islamic concludes the final mathematics, on "Tihe Lixact Sciences chapter and "onaols," in Iran Under the Saljuqs with of his an assessment in global the volume with subject and closes this perspective, "The scientists of SaljuC sentence: and Nonriol Irar. were the best wh'i the editors have offered of their age." I;e are left us oaspina this into this only incomplete capriciously hiqh moment of alimpse human achievement.

Planning Maryland:

and Development in The Johns Hopkins

Iran. Press,

Baltimore, B. Baldwin. By George xv + 212. 1967. $6.95.

VAIIID F.

NOWSHIRVANI

This book, which is based on Dr. Baldwin's experience an economic advisor in Iran, claims to have three aims: to economic planning in simple operational terms; to show that able political and cultural environment is a prerequisite to ful planning; and to point out that economic development and ning do not necessarily depend on each other. These aims he with various degrees of success. The value of the book for readers of Iranian Studies, however, lies in the incidental mation he provides on the Iranian economy and the historical mentation of a crucial period in Iran's recent history.

as explain favorsuccessplanachieves the infordocu-

The first three chapters give a good, short description of the economic and political setting and an excellent account of the history of economic planning in Iran. For the general reader this is probably the best fifty page introduction to Iranian economy The next available. five chapters are more narrowly concerned with the techniques of planning. In the last chapter the author summarizes his diagnosis of the failure of the planning effort and in very general terms suggests the course for future policy. The account of the mechanics of planning on the whole, is, well written, but at times it becomes tediously detailed and elementary. For example, the author's description of the various components of the balance of payments accounts (pp. 56, 57) or his explanation of'the techniques for demand projections for agricultural products would be more appropriate for a textbook. It would have been more interesting to have a fuller discussion of the plan strategy and specific policies for achieving various targets. Nevertheless this section, in its description of the individual sectors, contains much useful information on the Iranian economy, in addition to a number of anecdotes about different projects, e.g., Vahid F. University.

Nowshirvani

is

Assistant

Professor

113

of

Economics

at

Yale

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

'Professor E. S. Kiennedy, the leadino historial of Islamic concludes the final mathematics, on "Tihe Lixact Sciences chapter and "onaols," in Iran Under the Saljuqs with of his an assessment in global the volume with subject and closes this perspective, "The scientists of SaljuC sentence: and Nonriol Irar. were the best wh'i the editors have offered of their age." I;e are left us oaspina this into this only incomplete capriciously hiqh moment of alimpse human achievement.

Planning Maryland:

and Development in The Johns Hopkins

Iran. Press,

Baltimore, B. Baldwin. By George xv + 212. 1967. $6.95.

VAIIID F.

NOWSHIRVANI

This book, which is based on Dr. Baldwin's experience an economic advisor in Iran, claims to have three aims: to economic planning in simple operational terms; to show that able political and cultural environment is a prerequisite to ful planning; and to point out that economic development and ning do not necessarily depend on each other. These aims he with various degrees of success. The value of the book for readers of Iranian Studies, however, lies in the incidental mation he provides on the Iranian economy and the historical mentation of a crucial period in Iran's recent history.

as explain favorsuccessplanachieves the infordocu-

The first three chapters give a good, short description of the economic and political setting and an excellent account of the history of economic planning in Iran. For the general reader this is probably the best fifty page introduction to Iranian economy The next available. five chapters are more narrowly concerned with the techniques of planning. In the last chapter the author summarizes his diagnosis of the failure of the planning effort and in very general terms suggests the course for future policy. The account of the mechanics of planning on the whole, is, well written, but at times it becomes tediously detailed and elementary. For example, the author's description of the various components of the balance of payments accounts (pp. 56, 57) or his explanation of'the techniques for demand projections for agricultural products would be more appropriate for a textbook. It would have been more interesting to have a fuller discussion of the plan strategy and specific policies for achieving various targets. Nevertheless this section, in its description of the individual sectors, contains much useful information on the Iranian economy, in addition to a number of anecdotes about different projects, e.g., Vahid F. University.

Nowshirvani

is

Assistant

Professor

113

of

Economics

at

Yale

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

At times plant or the Steel Mill project. the Shiraz fertilizer comments whether or not intentionally, the author also has included, On page 145 for in Iran. that reveal much about the situation to Iran he assistance Point IV technical when discussing instance, was efforts U. S. training that "One of the most successful states from everything training, wlhich included of police field in,the techinvestigation and security to riot control traffic diverting and Mlining of the Industrial Again we find in his praise niques." "It was owned observation: Development Bank of Iran the following in companies interested and a handful pf foreign by individuals in a promising and connection their information strengthening country." in of planning The main theme of the book is the failure environment. and cultural political Iran due to the uncongenial not so is unsatisfactory, analysis Dr. Baldwin's In this respect is wrong but because it is rather supermuch because his diagnosis for not anti-planning is certainly Iranian politics ficial. with market forces has interference In fact, reasons. ideological of the economy, and, if Iran did not have a long been a feature diffiplan before 1962 it was because of technical comprehensive is, as all political system was and still The political culties. all its objeca plan which does not reflect systems are, against The goal of the Tlhird Plan, a six per cent annual rise in tives. to take into account the political the G.N.P. was too abstract It is no wonder that the Plan ran into diffiof Iran. realities of the plan on the It is not enough to blame the failure culties. nature the personal lack of commitment to development, goyernment's These are symptoms of corruption. and the prevalenice of politics, the than rather in the country, forces of more basic political because is unconvincing analysis Mr. Baldwin's forces themselves. power structure the of political the objectives he does not explain With with the goals for the Third Plan. and their incompatibility to give us qualified knowledge of Iran he is eminently his intimate and it is a pity that he chooses not to do so. a deeper analysis the lack of interdependence Regarding his third aim, i.e., a author does not present and planning,the of economic development of planning would Even tle most ardent advocates case. convincing without planning-is possible not deny that economic development What is imporin this fashion. after all the West was developed It is of equity. and the question tant is the speed of development and at times high, rate true that Iran has had quite a respectable, of income leaves much of economic growth, though the distribution Iran's very favorreflects really This performance to be desired. What differto ask is: question The correct able circumstances. and could have made both to the speed of development ence planning distrifrom a more equitable resulting of individuals the welfare Dr. Baldwin does not provide us with an answer. bution of income. These recommended

to

shortcomings those

interested

notwithstanding,the in

Iran.

The

book is subject

highly

matter

of

the

that Iran's since one hias an uneasy feeling book is very topical The Plan as in the late fifties. situation economy is in a similar is again charged inactivity after a period of relative Organization Many of the Iranians the economy. with the task of rationalizing attempt are Lack in the Plan with the first who were connected One can only or in other high government positions. Organization yet. first their experience hope that they have not forgotten IRA1NIANSTUDIES

114

REPORT OF THE UCLA-S IS CONFERENCE

The conference on thc "Structure of Power in Islamic Iran," sponsored by the tlear Eastern Center of the University jointly of California in Los Angeles and The Society for Iranian Studies was held on June 26-28, 1969, at the UCLA campus, It brough$ together scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, including history, economics, political science, anthropology, social psychology, and geography, in an attempt to make a more comprehensive analysis of the structure and functioning of power in Iran. The conference was organized into the following five panels: I.

HISTORICAL PATTERNSOF POWJER Zarrinkoob, (Abdol-hosein Chairman) 1. 2. 3.

II.

Turanian Nomadism and Iranian Politics John M, Smith: G. R. Garthwaite: Pastoral Nomadism and Tribal Power

FUNCTIONINGOF POWER (Hafez F. Farmayan, Chairman) 1. 2. 3. 4.

IV.

The H{eritage of Rulership in Early Islamic Iran and the Search for Dynastic Connections with the Past. Richard W. Bulliet: Local Politics under The Ghaznavid,s and Seljuks The Emergence of the Modern Persian State Roger M. Savory: under the Safavids.

TRIBAL INFLUENCEON TIlE POWERSTRUCTURE (Paul W. English, Chairman) 1. 2.

Ill.

C. E, Bosworth:

Elite: The Search for a Political Reputational Analysis and the Occupational Bases of Power The Plasticity The James A. Bill: of Informal Politics: Case of IraJn A in Iran: Structure Ali Banuazizi: Character and Social Critique and Social Change Nikki R, Keddiec Iranian Power Structure An Overview 1800-1969:

Marvin Zonis:

ECONOMICAND INTERNATIONALCON4TEXT OF POWERSTRUCTUREIN IRAN (Firuz Kazemzadeh, Chairman) 1. 2.

The United States, Iran and the Cold War Richard W. Cottam: Iran: Oil and the Struggle for tNational Power Majid Tehranian: 115

SPPINn-SUMpEP 1969

V.

SOCIAL IINSTITUTIONS AND POLIT'ICAL POWIER (P. J. Vatikiotis, Chiairman) 1.

Ervand

2.

llamid

3.

Amin Banani:

of Iranian The Failure Aristocracy, 1941-53 Century Some Iran: The Ulama in Twentieth Ilistorical and Contemporary Considerations, Epilogue

Abrahamian: Algar:

that the conference Almost all of the participants agreed represented something more than fourteen scholarly contributions to the field of Iranian studies. It provided, as indeed any successful conference should, a forum for the discussion of a number of issues falling within its general theme. These discussions, approached from a variety of disciplinary vantage points, proved extremely stimulating and fruitful, often conbringing to the fore siderations that could not be adequately dealt withi within the confines of any one discipline. In our view, the value of such interdisciplinary cross-fertilizations cannot possibly be overemphasized. of the UCLA-SIS Conference--one Another feature unique which contributed substantially to the vigor and liveliness of much of its deliberations--was of several relative "new tthe inclusion comers" to the field of Iranian Studies along with the more recognized authorities. Iranian Studies, as an area-specialty, could not help but benefit from the fresh outlook and methodology of various disciplines brought into it by these younger scholars. A review of the conference papers is the best testimony to their high quality and the thoroughness with which have treated the authors their topics. Ilighly encouraged by the results of this conferences annual Society hopes to conduct similar with academic institutions that share the Society's encouraging in Iranian scholarly research Studies.

conference, the in cooperation objective of

like We should to acknowledge our deepest gratitude to for his encouragement and unfailing Professor G. E. von Grunebaum of the conference, Professor support through the various phases Amin Banani for his efforts in the difficult task of coordinating the for her valuable counsel conference, and Professor Nikki R. Keddie in its planning. are also due to Mrs. Hlelen A. Dillon Many thanks and her able valuable Center for their staff at the Near Lastern of the conassistance and patient disposition in the administration of of the manuscripts. and the preparation Above all, ference of the conference we are indebted to the participants for course, their valuable contributions. Ali

IRANIAN

STUDIES

116

Banuazizi

PROCEEDINGSOF TIIE CONFERENCE Our original plan of publishing a critica] appraisal of the conference proceedings could not be realized for the present issue of Iranian Studies. Instead, we are publishing the abstracts of those papers that were made available to us by the deadline for this issue, with Professor together G. E. von Grunebaumr's remarks at the opening session of the conference. We hope to publish a critical lengthier article dealing with the content of the papers in our next issue. Copies of the individual papers may be obtained by writing to the Near Eastern Center, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. By G. E. von Grunebaun, University of California, Los Angeles.

Near Eastern

Center,

Thoseof us who for a few decades have followed the growth of our field, within the contexts of contemporary thinking, have noticed at times not without surprise, pleased or displeased, that some idea or approach which we remember being launched without much eclat and even less of an audible echo suddenly appeared dominant or at least very acceptable, if not in fact in the process of degen-

erating goes

the

for

from discovery whole

carelessly

areas

to cliche. of

brushed

study

aside

as

Whiat goes well.

Iranian

for

ideas

The

cliche

division

of

of

Islam

and approaches, the

neglected,

and Islamic

civilization can still be heard, but the complaint has become much when it is not results less but concern convincing, and especially endeavor that are considered. The function of the individual in such a process is for the most part difficult to trace. Although determined by individuals and depending on their intellectual iniis very tiative, the process made for largely anonymous, exception

the few great pathfinders. It is institutions that can and must assume the function of promoting areas of lagging scholarship of information with a view to levelattempting to round out available ing the rocks institutional

that duty

It jag our horizon. the Near Eastern that

is in obedience to this has been happy Center

to

in developing the ideas proposed by some of its members, assist for ideas that had been brought to life by contact with The Society for a collective and to take on the responsibility Iranian Studies of Power in Islamic study on the "Structure Iran." will bear out the imI have no doubt that this conference statement that Iran is no longer an underplied claim of my earlier examined area of study within the wider framework of medieval and whether or not the cliche and thought, still modern Islamic history or has no more substance the reality, than dried leaves reflects our knowledge of that fail to crumble merely because untouched, which Iran is bound to increase by your work and by the publication and more lastingly effective. So I is to render it more definite on behalf of the university, must, in opening this conference Center, and scholarship thank you one and all, Society participants, organand unseen patrons in the Administration for izers, guests Building 117

SPRINrG-SUMMvER 1969

having put your time and strength of illuminating in the service a of problems, in itself series every one important by establishing a them in creative context. This task is its own justification, but its significance and its urgency will be enhanced when we remember that whatever level of development the Iranian field may have attained, its insights have failed so far to register adequately in the public consciousness. this time for Thank you again, having come. THIEFAILURE OF TIIE IRANJIANARISTOCRACY1941-53. mian, Columbia University.

By Ervand Abraha-

The landed aristocracy in Iran between 1941 and 1953, like the English upper class in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, had an opportunity to become a political oligarchy: to declare its independence from the court and to exert its own sovereignty; to replace the rule of one royal family with the rule of "the thousand families"; to transform parliament, from a socially exclusive club into the central institution of the state; to establish the system of parliamentary government in which they, as deputies, would make and unmake premiers, supervise the policies of the ministers, and legislate the laws of the country. The Iranian aristocracy, Instead of however, failed. securing a parliamentary form of government in which all the ministers would be rqsponsible to the deputies, they obtained a quasiparliamentary form of government in which some of the ministers were accountable only to the coLirt. Instead of transforming the military monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, they were satisfied with a quasi-military monarchy in which the court had full control of the army. And instead of becoming a political oligarchy, they paved the way for their political impotence after 1953. can be explained ,This failure by two main factors: the intensity of class conflicts within Iranian sockety; and the impact of international and the between United States, rivalries Britain, Soviet Union. The former frightened the aristocracy into viewing the military not as a danger to parliamentary, but as a democracy, valuable bulwark against radicalism and social The latrevolution. ter divided the aristocracy into rival factions, competing against each other and unable to form a united front against the court. Thus, segments of the aristocracy their political sacrificed independence in the hope of having their economic interests protected by the court; and rival factions in the Majlis sacrificed any longterm constitutional gains they could have obtained by working together in exchange for immediate advantages offered by the court. AND SOCIAL STRUCTUREIN IRAN: A CRITIQUE. CHARACTER of Southern California. Banuazizi, University sought

A number of observers to explain the present

IRAN4IANSTUDIES

and students psychological 118

of Iranian dispositions,

By Ali culture have attitudes,

of Persians by reference to the country's It has been suggested that Iran's unique

values and cultural torical experience. despotic that order hostile

not depend social and environment,

on a responsive psychological individual the

to

a glorious

past

societal cope with this on a number

to

the

point

that

present

the

has

be-

to him.

come but an illusion

of such a "psycho-historical"

The validity

into however, be called First, the determination epochs cally significant particularly lematic matter,

The choice

histories.

and predictable To security. taken has

over the centuries. Ile has become inhis oppressor, and frustrating and nostalgically and fatalistic,

characteristics of psychological master in the art of deluding creasingly more individualistic fastened

the notion

upon the individual

impressed

governments--has

he could for his social

foreign invasions, and chaos, and

by repeated disorganization

legacy--characterized social of periods

his-

protracted succession of

position

may,

grounds. on at least two major psychologimight be considered is a highly history of a nation reliable cultural the absence of

question of what in the in

periods

of historical

and the

prob-

interpretation

on an a posteriori have often been made of conditions the prevailing to support has been-offered historical "evidence" basis, i.e., character and cultural national conceptions of Persian existing psychologiof the present Second, the explanation orientations. and obscure remote in term the of of impact cal of a people features of culture and the elasticity fails to recognize historical events and to new conditions in response its changing character continually matter sentiments, and attitudes--no Human values, circumstances. in the course how firmly or how drastically transformed, formed, and created anew epoch--have to be reccnditioned of a historical with in accordance and objective the for conditions each generation of Iranian hisThe decisive epochs it confronts. realities that the of contemporary for the study relevant tory can be considered as the socio-cultural insofar present Persians only character of bears similarities to the to i.e., only matrix past, significant social institutions and cultural the the that contemporary extent

resemble

those

of

the

historical

in

periods

question.

a number of studies have more In the pointed receRtt years and attitudes of Iranians as possiorientations to certain cultural The specinational the to development. ble country's impediments that have been include attributes emphasized fic social psychological and low need for distrust, extremism, insecurity, individualism, of economic inferred domain in the Having activity. achievement and attitudinal characteristics from often these psychological

limited some tively

observations have scholars underdeveloped

the above

factors.

of

Iranian

social

the further taken the of state

and

step Iranian

to their

In addition

and conceptual errors, shortcomings To most ideological bias. strong of modernization, rent literature

these of those many of

political

institution,

of attributing and economy

serious

the polity

relato

methodological

studies suffer from a with the curacquainted the characteristics

Indeed it appears have a familiar ring. attributed to Iranians to diagnose and describe that in spite of all their efforts uniquely 119

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

Iranian obstacles to political and economic development, the cultural and psychological barriers proposed by most authors bear striking similarities to those cited by their colleagues for the Burmese, Chileans, and in some respects Indians, Turks., etc., similar to those attributed to ethnic minorities that have been excluded from the opportunity structure in the more advanced countries. These similarities seem to suggest that the psychological and cultural characteristics in question flow from a general model of an "underdeveloped man" who, in the main, is being blamed for the underdeveloped state of the world that he inhabits. As such this position is no more than a description of, if not indeed a justification for, the way things are. THE PLASTICITY OF INFORMALPOLITICS: Bill, The University of Texas.

THE CASE OF IRAN.

By James A.

Iran stands as one of the most fluid and resilient of Islamic societies. An examination of key power patterns there reveals four interrelated and intertwined characteristics: informality, personalism, pervasive tension, and insecurity. These patterns which reinforce and buttress one another have invested Iranian society with profound plasticity and endurance. Personal cliques and informal groups (dawrahs) have dominated the Iranian decision-making structure. Personalities rather than institutions pervade the socio-political environment as survival and success have often rested upon an individual's to ability perceive and persuade. Personal ties and proximity are of critical importance in this system for they mean access to power. The omnipresence of rivalry has assumed a balancing and conflict nature and has thus functioned as an integrating and amalgamating force. An examination of the political careers of three Qljar statesmen (Mlrzg M"irza 'Al; Asghar Khin Amin al-Sultan, Uusayn Khan Mushir al-Dawlah, and Zill al-Sultgn) documents the intricacies of this balancing tension. Insecurity, often accompanied by distrust and cynicism, is at all levels. present The four examined everpresent characteristics have interacted to build safety valves into the system and this has served to distribute and fracture threatening power concentrations. Channels of complaint, journalistic and oral debate have criticism, mobility, provided outlets for discontent, constantly dissipating dangerous Much of the resiliency pressures. of the traditional in patterns Iran is also derived from the common drive of individuals to hold several positions and jobs. This provides with them connections and and allows them to utilize on many fronts representation one position to support another. a painful Contemporary Iran, however, is entering period of change as the traditional are beginning relationships to snap. with the West, the emergence of Increased and communication contact new groups and classes, and the policies of the two Pahlavi monarchs have introduced ideas and initiated programs that undercut past IRANIAN STUDIES

120

This patterns. the irresistible

durable

the resiliently conflict between Iran today. new dominates

LOCAL POLITICS UNDER THE GHIAZNAVIDS ANID SELJUKS. Harvard Bulliet, University.

old

By Richard

and

Wq.

Iran of power in northeastern of the structure The problem from may be approached centuries and twelfth the eleventh during of the or from that dynasty of the ruling of the court the viewpoint The traditional cities. in the important centers political local the through is made possible but the latter is the former, approach by and for the composed dictionaries biographical use of local localifor power in the separate which contested class" "religious to be a symbiotic appears there viewpoint local From this ties. nexi. political and local government the central between relationship to govern, of the cities the support needed government The central some needed cities The city. in each party of a dominant or at least in bitter apart to keep them from splitting authority kind of central as religious, in the literature appear feuds These feuds. political It is Islam. of Sunni or "law schools" divisions on the legal based cleavage of social kinds other cloaks this that however, likely, part in this urban autonomy to the historical it is related and that by promiare attempts there times At various world. of the Islamic of their on behalf to usurp power in some city leaders nent religious to but lords, up as city themselves and to set faction analoqous before existed that lords from the city background from a different were made in Such attempts area. to this of Islam the coming the hand, On the other and Ilerat. Samarqand, Bukhara, Nishapur, to get the upper hand over attempts made several central government without however, not go too far, They could the urban factions. were that Two specific policies urban support. their jeopardizing faction for the hlanafi open support (1) al-Kunduri's were adopted instituBeg and (2) Nizam al-Hulk's of Tughril when he was vizir madrasas of the Nizamiya and Malikshah as vi^zir of Alp Arslan tion on the central govdependent faction to make the Shafi'i designed faction. over that control the government afford and thus ernment church" of the Ottoman the "state evolved attempt From the latter period. THE UNITED STATES, IRAN, of Pittsburgh. University

AND TliE COLD WAR.

By Richard

W. Cottam,

Cold the Cold War over. to declare It would be premature over the ABM and to abound in the debates continues War rhetoric in are serious confrontation of Soviet-American dangers Vietnam; in Czechoslovakia and Soviet behavior conflict; the Arab-Israeli Nixon's by Richard as symbolized But, is of the Cold War mold. is there Convention, at the Republican National speech acceptance an era of negotiation that leaders among American agreement general For Iran, Union has been entered. with the Soviet and rapprochement and American of Soviet an era in which the intensity this portends to decline is likely sharply. affairs internal interest in Iran's 121

SPRING-SUMMER 1969

As this new era is entered, there are already signs of a drastically revised estimate by students of international politics of the Cold War including the Soviet-American confrontation in Iran. The perception of a monolithic international communism, singleminded in its imperialist goals such as that advanced a decade ago by hienry Kissinger in hlis uclear ana Foreign Policy is held Weapons wing diehards. But as a new generation today only by right emerges with little or no real memory of the Cold War, there is a clear danger that new myths will replace the old. American policy toward Iran is peculiarly susceptible to the new myth. As a more benign interpretation of Soviet motivations in Iran is made, thie converse will surely occur regarding American motivations. Since ttle revisionist school is actively exploring American economic motives in the Cold War, the case of Iran is deductively simple: concern with oil was obviously the driving force behind American If the deductive policy. case for this conclusion is strong, the inductive case is weak. Looking at both what American officials concerned with Iran said and what they did, the conclusion is inescapable that niotivations of defense far outweighed motivations of economic interest as determinants of American policy. For Iran as for much of the third world, the primary American objective was that there be a stable, non-communist regime wihich could withstand the most prob)able form of Soviet aggression: political subversion. Because of its strategic centrality, Iran was destined to be the focus of irntense American interests. Because Iran was in a fundamentally revolutionary situation in which new elites were challenging what they perceived as traditional elites, proBritish and unconcerned with the ineed to transform Iran's society and economy, the American objective of stability would be difficult to achieve. That a ,major aspect of American policy in Iran would be political engineering to achlieve this stability was, in retrospect, inevitable. But the direction and maniner of that engineering was by no means set. in Iran ultimately Three models for achiievin;g stability emerged was the model clearly althiough in no case enough perceived to serve as a policy the fact, After the models outline. however, and prescriptively to be philosophically appear distirnct. Sequentially the first can be thiought of as the Hlenry Grady model. Ambassador the interests that of stability Grady came to believe could best be served of and support by an American for the new elites acceptarnce behind Dr. Mohiammed Mossadeq. in the united temporarily Admittedly, but an instability short would be much instability run there diffito exploit. for the Soviets cult The obvious of this vulnerability was the high approachi and when llenry Grady retired, risk quotient a second involved, model more in tune with model began to emerge--a the world view of The implicit his successor, Loy Hlenderson. prescription new emerging of tihe traditional called for a restoration to power as the elite whose self-interest for a strict A-lement of the populatior. called in governing anid whose experience with American anti-communism could, lead to stability. help, most easily IRANIAN STUDIES

122

In retrospect, the audacity of the new policy appears that American underIt rested on two assumptions: breathtaking. the replacement to engineer were sufficient and resources standing and that an elite of a government with a large and devoted following in the past stability been unable to maintain which lhad clearly were proven Both assumptions could with American support do so. and the governThe coup attempt of August 16, 1953 failed; wrong. Zahedi, that of General Fazlollah ment favored by the United States, In both cases unforeseen inept. developproved to be singularly of August 17 and 18, Tudeh excesses failure. ments staved off total overthrow of Mossadeq on the 19th; the successful 1953 made possible was leadership unexpected abilities, and the Shah, demonstrating control. and consolidate able to establish The third model proved to be the enduring one in Iran as The United States gave open and in many parts of the third world. moved unwavering support for a regime which, though authoritarian, needs of material the most pressing in a direction of satisfying was alteration Elite of the public. broad sections increasingly toward a elite away from the traditional gradual and in a direction and support coincided Gentle American pressure elite. technocratic of the favored leader. with the power interests in Iran as elsewhere model because it fits well the Ifuntington This model can be called by Samuel Hluntington in outlined pattern the favored developmental Development and "Political article, his influential World Politics be viewed as an after can, in fact, The article Decay.' Political the fact ideology in the third world in the for American policy Cold War period. latter and in American policy, are both in the article Neglected factor of major import if real the identity needs of the people--a American The very fact of its initial is to be aclhieved. stability instability for the is a primary source of underlying sponsorship of Soviet threat to American But as perception Iranian regime. is likely American concern with Iranian stability declines, security As it does, the very awareness academic. to become increasingly was altered sharply by American Cold War policy that Iranian history is likely to disappear. PASTORALNOMADISMAND TRIBAL POWER. By C. R. Garthwaite,

Dartmouth

College.

and best known of the are among the largest The Bakhtiyari Their in Iran. located nomadic tribes of pastoral great variety decisive in the overthrow of M1ohammad'Ali Shah in participation Before and is often cited. 1909 during the constitutional struggles have played an important leaders since that period Bakhtiyari tri)al Niumerous generalizarole in the Iranian government and society. their tions have been made about their socio-political structure, the government in Tehran and Isfahan, with other tribes, relations Oil Company, hut government and the Anglo-Persian and the British these have not been based upon the large number of documents which N1or, in regard to the have only recently been made available. 123

SPRING-SUMMER1969

tribes bakhtiyari an(" colifederatior. itself, has use Leen maC-e of this Utilizing these Bahhtiyari sources. materials, paper outlines the last decades of in Iran during the role of the Bakhtiyari khans the nineteenth century of the tw entieth. But more imarnd thiefirst economic, and political social, portantly it descr4bes anc analyzes families of tho khlans of the Zarasvand, interaction witliinithe leacing as tihe paramount who were recognized khans of the confederation, and these khans and their the political arnd economic Letween relationis government, and the neighboring tribesmen, the Iranian tribes. the relationship examines between in particular, This paper, the segmenthat power, and emphasizes pastoral nomadism and tribal social, and politiin which economic, tary structure of the tribes, the tirbe, of small units within effeccal interest was the focus to the goals of Any threat tively limited the power of the khans. to a rival power to support these small units was met by throwing To assure of concentration of power. Lalance off the effects broad own advantage, to their tribal support and to work the system khans on social ties, of relationships based established networks marriage and political and blood; bonds, pastures and booty; economic links to insure the latter. AN OVERVIEW. IRANIAN4 POWER STRUCTURE ANID SOCIAL CHiANGE 1800-1969: Los Angeles. By Nlikki R. Keddie, University of California, behavior and methods in political beDespite continuities perceptively in James Iran, analyzed tween pre-modern and modern changes in there have been basic Bill's paper for the conference, century, especially in the twenticth which Iranian social structure, power and economic of political are reflected also in the areas of autothe despotism fashionable talk about development. Despite their actual power was far Iranian rulers, cracy of traditional time Until the of century rulers. smaller than that of twentieth if we state in Iran, central Reza Shah there was not even a true the monoof a state as a body holding adopt Max Weber's definition and its the throne use of force. Besides poly on the legitimate of power, there were the strongest center allies, which constituted the Shah's act against could often competing centers of power that leaders, and the notable landlords, tribal wishes with impunity: leading ulama. Unlike Eastern Turkey, Egypt, and many other countries, in the nineteenth century; even reform Iran saw little significant was almost as military modernization such a usual measure lacking, as the only Russian-officered modernized force was the small reliable Cossack in contrast to the above-mentioned Brigade. Again countries, of increased in the course the power of the Iranian ulama actually in the paper, listed reasons so the nineteenth for various century, the center--notably movements against that it could lead national revolution and the constitutional of the tobacco of 1891-92 protest 1905-11. IPANIAN

STUDIES

124

came to Iran only with Reza Shah in the Centralization reduced the power and his government significantly period, interwar khans, ulama, and some landlords-classes--tribal of old leading such as the bureaucracy, newly powerful classes while creating some the army. and especially classes, and professional industrial and the power of these new The trend toward centralization Shah, who, like his father, under the present has continued classes of the and loyalty position has been able to assure the privileged coups that have characterized the military army, avoiding so many in The recent land reforn has moved Iran further Asian countries. Although Iran's recent econdirection. and capitalist a bourgeois has been done to very little has been impressive, omic performance rights and democratic of the lower classes, improve the conditions and freedoms have not been forthcoming. IRAN:

OIL AND TIIE STRUGGLEFOR NATIONALPOWER. By Majid Tehranian,

New College.

different in several in Iran has occupied The oil industry and economic development of in the political position ways a central of the Western economic venAs the most successful the country. resentsymbol of nationalist it has served as a convenient tures, As a source and economic domination. political foreign ment against of the government to the solvency it has been important of revenues, to the continuing since 1954, it has become vital and, particularly As a source of windfall of a growing public sector. operation has been a sine the industry exchange earnings, and foreign savings the country enjoys today for a takequ non for whatever prospects as an enclave of And finally, growth. aYrTinto self-sustained fettered and trained manpower in a traditionally advanced -technology but may yet failed economy, it has partly national and stagnant to set the pace and provide sector" succeed to serve as a "leading and growth of other for the creation the necessary forward linkages industries. as a source of actual and potential its presence Despite in Iran (as in other major power, however, the oil industry national to the vagaries has proved vulnerable countries) exporting petroleum petroleum market which seems at times beyond of an international the country's and always beyond control. Consequently, comprehension has aimed, with respect for national power and independence struggle at maximization of revenues as well as of to the oil industry, must of these efrorts The problems and prosects control. national of the world market for petrobe, however, viewed in the context leum crude and products on which Iran as a producing country depends.

The purpose of this essay is therefore twofold; to review the Iranian efforts towards national control over their own oil industry and

factors and international of those domestic to provide an analysis towards this end. or will retard their progress which have frustrated of the also an assessment the of provides essay part The concluding which the country may adopt for the realizaalternative strategies in this field. tion of her national aspirations 1969 SPRING-SUMMER 125

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED Education and Political COLEMAN,JAMES S. (Lditor). Princeton, N.J.: 'Princeton Press, University $3.45 (Paperback).

Development. 1965. xii+6

pp.

KARPAT, KEMALIi. (Editor). Poli-tical and Social Thought in the Contemporary Middle Last. New York: Frederick . Praeger, 1968. xi1i+397 pp. $10.00 KLDDIE, NIKKI R. An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writines of Sa idE Jama1 ad-Din "al-Afghan ." of Berkeley and Los Angeles: University Press, Cialiforni.a 1968. xii+212 pp. $7.50 LAPALOMBARA, JOSEP1I AND WEINER, MYRON(Editors). Political and Political Development. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton viii+487 University Press, $10.00 1966. pp.

Parties

LEIDEN, CARL (Editor). The Conflict of Traditionalism and Modernism in the Muslim Middle Mat. Austin: The University of Texas 160 pp. Press, 1969. $4.95. PINCUS, JOIIN. Nations.

Trade, Aid, and Development: The Rich New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1967.

and Poor xv+400 pp.

0. 007

Communications and Political PYE, LUCIAN W. (Editor). Developmen Princeton, Princeton N.J.: xiv+381 1963. University Press, $3.45 (Paperback). STAVRIANOS, LEFTONS. Middle East: Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1968. indicated. STEWARD-ROBINSON,J. (Editor). Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,

A Culture Area in rerspective. 72 pp. (Paperback). No price

The Traditional Near East. Englewood 1966. 183 pp. $1.95 (Paperback).

WILDER, DONALDN. Iran: Past and Present, (6th ed.). N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1967. ix+312

IRANIAN STUDIES

pp.

126

Princeton, pp. $6.00.

7esoct"IfrganvSt~ 'Yvtcctit- m

t

1269

Qet Got

The Society for IranianStudies COUNCIL

Ali Banuazizi Richard W. Bulliet Hormoz Hekmat Abbas Heydari-Darafshian Farhad Kazemi, Treasurer Manoucher Parvin Majid Tehranian, Secretary

Iranian

Studies

Editor Ali Banuazizi, Jacqueline W. Mintz, Associate

Editor

for is published by the Society Iranian Studies quarterly It is distributed to members of the Society Iranian Studies. The annual subscription rate as a part of their membership. is $1.25 the price of single copies for non-members is $5.00; the subscription rate is $8.00 per issue. For institutions by the contributors are per annum. The opinions expressed those of those of the individual authors and not necessarily Studies. Articles for the Society or the editors of Iranian concerning Iranian publication and all other communications Iranian Studies, P.O. Studies should be sent to the Editor, 90024, U.S.A. CommunicaBox 2T766, Los Angeles, California tions should be adconcerning the affairs of the Society for Iranian Studies, dressed to the Secretary, The Society Sarasota, of Social Sciences, New College, c/o Division Florida 33578, U.S.A. Cover:

Plate with a design of five in a landscape animals Ca. 1600 Mashhad. Safavid. Archaeological Museum, Tehran

So7c&zt of 7t

33CCa

Volume

II

grasiianASt

ffor

Autumn

ttA

Number

1969

4

CONTENTS 128

THE CROWD IN TIIE PERSIAN

151

ON THE FEASIBILITY OF AN AUTOMATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF IRANIAN STUDIES

REVOLUTION

Ervand

Abrahamian

Jerome Donald Edward Kenneth

W. Clinton, C. Croll, W. Davis, A. Luther

BOOK REVIEWS 170

VAN DER TAK AND DE WEILLE:

Reappraisal Road Project

of a in

Ali

Fatemi

M.S.

Iran 175

HUNTIN4GTON:

Political

Order

in Changing eties

Farhad

Kazemi

Soci-

180

ISSAWI:

The Economic Histhe M1ddle tory_of East, 1800-_1914

Manoucher

183

AMIN:

British in the Gulf

Thomas

187

LETTERS TO TIHE EDITOR

193

PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED

Interests Persian

Parvin

M. Ricks

and

THE CROWD IN THE PERSIAN REVOLUTION1 ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN Introduction The Constitutional

Revolution

of

1905-09

was

a major

watershed in Persian It ended the traditional history. system of government in which the Shah, as the Shadow of God on Earth, ruled his people without and institutional any legal limitations. And it introduced the constitutional system of government in which "the people" were sovereign, and their elected made and unmade ministers, representatives laws, budgets, conIn this revolution cessions and foreign treaties. the political crowd played a prominent role.2 An organized procession in April 1905 raised the issue whether the Shah could freely choose his administrators. A larger nmne months assembly, later, initiated the demand to limit the monarch's arbitrary powers by creating in a "House of Justice." riots Spontaneous June 1906, and the killing of demonstrators, poured a stream of blood into the wide gap between the government and (dawlat) the nation A general (millat). strike in July, and the exodus of 15,000 from Tehran into the British Legation, forced the court to grant the country a written with an constitution elected House of Parliament. And mass meetings throughout the next three years, accompanied by demonstrations of force in the streets, helped preserve the constitution from conservatives determined to re-establish royal despotism. As a French contemporary, in discussing the advantages of the anarchist theory of revolution, argued: "Events in Persia prove that the general strike and mass action in the streets can produce a successful revolution."3 Although crowds have been important in Persia throughout the ages they have received scant attention from either historians, sociologists, or political scientists. Sympathetic observers have invariably them as "the people" glorified in action, Unfighting for country, freedom, and justice.4 observers have metamorphosized them into "mad mobs" sympathetic hired by foreigners and composed of "vagrants," or subversives, and "the social "thugs,' "riffraff," "professional beggars," Ervand Abrahamian

is

Lecturer

in Political

University.

IRANIAN STUDIES

128

Science

at Columbia

scum."5 European journalists "xenophobic monsters' hurling embassies. And witty novelists as fickle and humorous swarms For all the crowd has been an praise, fear, disgust, or wit,

have often portrayed them as insults and bricks at Western have enjoyed describing them making and unmaking politicians.6 whether worthy of abstraction, but not a subject of study.

The aim of this paper is to study the political crowd in the Persian to outline Revolution; to see whether its role; it displayed that was 'singularly a mentality inferior," "murderous," "irrational," and "intolerant," "destructive," as Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd would have us believe;7 or whether it was 'remarkably and 'not fickle, single-minded," peculiarly irrational, or generally given to bloody attacks on persons" as George Rude's The Crowd in History has found to be true for England and France; and to examine its social composition, defining, as far as possible, the different classes and groups that participated in various demonstrations, meetings, riots, and public It is hoped that disturbances. this will throw some light on the social basis of the constitutional movement. Cities

on the

Eve of

the

Revolution

In traditional Persia urban life centered around the bazaar. It was there that landowners sold their crops, craftsmen manufactured their goods, tradesmen marketed their wares, borrowers raised loans, and philanthropic businessmen endowed mosques and maktabs (traditional schools). The bazaar was, in the fact, granary, the workshop, the marketplace, the bank, the religious nucleus, and the educational center of the whole society. Moreover, each craft, trade, and occupation was tightly structured into asnaf (guilds), with their own separate organization, hierarchy, traditions, ceremonies, and sometimes even their own secret dialects. A survey undertaken by the tax collector of Isfahan in 1877 lists two hundred independent guilds.9 Skilled craftsmen, such as silversmiths, bookbinders, and tailors, numbered half the total. Tradesmen, like grocers, money-lenders, and shopkeepers, formed fifty of them. And unskilled workers laborers, coolies, and bath attendents made up another fifty. The political structure of the cities comprised an intricate balance of power between the monarch and the bazaar. Whenever the monarch was powerful, he nominated the guild - such as the Shaykh alkadkhudas (heads) and his appointees Islams (the highest religious authority in the citiesJ, the Imam Jum'ahs (the minister of the Friday mosques), the kalantars (the overseer of the guilds), and the muhtasibs (the-officer in charge of weights and measures, prices, and the general affairs of the bazaar) dominated urban life. Whenever 129

AUTUMN1969

he was weak, the guild masters elected their own elders, and - religious the Mujtahids authorities with no ties to the goverinment but with close ties to the business community exerted their independence and functioned as rivals of the political establishment. In this balance of power, each side had one main weapon: the tribes and the streets. The monarch, having no police, bureaucracy, and standing army, could terrorize the bazaar community only by using the threat of hired tribesmen invading and plundering the city. And the bazaar community, having no legal channels, could safeguard its interests only by petitions, demonstrations, and the taking of bast (sanctuary) in holy places, royal lands, and foreign grouTnds immune from the local authorities. between the Thus, negotiations government and the bazaar often took the form of bargaining by assembly. By the end of the nineteenth the balance of century, The guilds power had swung far in favor of the bazaar. were choosing their own kadkhudas. The kalantar had lost much of his importance. And the muhtasib had disappeared in many cities. Moreover, the impact of the West further widened the The Qajar dynasty, gulf between the monarch and the bazaar. crushed repeatedly as the in foreign wars, lost its legitimacy protector of all Shi'ahs. Deprived of crown lands by the at will. In dire it could no longer hire tribesmen Russians, need of loans, it turned to European creditors and in return and capitulations. granted unpopular monopolies, concessions, Forced to accept some programs of Westernization to survive in the age of imperialism, the court, on the one hand, alienated the conservative religious authorities and, on the other hand, unconsciously permitted the subversive doctrine of "Divine Rights of Man" to undermine the accepted 'Divine Right of Kings." And unable to defend hoine industries from the onslaught of imported manufactures, it lost its aura as the protector of the people and appeared m a corrupt family partaking in the plunder and destruction of the country. By the beginning the of the twentieth century, had become Oriental with high claims but with despots clay. A bad harvest, and a small trade crisis, caused distant Russian-Japanese War, was enough to expose the weakness of the regime and to bring it crashing down. The Constitutional

Crowd, April

Qajars feet of by the basic

1905 - June 1907

Inflation struck in early 1905. Habl al-Matin (The Firm Clarion), a newspaper published in Calcutta but popular and liberals among merchants in Tehran, claimed that the price of wheat rose by 90 per cent, and that of sugar by 33 per cent.10 IRANIAN STUDIES

130

It put the blame had been appointed

entirely Director

on Monsieur of Tariffs.

the

Naus,

The first crowd of the Constitutional appeared in April It took the form 1905. cession of money-lenders and cloth-merchants letter of protest to the government. The on the loans had advanced to they payment

Belgian

who

Revolution an orderly prodelivering a money-lenders sought the' State Treasury of

two years earlier. The merchants that the new trade objected policies were favoring Russian traders against and Persians, demanded the immediate removal of Naus. One of the demonstrators gave the views of his group to the correspondent of Habl al-Matin: "The government must encourage home industries, even ift-heir products are not as good as foreign manufactures. the present Otherwise, policy of helping Russian traders will inevitably lead to the utter destruction of our industry and commerce."11 Receiving no satisfaction from the government, the petitioners closed their shops in the bazaar; distributed a photograph of Naus masquerading as a mulla at a fancy-dress party; and led by a prominent and a wealthy shopkeeper scarfdealer, took sanctuary in 'Abd al-'Azim Mosque outside Tehran. They remained there for five days, until the Crown Prince, Muhammad 'Ali Mirza, promised that Naus would be dismissed as soon as Muzaffar al-Din Shah returned from his European tour. The monarch conveniently forgot this promise when he As a compromise he appointed returned. a committee of fifteen merchants with the vague responsibility of "advising' the Trade Ministry on major decisions of policy.12 The streets remained quiet until the religious An eloquent Ramazan. and vehement preacher, speaking mass audience in the Tehran bazaar, took the occasion

month of to a to at-

tack

had

by name

the

Russian

Discount

and

Loan

Bank

which

recently bought a religious school and a cemetery nearby and was preparing to expand its premises. He stressed that the Russians were planning not only the destruction of Muslim trade and finance, but also of Muslim schools and cemeteries. One eye-witness claims that an angry crowd of a few thousand demolished the bank before the preacher finished his sermon.13 The merchants competing against foreign rivals, and the 'ulama' (religious leaders) preaching against the heathen, had found- common enemies: the Russians and their royalist collaborators. These two groups took to the streets again in December, when the Governor of Tehran tried to lower the price of sugar by bastinadoing two prominent merchants, one of whom had built three mosques in Tehran. The victims in vain pleaded that the Russian-Japanese War had caused a shortage of sugar.14 An observer wrote that the news of the beatings 'flashed like lightening into the arcades and the bazaars."l5 A group of 131

AUTUMN1969

their shops and took refuge in Masjid Shah merchants closed There they were joined by Mosque at the side of the bazaar. and liberal preachan eloquent Sayyid Jamal al-Din Isfahani, Sayyid religious leaders: er, and by three well respected and Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Tabataba'i, 'Abdullah Bihbihani, from the Jamal al-Din, speaking day, Fazlallah. The following sincerity by his religious the Shah to prove pulpit, asked the Imam Jum'ah At this point, the 'ulama'. cooperating with servants his and ordered denounced himis a Babi, interrupted, Some broke up in commotion. to clear the pulpit. The meeting Bihbihani's home, to Sayyid leaders retired of the religious within their protest that if they continued where he warned identify them too closely the city would "the common people" of the taking merchants.16 He recommended with the sugar Seven of the leading in 'Abd al-'Azim mosque. sanctuary and servants, students, with their families, 'ulama', together they peradvice. Although took his totaling two thousand, the bazaar to join them, of merchants mitted only a handful of the in front a general strike and demonstrated organized religious of their demanding the return monarch's carriage, an eight sent the government they leaders. From 'Abd al-'Azim of a were: the formation The chief demands point proposal. the relaws; of religious the enforcement "House of Justice;" They reof the Governor. and the dismissal moval of Naus; to until the Shah acceded a whole month, mained in sanctuary they were greeted to Tehran When they returned their demands. live the shouting 'Long lining the streets by large crowds was the this that One participant Nation of Iran." comm5nted first mention of "the nation."1' public to be broken. Again were made only Again the promises the calm of Tehran. And again to the streets calm returned and this time more violent was broken storm, by a sudden conIn July, the government, feeling effective than before. the immediate but quiet arrest of a prominent fident, ordered A passerby the unannounced noticed anti-court preacher. in thl bazaar, and the stuit to a school arrest, reported in custody The officer the prisoner.1 dents rushed to rescue he refused, his men to shoot. When they of the jail ordered the demonThis turned killing one student. himself fired, The students the building, charged a riot. stration into and freed the prisoner. with the soldiers, routed them, fought carrying orderly procession, into an The riot then subsided The the body to an adjacent The bazaars closed. mosque. in took sanctuary with their following, large leading 'ulama' the minichief the same mosque and demanded the dismissal of And the streets with men wearing "filled" of the bazaar ster. to fight to the to show that they were ready winding-sheets, the demand made by the The government rejected met, death.L9 So the following day, to use force. Mujtahids, and decided carrying and tradesmen, of mullas, students, when a procession dead a pole with shirt of the demonstrator, the blood-stained IRANIAN

STUDIES

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tried to make its way through the streets of the bazaar, the soldiers fired.20 Although the number of casualties remained unknown, with some claiming that as many as a hundred were wounded, only two bodies were rescued by the demonstrators, those of a preacher and a merchant. This use of force cleared the demonstrators off the streets but, at the same time, increased the resistance of the demonstrators in the mosque. They remained there four days without food and surrounded by troops, until they were permitted to retire to the holy city of Qum outside Tehran, on the condition that they were not to be accompanied by 'the people." As they departed from the capital, they declared that the country would be left without religious guidance and legal transactions until the Shah dismissed his chief minister and introduced political reforms. The 'ulama' had gone on strike. Foreign

The British Legation, in a detailed memorandum for the Office in London, described the events that followed:21 It appeared as if the Government had won the day. The town was in the hands of the troops. The popular leaders had fled. The bazaars were in the occupation of the soldiers. And there appeared to be no place of refuge. Under these circumstances the popular party had recourse to an expedient sanctified by old, and, indeed, immemorial custom - the rule of bast. It was resolved, failing all other resources, to adopt this expedient.. .On 18th July, two persons called at the Legation at Gulahek, 7 miles from town, and asked whether, in case the people took bast in the British Legation, the Charge d'Affaires would invoke the aid of the military to remove them. Mr. Grant Duff expressed the hope that they would not have recourse to such an expedient, but he said it was not in his power, in view of the acknowledged custom in Persia and the immemorial right of bast, to use force to expel them if they came. ...On the evening of the 19th, fifty Mullahs and merchants appeared in the Legation and took up their quarters for the night. Their numbers gradually increased, and soon there were 14,000 persons in the Legation garden.

The crowd was formed predominantly of merchants, traders, craftsmen, apprentices, and journeymen. One participant described the scene: 'I saw more than 500 tents, for all the guilds, even the cobblers, walnut-sellers, and tinkers had at least one tent."22 The protest was led by Anjuman-i Asnaf, a recently formed association of guilds in the Tehran bazaar. Its elders prevented unauthorized persons from entering the 133

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a few Westernized garden, but permitted intellectuals, and the Military scme students from the Technical College, Academy, and the Agricultural School to join their ranks. They enforced strict discipline to protect property, although, in the words of the British Legation, 'every semblance of a Cflower] bed was trampled out of existence, bear agd the trees still a pious inscriptions cut in the bark." 3 And they appointed committee, composed mostly of liberal intellectuals, to negotiate with the court. This committee was not satisfied with It demanded royal promises and an ambiguous House of Justice. And it ina written and a House of Parliament. constitution sisted that the demonstrators were willing to remain away from their work as long as it was necessary. Outside the garden walls, in the streets of Tehran, the wives of the protestors held periodic protest meetings; and in Qum, the religious to 1,000 mullas and theolleaders, whose group had increased ogy students, staged their concurrent bast. The court denounced the opposition as a bunch of traitors "hired" by the British.24 But faced by two mass demonin Qum and the British strations Legation, a general strike in the Tehran bazaar, and the possibility of defections in the thin military ranks, it was forced to capitulate. The British Legation reported that the commander of the regiments in Tehran made "the fatal announcement" that his men were unwilling to fight and that they were on the point of themselves On August 5, twenty-five the protestors.25 joining days after the Shah agreed to the flight of the fifty into the gardens, grant a constitution. The merchants and money-lenders petitioning in April The 1905 had jolted the foundations of the ancient regime. in December 1905 had further religious leaders taking sanctuary weakened the old order. And the two groups, backed by the active of the bazaar masses in August 1906 had participation The public rememshaken the traditional system into ruin. bered the words of the Prophet: "The hand of God is with the "26 multitude. their constitution, The constitutionalists had obtained The autobut had not yet secured it on firm foundations. cracy had been forced to give up its autocratic powers, but it to the new order. The struggle had not yet resigned itself between the two continued for the next three years. The court The revolutionaries strived fought to regain what it had lost. to preserve what they had gained. For both the streets were a vital battleground. the regulaThe monarch's procrastination over signing tions for parliamentary elections sparked off mass demonstrain many cities and the opposition tions threatened to return to the British Legation. The Crown Prince's attempt to pacify IRANIAN STUDIES

134

the constitutionalists in Tabriz by lowering the price of bread incited the radicals to take to the streets shouting: "We demand more than cheap bread. We demand a Constitution."27 The royalist refusal to accept the principle that the ministers should be responsible to the deputies led to mass rallies. A European observer "The Shah with his unarmed, commented: unpaid, ragged, what can he do in face of starving soldiers, the menace of a general The monarch's strike and riots?"28 stalling of the final fomented more draft of the Constitution In Tabriz demonstrations and protests the country. throughout armed volunteers prepared to fight, while a crowd of twenty thousand vowed to "remain away from work until the Fundamental Laws were signed."29 The strike lasted a whole month, until Muzaffar al-Din Shah, on his death bed in December 1906, ratified the Constitution. When the new monarch, Muhammad 'Ali Shah,delayed sending a commissioner to Kirmanshah to endorse the parliamentary the town went on strike. elections, The British representative reported: "The whole of the trades and employment of the bazaar, down to the porters, went into bast in the telegraph office."30 When some radical acdeputies cused the Prime Minister of plotting the against- parliament, Tehran bazaar stopped work and demanded his resignation. And when he was murdered, a large crowd gathered to mourn the dead assassin and to pledge support to the revolution. One British the demonstration reporter estimated to number some 15, 000 heads.31 Another calculated it to be as many as 100,000.32 Whatever the exact size, it succeeded in paralyzing the counter-revolutionaries, at least for the time being. The crowds of 1905, 1906, and early 1907 were all protesting against the court. In mid-1907, however, a new phenomenon made its appearance in the streets: the conservative crowd demonstrating for the court and against the constitution. It emerged first in Tabriz, then in Tehran, and finally in other provincial towns. By the end of 1907, the constitutionalists were seriously challenged on their home ground by the royalists. They had lost the monopoly of the streets. The Conservative

Crowd,

June

1907

- July

1909

The revolution of August 1906 was an uprising of the urban masses. The craftsman and the journeyman, the wealthy merchant and the small tradesman, the wholesale dealer and the street vendor, the shopkeeper and the hired assistant, the 'ulama' and the theology students, the Muslim and the nonMuslim, all joined together to batter down the court. If there was any section of the population that opposed or abstained from the uprising, it expressed itself neither in words nor in street actions. The Shah and his advisors were left isolated facing a hostile country. 135

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The political balance changed during 1907. In Tabriz, during the sumner, rioters besieged the Town Council (anjuman) controlled by the radicals. By the end of the year, the city was sharply divided between the revolutionary citizens of the southern districts and the counter-revolutionary population of the northern precincts. In Tehran the royalists showed their strength in December, when they filled the expansive Cannon Square (Maydan-i Tupkhanah) and demanded the repeal of the And in many other areas - in Yazd, Ardabil, constitution. Kirmanshah, Qazvin, Mashad, Shiraz, and Hamadan - demonstrators attacked and, at times, expelled the liberals from the city. The revolution has been recorded mostly by its sympathizers: Edward Browne, the English admirer of the Persian liberals; Ahmad Kasravi, the ideologue of Persian nationalism who, as a youngster, observed the struggle in his home town, Tabriz; Mahdi Malikzadah, a participant of the revolution in Tehran whose father, a leading liberal, was murdered by the royalists; Ismail Amir-Khizi and Tahirzadeh-Bihzad, two armed volunteers in the civil war in Tabriz; Muhammad Hiravi, one of the intellectuals taking sanctuary in the British Legation; and reformist such as Habl al-Matin, newspapers, Musavat (Equality), and Sur-i Israfil (The Trumpet of Israfil). These sources, anxious to stress the popular legitimacy of the revolution, either ignored the royalist or else demonstrations dismissed them in derogatory terms. For example, Browne, Kasravi, Malikzadah, and Sur-i Israfil, in writing about the royalist in Cannon Square, describe rally the demonstrators as a bunch of "hired hooligans," "gamblers,' "blood-thirsty drunkards,' "thugs," and "paid ruffians." Of the many historians, only Malik al-Shu'ara Bahar has admitted,, in passing, that the reactionaries had a following among the masses: 'During the revolution the upper class and the lower classes supported absolutism. Only the middle class advocated constitutionalism.'33, However, he does not elaborate on the subject. He fails to explain which elements of "the lower classes" participated in conservative crowds, what their motives were, and whether their behavior was rational and predictable. Three separate elements can be identified in the royalist demonstrations: aristocrats, merchants, craftsmen and unskilled laborers tied to the palace economies as opposed to the bazaar economy; the conservative 'ulama' and their theology students; and, at times, the 'lower classes." The Qajars had no direct means of despotism, such as a state-wide or a standing bureaucracy army, but they controlled an extensive network of patronage and employment. They granted gifts and pensions to their favorite courtiers, and lucrative fiefs offices to their faithful administrators, and provided employment for thousands of household servants, IRANIAN STUDIES

136

camel drivers laborers, clerks, craftsmen, journeymen, and muleteers hired by the palace with its large harem, treasury, storehouses, armory, workshops, and stables.34 kitchens, Moreover, the Crown Prince in Tabriz and the local magnates in the provincial capitals the imitated, on a smaller scale, in the economy led royal way of life in Tehran. This element Marx to the conclusion, somewhat exaggeratedly as far as the Persia was concerned: mode of production 'In the Asiatic large city, properly speaking, must be regarded merely as a on the real economic structure.35 princely camp, superimposed The liberals who drafted demands in the constitutional the British their Legation were cautious enough to direct The grievances at the despotism of the court. exclusively few radicals elected sacrificed to the First Majlis expediand ency in favor of principle. They spoke of human justice social equality, and of the evil influences of both the poliThe British tical and the economic power of the court. representative remarked that the rich lived in 'apprehension' of the having the wealth they had accumulated old under regime expropriated by the new government.36 The reaction was predictable. When the Majlis, followthe ing the example of the British House of Commons after Bank of Glorious Revolution, tried to establish a National Persia, many of the large landowners sabotaged the effort by refusing to contribute. When the deputies proposed a budget eliminating numerous court pensions and drastically reducing the income given to the monarch, the Household Treasury, which until then had made a special point of promptly meeting its commitments even when the State Treasury was in difficulties, informed its employees that their salaries and wages could not be paid because of the parliamentary budget.37 The head of the finance commission argued in vain that he was reducing the luxuries" of the court, not the wages and salar"unnecessary ies of the palace employees.38 Some of the small pensioners and the harem women protested inside the Majlis building, but received The pensioners unfavorable answers. were advised to the monarch to sell persuade his crown jewels.39 Hasan Taqizadah, the leading liberal from Tabriz, announced that he had no interest in what happened to the Shah's wives.40 And when the deputies pressed-ahead with their budget, the employ1 ees of the palace the Majlis, first petitioned and then took to the streets. They, together with court pensioners and their retainers, formed a noticeable segment of the royalist in Cannon Square. rally Malikzadah, in admitting that the budget hurt those employed by the palace, expressed no sympathy for their plight: 'In those days, a common method of abuse was to describe someone as having the 'character of a groom,' or the 'mentality of a footman,' for these lackeys had been so pampered by the court that they had become the most fanatical advocates of absolutism in the whole population of Tehran. "42 137

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The same elements appeared in royalist disturbances in the provinces. In Tabriz, muleteers and camel-drivers employed by the court gained the reputation of being the most reactionary group in the city. In Shiraz, the retainers of a local magnate, Qavam al-Mulk, formed a counter-revolutionary society and fought the revolutionaries in the streets. And the British representative in Kirmanshah reported that the city was divided into "the people's party," and "the aristocratic party"43 composed of the local landowners with their hangers-on and servants. The palace economies provided the royalist demonstrations with a guaranteed The presence nucleus. of religious personalities transformed these demonstrations from purely pro-Shah assemblies into "Shah and Islam" rallies and riots. During the general strike of August 1906, the religious community was sharply, but unevenly divided into two hostile camps: the few Imam Juml'ahs and Shaykh al-Islams tied to the court and sympathetic to-the Shah; and the popular Mujtahids and the numerous mullas, and the maktab teachers in the bazaar allied to the liberals in the constitutional movement. This imbalance, however, swung into a balance as the revolution revealed its course and the liberals exposed their secular intentions: anti-clericalism, and egalitarianfeminism, ism between Shi-ites and non-Shi'ites, and Muslims and nonMuslims. The year 1907 was a landmark in the religious history of Muslim Persia. It saw for the first time articles and pamphlets published within the country openly criticizing the clergy. Sur-i Israfil, in a satirical article on the clergy, made fun of the 'ulama' who continually warned that religion was dying, and described mullas as ignorant, and corrupt, parasitical.44 Habl al-Matin, commenting on the demands of the 'ulama' to have a Supreme Court where they could judge the legitimacy of all legislation repassed by the Majlis, marked sarcastically: "By the logic of this argument, the merchants also should have their own Supreme Court where they too, can pass judgment on the representatives of the people. And an anti-clerical tract distributed in the by the radicals bazaar caused a sharp reaction among the conservative deputies in the Majlis.46

45

Equally sharp reactions were produced by the issue of for the religious and by the question rights minorities, of women's role in society. When the Zoroastrian community petitioned the Majlis for equal treatment for all citizens, irrespective the conservatives of creed, took refuge in religion.47 They argued that since the shari'a distinguished between Muslims and non-Muslims, and since the state had a sacred duty to enforce the shari'a, the distinctions should be retained in public life. one Imam Jum'ah claimed that he could not IRANIAN STUDIES

138

understand the Zoroastrians, for their community had been well treated in Persia for one thousand and three hundred years. He concluded that troublemakers must have incited them to make such an ungrateful and outrageous demand. The radicals rose to the challenge. that years of They attested oppression, not troublemakers, had forced the Zoroastrians to send in their request. And they supported the petition on the grounds that Muslim law advocated liberty and equality, not oppression and inequality. A similar crisis erupted when a group of women formed their own society.48 The conservatives denounced the association as anti-Islamic. The radicals defended it with the argument that throughout the ages women in Islamic countries had been permitted to have their own organizations. These controversial issues forced some of the 'ulama' to forsake the dangerous road of constitutionalism for the safety of traditional despotism: 'No Absolutism, No Islam." The defection was led by Hajji Mirza Hasan in Tabriz and Shaykh Fazlallah in Tehran. Hajji Mirza Hasan, the leading Mujtahid in the constitutional movement in Azarbyij an, broke with his radical allies in early 1908, formed his own royalist Anjuni Islam of Islam) (Society in the norther precincts of the authority Tabriz,v and challenged of the liberals in the Shaykh Fazlallah, one of the MjumanSiShahr (City Council). trium led the religious EIew demonstration of December 1905, split from the radicals in the summer of 1907 and took sanctuary in 'Abd al-'Azim Mosque with five hundred of his followers. There they published a manifesto, the opposing introduction of non-Muslim laws legislated in Europe, and demanding the enforcement of the Muslim law found in the shari'a.49 They also warned that the deputies who were modeling themselves after the French revolutionaries of the Paris Parlement in 1789 were encouraging "anarchism," "nihilism," "socialism," "egalitarianism," "naturalism," and worst of all, "Babism." Religious leaders, such as Shaykh Fazlallah and Hajji Mirza Hasan, influenced the behavior of three segments of society. First, they carried with them to the royalist side students, mullas, teachers, preachers, and retainers from their schools, mosques, and ecclesiastical foundations (vaqfs). This category formed most of the five hundred who followed Shaykh Fazlallah to 'Abd al-'Azim. After coming out of sanctuary, they proselytized, with some success, in the religious A Foreign Office community. observer reported to London that on the question of minorities "a large body of the clergy" 5u sympathized with the conservatives. Second, they brought with them to the counter-revolutionary camp their luti clients. The lutis were religious-minded athletes in the baiaar, somewhat like the HIindu caste of "thugs," with strong ties to individual precincts, guilds zurkhanahs (Houses of Strength), and members of the 'ulama'.5f They played a significant role 139

AUTUMN1969

in the disturbances Cannon Square.

in Tabriz,

and in the

royalist

rally

of

And thirdly, the religious leaders influenced the orthodox Shi'ite public, especially the poorer strata of the cities, such as the dyers, carpet-weavers, brick-layers, camel-drivers, muleteers, pedlars, bricklayers, bath-attendants, coolies, and laborers. The anti-clerical Kasravi commented briefly that Fazlallah's defection had a strong demoralizing effect on the radicals, for he and his entourage were highly "respected by the population."52 Malikzadah, the proconstitutionalist historian, admitted that Fazlallah's agitation had some effect on the "common people" (mardun-i 'avam) .53 Another eyewitness confessed that the "navam-i bazaar" (the common people of the bazaar) followed Fazlallah to the Cannon Square meeting.54 And Amir-Khizi, commenting on the defection "The common people of some of the clergy in Tabriz, remarked: (mardum-i 'avam) genuinely believed the 'ulama' when they heard them denounce the radicals as irrelegiougs heretical, and anti-Islamic."55 in passing, Although these historians, admitted that the conservative clergy made inroads into the to write as if the constitu"comnon people," they continued Like the liberals tionalists still represented "the people." in seventeenth century England, they unconsciously ignored the middlelower classes and viewed the propertied propertyless class as "the people." classes as the gained

Besides religion, other factors helped draw the lower ranks: down to earth factors such into the royalist that they had rising cost of bread, and the awareness of the bourgeoisie. nothing from the revolution

In the early stages the rebels of the revolution, had the poor to their side by championing successfully attracted the demand for cheaper bread, and by persuasively arguing that the government was to blame for the high food prices. Thus, the petite of the bazaar and the poor of the bourgeoisie and the and traders of merchants slums, the prosperous guilds of unskilled had been able not-so-prosperous guilds workers, to demonstrate the Qajars. together against They parted comcontinued pany, however, as the regime changed and the prices to climb. market The advocacy of a laissez-fair agricultural side further widened by commercial interests on the liberal In the summer of 1907, the Foreign Office the breach.56 "The Majlis is attacked in Tehran reported: on representative several sides. The whole Court is hostile, and the population of the town discontented because bread is as dear as ever."57 Another observer wrote to London that the court was recruiting In Tabriz the conof the city."58 among "the lower classes flict was sharper. The British Consul reported in June 1907 that a "mob," demandinq bread, had besieged the City Council and had lynched one of its prominent members, a wealthy grain IRANIAN STUDIES

140

merchant who was suspected was the first riot against commented:60

the market.59 of cornering This the constitutionalists. Kasravi

In Tabriz during the Constitutional Revolution, as in Paris during the French Revolution, the sans-eullottes and the propertyless poor reared The driving their heads. force of these men was toward anarchy. the despotic First to overthrow power of the court, and then to turn against the rich and the propertied It was with classes. the backing of such men that Danton and RobesIn Tabriz no Dantons and pierre rose to power. Robespierres appeared, but if they had we would also have had a reign of terror." This danger threatened intermittently for the next two years in Tabriz. In early 1909, the British Consul again reported that the local constitutionalists feared "a popular rising' because of the critical food shortage paused by the royalist blockade of the town.61 One member of theCity Council warned that serious riots were likely unless something was done to lower the price of wheat. Another reminded his audience that "the mob" was "no respecter of persons." The Council executed a baker for selling flour above the fixed rate, but failed to win over the starving poor. Crowds of women assembled, threatened the liberals, and had to be dispersed by force. The British Consul commented: "This was an ominous sign as women are always pushed forward to start bread riots." The

nothing

less

to gain

ture int? memoirs:

the

prosperous

guilds

from the

revolution

British

Legation.

suspected

as early Hiravi

has

that

they

as the written

had

mass in

ven-

his

I clearly remember the day when our Propaganda Section was warned that the reactionaries were sowing discontent among the junior carpenters and sawyers. The former were angry for having been taken away from their work and demanded to know what they had to gain from the whole venture. The latter were more unreasonable for they were illiterate and refused to accept any logic. If these two irresponsible groups had walked out of the Legation our whole movement would have collapsed, for there would have been open conflict among the various guilds. Fortunately, we succeeded in persuading them to vow that they would remain in sanctuary with the others. 141

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These toral

turned out to be well founded suspicions Law was drawn up in September 1906.63

when the Elec-

into six estates was divided The electorate (tabaqat): and nob ilty; the aristocracy and the Qajar tribe; the princes landowners and farmstudents; the 'ulama' and their theology however, were The following, and the guilds. ers; merchants; owning land worth less than one landowners disenfranchised: place of busia definite thousand tumans; merchants without "average"; who paid less rent than the local ness; shopkeepers and workers who did not belong to a and tradesmen, craftsmen, of one when a list Two months later, "recognized guild." and was drawn up, most of the trading hundred and five guilds but many of the low were included, associations manufacturing In the First were excluded.64 occupations paid, unskilled 60 per cent of the seats were taken by the 'ulama' and Majlis, members of the bazaar; and 40 per cent the more prosperous and a few profescivil servants, by landowners, were occu?ied in guilds The one hundred and five "recognized" sionals.65 most of whom deputies, by thirty-two Tehran were represented three three merchants, were from the commercial bourgeoisie: a tailor, two brokers, a secondhand dealer, dealers, wholesale of wheat, soap, books, lumber, thread, a baker, and sellers middle The propertied and silk. tobacco, hats, iceboxes, had gained conallies, religious with their class, together barred the propertyless and had effectively trol of the Majlis, of power. from the corridors lower classes to gain the conmade no effort moreover, -The victors, deputy proposed When a radical of the disenfranchised. fidence proshould be brought into the electoral that more citizens with a large the majority responded that only countries cess, system the estate to abolish could afford population educated b And when the deputies were confronted by exploof voting. and debated bethe public galleries they cleared sive issues, to London The British Minister reported doors. hind closed the Majlis was losing "public of this secrecy, that as a result and unpopular that it may esteem" and becoming "so discredited And to make matters worse, the constideath."67 die a natural cermade no attempt to help the poor by lowering tutionalists in Yazd petitioned When two thousand peasants tain taxes. as an and two of them committed suicide high taxation, against claimed that the demonact of protest, some of the deputies One sympacircles.68 were "financed" by reactionary strators that only recently, member reminded his colleagues thetic in the British they Legation, during the mass demonstration money from dubious sources. too had been accused of accepting The Constitutionalist

Crowd, June 1907 - July

The constitutionalists alienated some of the cautious IRANIAN STUDIES

lost the religious 142

1909

support of the poor, and leaders,

economies. those employed in the palace But they antagnoized retained the allegiance of the bourgeoisie and the petite bourgeoisie the merchants in the bazaar: who gained most from the new order and who credited themselves with the destruction and craftsof the ancient the tradesmen regime;69 men who obtained an influential voice in the Majlis; their apprentices and journeymen who worked and lived with them as members of close-knit guilds; and the thousands in the bazaar who were independent of the insecurities food of the daily market because they could afford to buy annual supplies of necessities. The middle class remained hotareas, therefore, beds of revolution, and the lower class slums turned into bulwarks of counter-revolution. This division the first was sharply drawn in Tabriz, city to produce conservative in the streets. demonstrations The constitutionalists drew their from the prosperadherents ous precincts and Khiaban, inhabited of Amir-Khizi by merchants, workshop owners, and tradesmen. craftsmen, Their rallies attracted the petite were invariably bourgeoisie, accompanied by bazaar strikes, and were protected by armed volunteers recruited from 'the educated classes."70 The royalists established their base in the impoverished districts of Davachi and Sarkhab, crowded with dyers, weavers, coolies, laborers, muleteers, and the unemployed. Their demonstrations often turned into bread riots and attacks on property owned by prominent liberals. At the height of the street the fighting, radicals sent a telegram to a group of Persian merchants residing in Istanbul informing them that royalist mobs were 'on the verge of overthrowing the basic foundations of commerce."71 The historian Amir-Khizi, in his memoirs of the Civil War, separates the population of Tabriz into two categories: those prosperous enough to practice the habit of storing provisions to last them a whole year and make them independent of the market; and those dependent on the daily prices and directly harmed by the rising food prices.72 The conflict between the haves and the have-nots in Tabriz was intensified by religious factors. Since many of the bourgoisie and petite bourgeoisie belonged to the unorthodox Shaykhi sect, and most of the lower class adhered to the orthodox Mutashar'i faith, the conflict opened old sectarian wounds and turned the struggle into a religious war. AmirKhizi has written that some of the poor fought the Civil War as if they were on a religious crusade against the heathen.73 Their demonstrations were organized by the Mutashar'i lutis of Davachi and Sarkhab in their own precincts, and were spiritually inspired by the three Mutashar'i leaders: the Imam Jum'ah; Hajji Mirza Hasan, the Mujtahid; and Mir Hashim, a local preacher whose popularity-in Davachi and Sarkhab had won him a parliamentary seat. The constitutionalist rallies, on the other hand, were supported by the head of the Shaykhi 143

AUTUMN1969

community, Shaykhi and the

the

Shaykh al-Islam,

and were protected

by his

protege , Sattar Khan, who was both a horse chief luti of the Amir-Khizi precinct.

dealer

The Social basis of the constitutional movement in Tabriz can be seen in the backgrounds of the liberals executed by the Russian5 when they occupied the city, ostensibly to end the Civil martyrs Among the thirty whose occupations War. are known, there were five merchants, three religious leaders,

including the Shaykh al-Islam, three government employees, two shopkeepers, two arms dealers, two pharmacists, one carpenter, one tailor, a baker, a coffee-house keeper, a jeweler, one auctioneer, a musician, a journalist, a barber with his apprentice, a painter, a preacher, and a high school principal. Another four were hanged for being related to prominent revolutionaries: two of them were nephews of Sattar Khan; and two were sons of a merchant another who had organized the local cell of the Social Democratic Party. In Tehran, where there was no Shaykhi-Mutashar'i division, the struggle between the constitutionalists and conservatives was less bloody. attitudes But the diverging of the different strata of society were equally This noticeable. was most apparent during the Cannon Square the first rally, royalist in the streets demonstrations One of the capital. eye-witness wrote that some 10,000 into monarchists massed the square.75 Another claimed that the area was so packed that he could not squeeze in.76 In the crowd, there were the poor from the southern slums; conservative religious leaders, such as Shaykh Fazlallah, with their theology students and

luti

clients,

claiming

that

the Majlis

was threatening

Islam;

courtiers with their retainers, the repeal demanding of the budget; farm laborers fram the royal stud farm outside Tehran; and footmen, grooms, craftsmen, and apprentices, journeymen other employees of the palace and its stables, storehouses, and workshops. The radicals reacted to this sharply unexpected show of strength. stores and arcades, They closed their and seven thousand of them, all armed with took up rifles, positions around the Majlis to defend of it in case Building The fact attack. that owned guns was proof that they enough to the middle they belonged class. They were supported by the elders who denounced the court of the recognized and guilds, in the bazaar. organized a general strike The Shah was forced to back down: he agreed his to disperse; he asked supporters to dismiss those from his employment for leading responsible the rally; and he handed to the ministries over the control of some of the palace employees. a tactical This, however, was only Seven retreat. months later, in June 1908, as soon as the Shah obtained a loan he bought large from a wealthy the allegiance aristocrat, of the Cossack the only effective and Brigade, military force,

IRANIAN STUDIES

144

recruited volunteers from "the lower classes of the city."77 And then he struck. The radicals reacted in their usual manner, closing the bazaar, for rallies, and bringing assembling out their guns. this But time they were faced not with rival demonstrators but with an army of soldiers to fight. willing The Cossack Brigade first bombarded the Majlis and Building, then a group of monarchists pillaged the Chamber. Some of the liberal leaders took sanctuary in the British Legation; others went into hiding; and a few were imprisoned and later murdered. Martial Law was decreed, and all public even meetings, Passion plays, were prohibited. And to calm the bazaar, the Shah promised to reopen parliament in three months, purged not of patriotic constitutionalists but of irreligious revolutionaries. The day after the coup d'etat the bazaar was open, although uneasy. The conservatives had won in the capital, but the capital was not the whole of the country. In the provincial cities the struggle continued: protest demonstrations were organized, strikes were called, and arms were displayed in the streets. As soon as the news of the coup reached Tabriz, the internal struggle intensified and the bazaar struck for three days. In Rasht royalist troops tried to reopen the shops and arcades, and in the process killed three demonstrators. In Shiraz and Kirmanshah constitutionalists from the bazaars and retainers of local magnates continued to battle in the streets. And in Isfahan a crowd of two hundred "small shopkeepers" tried to take refuge in the British Consulate.78 These signs of protest in the provinces could not overthrow the court entrenched in the capital and defended by royalist troops. Only armed force could accomplish that task. Such forces materialized in early 1909. The Bakhtiyari khans joined the constitutionalists of the Isfahan bazaar, mobilized their tribesmen, and marched north toward Tehran. And a group of Caucasian revolutionaries, helped by the Social Democrats in Baku, made their way from the north,, captured Rasht, and prepared to advance south to Tehran. These events transferred the struggle from the streets of the towns to the highways of the countryside, but they did not eradicate completely the importance of the bazaar. On the contrary, they encouraged the bourgeoisie in Tehran to revive their cause. A delegation from the bazaar reminded the Shah of his promise to reopen the Majlis within three months. Three hundred merchants and religious leaders took sanctuary in the Ottoman Embassy and demanded the re-establishment of the constitution. A group of shopkeepers went on strike in support of the revolutionaries in Rasht. When the monarch tried to terrorize them by basti.nadoing four of the strikers, more stores closed down. They remained shut for a whole month. The British Minister reported that the customary religious ceremonies for Muharram had to be canceled for "fear of disorders."79 And when the court 145

AUTUMN1969

tried to exact loans to pay its troops, the money-lenders refused. The Minister of War warned that the government could not answer for the behavior of its soldiers unless they received their arrears.80 Faced again with an unreliable army and a hostile bazaar, the royalist cause collapsed as soon as the Bakhtyari tribesmen and the Caucasian fighters reached Tehran in July 1909. Muhammad 'Ali Shah was deposed, the old son, prominent reacthrone was given to his twelve-year tionaries such as Shaykh Fazlallah and Mir Hashim were executed for "hiring thugs to create public disturbances,"81 and the Second Majlis was convened. The Civil War was over. Conclusion From this short sketch we can see that the political but that crowd played a major role in the Persian Revolution, its face and behavior had little resemblance to the "monstrous mob" visualized by Gustave Le Bon. The vast majority of participants in rallies, demonstrations, and even riots were not but sober and criminals, hired thugs, and social riff-raff, even "respectable" members of the community. They were merchants, religious authorities, shopkeepers, workshop owners, The cencraftsmen, apprentices, journeymen, and students. ters of revolutionary crowds were the bazaar and the middleclass precincts, not the slums. the demonstrators By simply assembling in one place, to the lowest level did not reduce their collective mentality of "destructiveness," impulsiveness," "irrationality," "stupidity," and "fickleness." On the contrary, they tended to be from starvation. non-violent, except when shot at or suffering On the rare occasions when they indulged in violence, they attacked property rather than human beings. Of course, their opponents exaggerated all incidents of destructive behavior In June into large-scale attacks on society and humanity. 1906, when radicals poured into the streets, the royalists was being cried in panic that the whole fabric of society rallied undermined. And in December 1907, when the royalists in Cannon Square and killed two would-be assassins who were the liberals claimed trying to murder one of their preachers, that 'drunken mobs" were running rampant in the capital, lynching all those wearing European-style hats.82 and On the whole, demonstrators were both non-violent remarkably rational, aiming for goals that were in their class and group interests. When the slogans ceased to represent and their in withdrawing interests, they had no compunction The defection of the poor from the rival joining demonstrations. was not side of the revolution into the camp of the reaction of their a sign of their inherent but a result "fickleness," and its middle class dissatisfaction with the propertied IRANIAN STUDIES

146

bourgeois revolution. And the fact that they expressed this dissatisfaction the reactionaries was not a by joining mark of their "stupidity," but an indication of the traditional and Islamic political culture of early twentieth century Persia.

NOTES 1.

Parts

of this

article

appeared

in

"The Crowd in Iranian

Politics 1905-53," Past and Present, I would like to thank pp. 184-210. me to reprint journal for permitting

2.

41 (December 1968), the editors of the those parts.

In this article the term 'crowd' is used to describe any large gathering whose behavior is not regulated by formalized rules of conduct and whose aim is to impress its opponents

either

by-collective

action

or

by

the

show

of

group solidarity. This includes protest demonstrations indoors as well as hostile in the streets. outbursts But it excludes institutionalized such as parliagatherings, mentary assemblies, where laws of procedure structure the behavior of individuals. The qualifier 'political' is added to exclude religious disturbances with no political content and no political repercussions. For more detailed definitions of 'crowd" see: G. Rude, The Crowd in History, 1730-1848 (New York, 1964), pp. 3-4; and L.-Bernard, of Social Sciences 'Crowd,wEncyclopaedia (New York, 1931), Vol. 4, pp. 612-13. Descriptions of crowds have been obtained mostly from the following sources: I. Amir-Khizi, va Qiyam-i Azarbayn

Sattar Khan (The Revolution in Azarbayjan and Sattar Khan) (Tabriz, 1960); E. G. Browne, The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 (London, 1910); Y. Dawlatabadi, Ha at-i Yahya (Yahya's Life) (Tehran, 1943); Great Britain, smndence the Affairs of Persia Respecting (London 19, Hab Vol. al-MatinI, Nos. 1-2; M.H.Hiravi-Khurasani, Tarikh-i Paydayish-i Mashrutiyat-i Iran (The History of the Genesis of the Persian Constitution) (Mashad, 1953);

A. Kasravi, Tarikh-i Mashrutah-i Iran (History of the Persian Constitution) (Tehran, 1961); M. Malikzadah, Tarikh-i Mashrutiyat-i Iran (History Inqilab-i of the Constitutional Revolution in Persia) (Tehran, 1951), Vol. II-III;

H.

'A.

Qudsi,

Kitab-i

Khatirat-i

Man

(The

History

of My Life) 1963); (Tehran, Ruh-i Quds; Sur-i Israfil; K. Tahirzadah-Bihzad, dar Inqilab-i Qiyam-iXiAzarbjan Iran (The Revolt of Azarbayjan in the Mashrutiyat-i 3.

?Mnstitutional Revolution of Persia) Quoted by H. Arsanjani, "Anarshizm in Iran), 17 July 1944. Darya, 147

dar

(Tehran, Iran,"

and

1953). (Anarchism

AUTUMN 1969

4. 5.

6.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 16. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Most of the histories of the Persian Revolution fit into this category. E. Monroe, "Key Force in the Middle East - The Mob," New York Times, 30 August 1953, pp. 13-5: 'Provide Tehran stir and out pour the mob from its slums wiEh a political and shanty towns no matter what the pretext for a demonstration. a cluster of mean streets; fill with ...Take idle and semi-employed people; sprinkle with raw notions of social improvement; top with hunger or despair; add rising prices; stir and bring to a boil. Of the ingredients, the most important are the unemployed and the cramped quarters, for they insure that the rumor which sets men moving reaches the maximum of ears in the minimum - Europe, and of time. This applies in any continent America, as well as Asia and Africa. The years in which the historic Paris mob swayed policy were before Haussman built the boulevards.... The Middle Eastern mob of today is so full of dumb resentfulness that it can change within seconds from a collection of separated beings into a mad thing, no longer out for simple ends such as loot or hire, but pouring into the bazaars, it will hack into stores and tear its booty to pieces." For a humorous story of the crowd see M. Jamalzadah's "Rajal-i in his collection Siasi" of essays (Politician) entitled Yiki Bud Yiki Nabud (Once Upon A Time) (Tehran, 1941). G. Le Bon, The Crowd (New York, 1966), pp. 35-59. G. Rude, 0 pp. 237,257. c;E., M. H. Ta ar-i Isfahan, Isfahan (The Joghrafiya-yi Geography of Isfahan) (Tehran, 19-63. Habl al-Matin, 9 and 23 March, 1905. Habl al-Matin, 19 June, 1905. Habl al-Matin, 17 August, 1905. Qudsi, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 99-100. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 41. 15. Malikzadah, op. cit., p. 106. TEMd., p. 47. 17. Qudsi, op. cit., UV. I, p. 112. , p. Kasravi, o cit4 95. p G. B., Number 1, p. 3. c cit., Vol. II, p. 150. Malikzadaih,op. G. B. op. cit.,7Number 1, pp. 3-4. Quoted by Kasravi, p. 110 op. cit., Number I, p. 4. cit., G.B.,op. Recounted by Shaykh Yusif in the Majlis. Iranian Government, Muzakirat-i Majlis (Parliamentary Debates), First Majlis, p.3i1. G.B., op. cit., Number 1, p. 4. Quoted in Browne, op. cit., p. 167. and Malikzadah, Kasravi, op. cit., p7I159 op. ci Vol. II, p. 193. Quoted by Browne, op. cit., p. 137. Quoted in Kasravi, p. 336. 0p. cito, G.B., op. cit., 31. Ibid., p. 60. Number 1, p. 27.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

14 8

32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 49. 50. 51.

52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 59. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

66. 67. 68. 69.

Cited by Browne, op. cit., p. 153. Malik al-Shu'ara Bahar, Tarikh-i Ahzab-i Siasi-yi Iran (History of Political Parties in Iran) (Tehran, 1944), p. 2. For a detailed of the palace description economy see 'A. Mustaufi, Sharh-i Man (My Life) Zindigani-yi (Tehran, 1945), Vol. I, pp. 524-64. K. Marx, Pre-Capitalist Economic Formations (London, 1964), p. 178. G.B.,op. cit., Number 1, p. 58. Malikzadah, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 93, and Vol. IV, p. 59. Parliamentary Debates, First op. cit., Majlis, p. 385. Ibid., p. 400. 40. Ibid.,ap. 400. Ibid., p. 383-85. Malikzadah, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 59. G.B., p. Nbiier 1, p. 27. cit., Sur-i Israfil, 13 February 1907. Habl al-Matin, 18 June 1907. Parliamentary Debates, 0p. cit., First Majlis, p. 229. Ibid., p. 188-90. 487--bi;d., p. 484. The text of the pamphlet published by the conservative 'ulama' is reprinted pp. 415-23. in Kasravi, op. cit., G.B., op. cit., Number 1, p. 27. For a description of the lutis see R. Arastah, "The Character, Organization, and Social Role of Lutis in the Traditional Iranian Society of the Nineteenth Century," Journal of the Economic and Social of the Orient, History Vol. IV (February 1961), pp. 47-52. Kasravi, op. cit., p. 376. Vol. III, cit., p. 55. MalikzadaW72 Quoted by I1iravi, op. cit., p. 126. Amir-Khizi, op. cit., p. 169. lIabl al-Matin, 23 September 1907. G.B. op. cit., Number 1, p. 27. 58. Ibid., p. 141. 60. Kasravi, o. Ibid., p. 35. 5. cit., G.B., op. cit., Number 2, pp. 979. Hiravi, op. cit., p. 50. Electoral Law, Parliamentary Debates, op. cit., First Majlis, pp. 6-7. For the electoral results of the guilds see Habl alMatin, 12 November 1906. Z. Shaji'i, Namavandi=an-i Majlis-i Shura-yi Milli dar Bist va Yik Dawrah-i Qanunguzari (Members of Parliament in Twenty-one Sessions of the Lower House of Parliament) (Tehran, 1961), p. 176. Parliamentary Debates, First Majlis, p. 348. op. cit., G.B., op. cit., Number Ipi7.IT4. Parliamentary Debates, First Majlis, op. cit., p. 351. flabl al-Matin, 2 October 1906: "The merchant class played the leading role in the Constitutional Revolution. Without the merchants there would have been no revolution." 149

AUTUMNJ1969

70. 71. 72. 74.

75. 76. 77. 78.

80. 81. 82.

Amnir-Khizi, op. cit., p. 410. I would like to thank Mr. J. Habibune for giving me a description of the various parts of old Tabriz. Quoted in ibid., p. 163. Ibid., p. 320. 73. Ibid., p. 177. Bibliographical information obtained from: Malikzadah, Vol. V, pp. 184-222; Tahirzadah-Bihzad, op0 oz. cit., and A. Kasravi, cit.; Tarikh-i Hijdah Salah-i AzarFa jan (nii:Eighteen Year History of Azarbayjan) (Tehran, 1961), pp. 297-422. Quoted in Malikzadah, Vol. III, p. 142. op. cit., p. l58. Qudsi, p. cit., Number 1, p. 141. G.B., .*, OP c Ibid. p. 46. 79. Ibid., p. 60. Numbe2. Ibid., p. 107. Quoted by Qudsi, op. cit., p. 245. Sur-i Israfil, 11 Zulhijja, 1325.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

150

ON THE FEASIBILITYOF AN AUTOMATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF IRANIAN STUDIES

JEROME W. CLINTON DONALD C. CROLL EDWARD W. DAVIS KEENETH A. LUTHER

To state that the bibliography studies of Iranian is accumulating at an alarming rate is perhaps to belabor the obvious. It is an impression most students of the field will The project share. described in the following few pages was in part to explore undertaken and to test this impression, a solution to the problem implicit Whatever small part in it. impressionism may have thus played in its conceptual phase, the project's findings are strictly Our general empirical. finding has been that the accumulation of bibliography in Iranian studies is faster than its students dare imagine, and is accelerating. For all practical it is beyond the purposes, control of the traditional and publicamethods of compiling tion. Only the application of modern automated methods of data storage and control can allow the individual scholar to keep abreast of developments in his field,.and save him an appreciable amount of time-consuming drudgery. There are data systems and there are data systems. Our approach has been to make a virtue of simplicity. We assume that the typical user of our system is the so-called Orientalist Area specialist, and that his minimum requirement in a bibliography of secondary sources is for a legible list of titles with full publication information, and abstracts or indication of subject matter (extremely terse in the case of our system; see "Keywords" below). The list should be selected according to the desired area(s) of specialization. Finally, it should be as current as possible.l Jerome W. Clinton, Donald C. Croll, and Edward W. Davis are Ph.D. candidates in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan. Kenneth A. Luther is Associate in the same department. Professor 151

AUTUMN 1969

The system we describe here is a functioning automated bibliography which fulfills the above minimum requirethe understood limits of a pilot project. As ments, within it stands now, the Iran Afghanistan Automated Bibliography Project consists of some 4000 entries on Iran, Afghanistan, and the relevant areas of Central Asia, stored on magnetic tape at the University of Michigan Computing Center. The bibliography is interdisciplinary in scope and includes only publications from 1965 to the present. It rests on a survey of over 60 periodicals selected from the collections in the Univof Michigan Library, numerous Festschriften, and other ersity publications. A strenuous effort was made to determine priorin selecting ities periodicals for survey, because of limitations in time and money. The bibliography includes publications in English, and scatFrench, German, Persian, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, tered entries in a number of other languages. Among the journals surveyed were some of the most important Russian and the Journal of the Persian Book Society, journals on source of information Rahnemaye Ketab, the most fruitful current puiblcations in Iran. The computer program we use is a modification of the the periodical called one used in producing bibliography which through sucThe retrieval Chemical Titles.2 system, on the basis cessful tests has proven very flexible, operates bound to the format of of search profiles which are closely the individual entries. FORMAT GENERAL 1. 2. 3.

All information is printed in FULL CAPS. Each entry is serially numbered. Each entry consists of five sections... indicated below of which constitutes as I,1II, one or III, IV, V....each more lines in the printed entry. The first line of each of the five sections begins at the left margin of the two spaces. entry, and each runover line is indented Some form of information is always recorded in sections I through IV. Thus, for example, in 1. below, there must be an entry for the author's name, even if it is only ANON (anonymous). ENTRY INFORMATION

I.

Author line. Each "author" is cited ship to the work at hand indicated.

IRANIAN STUDIES

152

and his

relation-

A.

NAMEX Y 1.

B.

Author's names are transliterated or transcribed from the Cyrillic, into Latin characters Arabic, or Persian, to the systems described according below. Authors' names which normally appear in Latin characters modified by diacritic marks are for the written without these diacritics, except umlaut in German which is indicated by the addition of an E, and the apostrophe in French, which is transcribed as is. Hence, BECKA J but MUELLERW W and, D'AVENANT R.

Author 1.

Description

A name which appears with tion is the author of the (ED)= editor (TR)= translator (CL)= calligrapher Ex.

1:

Ex.

2:

EX. 3:

II.

Title line. this line, works.

no additional work at hand.

informa-

(INT)= writer of separate introduction (COM)= commentator

PETRUSHEVSKII I P KES#AVAERZK(TR) (a work by Petroshevskii which has been translated by Keshavarz) VOL'F M B KLUPT V S (a work of joint authorship) (an XANLAERI P N(ED) NAEQQAS#I M H(CL) of a work which has edition by Khanlari been transcribed by Naqqashi for the printers)

Articles but reviews

A.

(REV) = a review

B.

TITLE

are not distinguished are distinguished

from books from original

in

1.

Titles are recorded using the conventions for transcription outlined in I.A.l. above and in the transliteration tables below.

2.

The title reviewed.

3.

Translated titles are used only where the original title is not given in our sources, as is true of the titles of Arabic articles listed in the M.E.J. periodical bibliography.

of

a review

153

is

always

that

of

the

work

AUTUMN1969

C.

SUBTITLE (included

D.

LANGUAGE(the language of a work is indicated wherever it is other than that of the title, as with the Arabic titles in Persian or Turkish) of-works written

E.

AUTHORas in I.A. above. when the after the title Ex. 1:

III.

Ex.

2:

Ex.

3:

whenever

available)

Authors' names are included work is a review.

(REV) SOVREMENNYIIRAN ZAXODERB N(ED) (a review of a work edited by Zaxoder) DRAGOMANIA:THE DRAGOMANS OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN TURKEY AEL M09JAEMFI MAE9AYIRAES#9AR AEL 9AEJAEMP (a work with an Arabic title and a Persian text)

Keyword line. This its author or title.

line identifies (For exception,

a work other see section

than by B. be-

low)

A.

TYPE OF WORK 1.

B.

The name of the author of a translated work is given here if it is not a work of contemporary scholarship. Otherwise it is given in 1. above. (See I.B. Ex. 1)

If the entry is a translated work, this cated along with the languages involved. indicates the item is a work translated Russian to Persian.

is

indiTR,R-P from

AREA OF REFERENCE 1.

E.

above

TRANSLATIONINFORMATION 1.

D.

will consist of one or more words by increasing specificity. That is, HIST will precede POL (political) or SOC but REF (reference) will precede HIST.

AUTHORas in I.A. 1.

C.

This item arranged (history) (social)

If this item is empty, it means that the work at hand deals with the entire Iranian cultural area, or else that its area of reference is unclear in our source.

PERIOD DEALT WITH 1.

Periods

IRANIAN STUDIES

are

indicated 154

by era or century;

PRE ISL

(pre islamic); 7, 8, 9, 10, A.D.). F.

In this item a very wide range of be recorded which does not easily else. Ex.

1:

Ex.

2:

There are two separate formats books, and one for articles.

Books 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

B.

information may fit anywhere

TEXT, REF, HIST, BIOG, DICT, EBN FOLAN, NISHAPUR, 12, BBL (this citation would designate an edition of Ibn Folan's celebrated biographical dictionary of the great men who lived in Nishapur during the 12th century It also conof our era. tains an extensive bibliography. HIST, POL, BIOG, IRAN, 20, GILAN, REVOL, MIRZA KUC#EK XAN (this citation would designate a biography of a political figure who played an important part in the effort to establish an autonomous republic in Gilan province in Iran in the early part of this century. His name is Mirza Kuchek Khan.

Publication information. for this line; one for A.

or modern); century to twelfth centuries

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 1.

IV.

20 (twentieth 11, 12 (seventh

SERIES (where applicable SUBSERIES (where applicable) PLACE OF PUBLICATION PUBLISHER EDITION (where applicable) NO. OF PAGES (DATE) Muslim and Christian guished in this item.

dates

are not

distin-

Articles 1.

If the begins:

article appears in a journal, JOURNAL VOL X NO X

2.

If the gins:

article appears TITLE AUTHOR .

3.

PAGE NO.

4.

(DATE) 155

in a book,

the the

entry

entry

be-

AUTUMN1969

GAENJINAEH-'E TAEH* ENTES#ARATNO 1087 QIQAT-E IRANI NO 43 TEHRAN DANES#GAH436 a book indicates (This citation (1345) entethat is number 1087 in the series sharat and number 43 in the sub-series . .. published by the University ganjinah-i It of Tehran in Tehran in the year 1345. is a book of 436 pages) re(This citation NAA NO 3 162-9 (1957) in that was published fers to an article in its the journal Narody Azii i Afriki -9) third issue pages

Ex.' 1:

Ex.

2:

Ex.

3:

ZAXODER B N (ED) MOSCOW SOVREMENNYI IRAN that (An article (1957) AN SSSR 673-5

V.

line. Terminator the termination

full the

of

of

spelling

for been divided the abbreviation Ex.

1:

of

lists sample

glance,

the

two

The

At

results

first

Such items programming purposes. full name). AFN (author's

in

abbreviations

journals

fit

to has

follow in

incomplete which is name DESJATOVSKY) VOROB'EVA

transliterated 1, viz. which searches

reader

the

on appear performed

will

on

some

have

parts of the entries. certain ciphering should help to lessen end of the article systems are transliteration The special the

long

(author)

VS (The spelling AFN VOROB'EVA-DESJATOVSKOGO a of full in section

the

too I

section

which

into

are

which

names

authors'

segments

20-space

edi-

book

indicates blank and the to used give also

usually It is

is

line entry.

This the

the

of

673-5

on pages Zaxoder)

appeared by ted

and

publishers

Appendix are

the

B and listed

in

are

pages following bibliography. the

in

difficulty

de-

at the The appendices these difficulties. shown in Appendix A, forms

citation

Appendix

for

C.

which fall entries selects program the In retrieval, ED The word key profile. set by a search the limits within as be selected can education, to pertaining a work signifying select will the program profile With this a search profile. howsearch profiles, Most ED appears. in which entry every connectelements or more of two will logically consist ever, are: these of Examples ed. HIST search HIST

LIT. will or LIT

or

and LIT. HIST which entries literature.

IRANIAN STUDIES

According all produce or both. This deal

this to entries

profile both with

156

profile, which

a include

retrieve will and history

all

HIST not LIT. This profile returns works dealing with historical subjects but excludes those dealing with literature. Thus, the first ies whereas the

would three profiles last would specifically

We used the two sample searches:

following

profile

return literary historexclude them. for

the

first

of

our

AND AGR AND MOD 20 NOT AFG CEN AS This profile should return all items marked with key words signifying that they deal with Agriculture and either the 20th century or the Modern Era. The search further excludes items dealing with Afghanistan or Central The return Asia. of this search was as follows: 000186 ASXYES H* RAHNEMA-YE TAEHQIQ-E RUSTAHA-YE IRAN HAEMRAH BA PORSES#NAMAEHI BAERAYE MOT*ALAE9AT-E JOG*RAFIYAI VAE KES#AVAERZI REF,IRAN,GEO,AGR,GEN,MOD TAEBRIZ DANES#KADEH-'E AEDAEBIYYAT-E TAEBRIZ 108 (1345) 000299 BADI SH SANOVICH I NAUCHNAJA KONFERENCIJA SEL'SKOXOZJAISVENNYE RAZVIVAJUWIXSJA STRAN AZII I AFRIKI CONF,REPORT,AGR,LABOR,EC,DEV,20,1967 NAA NO 6 167-73 (1967)

RABOCHIE

000320 ANON (U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE ECONOMIC AGR,EC,ME,ET-AL,20,DEV ERS-FOREIGN NO 186 WASHINGTON D.C. NPB 80 (1967) AFN ANON (U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE ECONOMIC RESEARCH)

00394 ANON (REV) KURDESTAN AND THE KURDS, GHASSEMLOU AR HIST,POL,EC,AGR,KURDS,19,20 BBL 0 VOL 23 NO 5-6 353-4 (1966) 157

AUTUMN 1969

000657 DEMIN AI SEL'SKOYE XOZYAYSTVO SOVREMENNOGOIRANA AGR,IRAN,20,REFORMS,R MOSKOWNAUKA PRESS 277 (1967) 000773 EVNS H (REV) SEL'SKOYE XOZYAYSTVO SOVREMENNOGOIRANA. AGR, IRAN, 20, REFORMS, R CENTRAL ASIAN REVIEW VOL 16 NO 1 74-76 (1967)

DEMIN AI

000864 GHARATCHEHDAGHI C LANDVERTEILUNG IN WARAMIN. AUFTAKT ZUR AGRAR REFORM IM IRAN IRAN,VAERAMIN ,LAND-REFORM ,20,AGR OPLADEN DEUTSCHEN ORIENT INSTITUTES 182 (1968) 001008 HOTTINGER A FELLACHEN UND FUNCTIONAERE ENTWICKLUNGSWEGE IM NAHEN OSTEN EC,DEV,NE,20 ,AGR,POL MUENCHEN KOESEL-VERLAG 212 (1967) 001320 MALEK H APRES LA REFORME AGRAIRE IRANIENNE 20 ,DEV AGR,EC,POL,REFORM,IRAN, ANNALES DE GEOGRAPHIE VOL 75 NO 490

268-285

(1966)

001354 OJ RTINRMID (REV) PLANNING FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: THE IRANIAN EXPERIENCE. GITTENGER JP IRAN,AGR,PLANNING, 20r,DEV WASHINGTON, NATIONAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION 116 (1965) 001976 9M T*XEBAT*AEBA'I ENQELAB-E ARAM-E RUSTAHA VAE ROS#D-E EC,IRAN,AGR,20,DEV TEHRAN NPB 272 (1345)

EQTES*AD-E

002163 AN-ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM SOC,POL,DEV,AGR,LAND-REFORM,20,IRAN 205-209 TAEH*QIQAT-E EQTES*ADI VOL 4 NO 11-12 002184 ANONFOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF RCD IRAN,TURKEY,PAK,DEV,EC,AGR,20,RCD ORIENT VOL 9 NO 5 151-155 (1968 IRANIAN

STUDIES

158

KES#AVAERZI

(1967)

002230 ANON REASONS FOR THE DECLINE IN IRAN'S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE FARMING YEAR 1963-64 EC,DEV,AGR,IRAN,20 210-233 (1967) TAEH*QIQAT-E EQTES*ADI VOL 4 NO 11-12 002238 MMWEAE) (REV) SEL'SKOYE XOZYAYSTUO SOVREMENNOGO IRANA. ,EC,DEV,1961-5 AGR,REFORM,IRAN,20 (1968) CAR VOL 16 NO 1 74-6

DEMIN AI

002242 ANONA STUDY OF RURAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF GILAN AND MAZANDARAN EC,DEV,AGR, 20 ,GILAN ,MAZANDARAN, IRAN (1967) 135-204 TAEH*QIQAT-E EQTES*ADI VOL 4 NO 11-12 002444 GORDON ED BECKETT PH LAND USE AND SETTLEMENT ROUND KERMAN IN SOUTHERN IRAN AGR,DEMOG,GEO,KERMAN, IRAN ,20,GEOL (1966) THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL VOL 132 NO 4 476-490 002719 EL-GHONEMY MR (ED) LAND POLICY IN THE NEAR EAST AGR,EC,LAND POLICY,NE,20,DEV ROME FAO 417 (1967) 002794 KORTUM G FISCHER P KAHRIZAK SOCIALGEOGRAPHISCHER DORFMONOGRAPHIE EINER QANAT-OASE BEI TEHERAN 20,IRAN,KAHRIZAEK GEO,SOC,AGR,IRRG,QAENAT, (1967) GEOGRAPHISCHE RUNDSCHAU VOL 19 NO 6 201-209 002829 GHARATCHEHDAGHI C DISTRIBUTION OF LAND IN VARAMIN AN OPENING PHASE OF THE AGRARIAN REFORM IN IRAN IRAN,2 0,VAERAMIN AGR,POL,SOC,LAND-REFORM,DEV, GER ORIENT INSTITUTE PUBL OPLADEN C W LESKE VERLAG 179 (1967) 002830 GHARATCHEHDAGHI C LANDVERTEILUNG IN WARAMIN EIN AUFTAKT ZUR AGRARREFORM IM IRAN DEV,AGR,LAND-REFORM,20,IRAN,VAERAMIN MATERIALIEN UND SCHRIFTEN D DEUTSCHEN ORIENT-INSTITUTS DOCUMENTE OPLADEN C W LESKE 181 (1967) 159

AUTUMN 1969

003051 KAZEMIAN GH THE IMPACT OF US TECHNICAL AID ON THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF IRAN EC,DEV,AGR,IRAN,20 ,US ,AID,TECH BROOKLYN THEODORE GAUS' SONS (1968) 003067 KHAZAL-PUR-FARD M STAND UND ENTWICKLUNGSMOEGLICHKEITEN DER LANDWIRTSCHAFT IN DER PROVINZ KHUSISTAN (IRAN) EC,DEV,AGR, 20, IRAN ,XUZESTAN,DISS BONN DISS LANDWIRSCHAFTL F 148 (1965) 003294 NAHID M NAEQS#-E S#AERKAET-HA-YE TAE9AVONI DAER PIS#RAEFT VAE TOWSAE9AEH-' E KES#AVAERZI AGR,DEV,COOPERATIVES,EC, 20, IRAN ENTES#ARAT-E MO'AESAEH-'E AMUZES# VAE TAEH*QIQAT-E TAE9AVONI NO 1 TEHRAN DANES#GAH 302 (1346) 003312

NIROUMAND K MOEGLICHKEITEN EIRER MODERNISIERUNG DER MILCHWIRTSCHAFT PERSISCHER STAEDTE 20 ,DISS EC,DEV,AGR,DAIRYIRAN,URB, GIESSEN DISS LANDWIRTSCHAFTL F 112 (1965) 003328

OKAZAKI S DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE-SCALE FARMING IN IRAN THE CASE OF THE PROVINCE OF GORGON AGR,EC,DEV,IRAN,20,GORGON IAEA OCCASIONAL PAPERS SERIES NO 3 TOKYO INST OF ASIAN EC AFFAIRS 51 (1968) 003333 OP'TLAND C LANDREFORM IN IRAN REFORM EC,AGR,IRAN,20,DEV,LAND PERSICA NO 2 81-122 (1965-6) 003569

SARE_I A DER DERZEITIGE STAND DER BEINENZUCHT IM IRAN UNTER BERUECKSICHTIGUNG DER WEITEREN AUSBAUFAEHIGKEIT IM ZUGE DER RATIONALISIERUNG UND INTENSIBIERUNG AGR,DEV,EC,IRAN,20 ,APICULTURE,DISS BONN DISS. 65 (1965) LANDWIRTSCHAFTL.F.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

160

Our second the

sample

search

was

made

on

the

basis

of

profile: AND ED AND 19

20 MOD NOT AFG CEN AS According to the logic of our system, this profile returns all items dealing with education in the 19th century, 20th century or the Modern Era and excludes with any items dealing Afghanistan or Central Asia. 000087 AEHMAIEDI A

(REV) YADGAR-E9OMR: XAT*ERATI AEZ SAER GOD#AES#T-E DOKTOR 9ISY S*AEDIQ ED, IRAN,ABIOG,20, S*AEDIQ RK VOL 10 NO 3 235-240 (1346) 000365 ANON SEPAHYAN-E DANES# DOWRAEH-E HAEFTOM GOZARES#-E AERZES#YABI-E ED,IRAN,20,SEPAH-E DANESH MAJ*DAT VOL 15 NO 1 112-120 (1967) 000504 BLANDY R NASHAT M THE EDUCATION CORPS IN IRAN: A SURVEY OF ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS ED,IRAN,20,LITERACY-CORPS,SEPAH{-E DANES#,EC,SOC INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW VOL 93 NO 5 521-529 (1966) 000776 EYMAEN- I (REV) SAZEMAN VAE EDARAEH-'E AMUZES# VAE PAERVAERS# DAER IRAN VAE FERANSAEH VAE AEMRIKA VAE Z#APON. (VOL 2). MAES#AYEXI M IRAN,ED,20,FR,US,JAPAN RK VOL 9 NO 3 276-279 (1345) 000963 HANNA B DER KAMPF GEGEN DAS ANALPEABETENTUM IM IRAN ED,IRAN,20,LITERACY,DEV SCHRIFTEN DES DEUTSCHEN ORIENT INSTITUTS,REIHE UND DOCUMENTE.OPLADEN C. W. LESKE VERLAG 182 161

MATERIELIEN (1966) AUTUMN 1969

001140 KEATING R EINE ARMEE DES WISSENS SOLL PERSIEN EROBERN DANES# ED, IRAN,20,LITERACY-CORPS,DEV,SERAH-E (1966) UNESCO-DIENST VOL 13 NO 11 8-12

001308 M IY1XYEXI SAZEMAN VAE EDARAEH-'E AMUZES# VAE PAERVAERES# DAER IRAN VAE FERANSAEH VAE AEMRIKA VAE Z#APON. (VOL 2) ,COMPAR,US,FR,JAPAN IRAN,ED,20 ENTES#ARAT NO 12 TEHRAN SAZEMAI-E TAERBIYAET-E MO9AELLEM VAE TAEHQIQAT-E TAERBIYAETI NPP (1344) 001531

NISARI S TAEDRIS-E ZAEBAN-E FARSI DAER DAEBESTAN YA AMUZES#-E HONAERHA-YE ZAEBAN ED,PRIMARY,IRAN,20,LANG,P TEHRAN NPB VOL 1 104 (1344) 001657

RASEX S# CE GUNEGI-E TAE9LIMAT-E DANES#GAHI VAE ENTEXAB VAE EMTEH*AN-E U ED, IRAN ,MOD,UNIVERSITY (1344) SIXAEN VOL 16 NO 2 109-118

DAER IRAN DANES#JU

001662

RASES S# VAED*9-E TAEH*QIQAT-E 9ELMI DAER IRAN ED,IRAN,SCI,20,RESEARCH,SURV (1345) SOXAEN VOL 16 NO 10 969-979 001663 RASEX S# VAED*9-E TAE9LIMMAT-E MOTAEVAESET*AEH DAER IRAN ED, IRAN, SECONDARY, 20, SURV (1345) SOXAEN VOL 16 NO 6 580-587 002191 ANOYI

A HOLY WAR AGAINST IGNORANCE. A PICTORIAL ACCOUNT OF TIHE OF THE EDUCATIONAL CORPS RECENT ACTIVITIES DANES#,ILLUS ED,DEV,IRAN,20,SEPAH-E NP EDUCATIONAL CORPS ORGANIZATION NPP (1966) 002197 ANON PUBLIQUE IRAN. LE DEVELOPEMENT DE L'INSTRUCTION SUM,TR,P-F,IRAN,20,1966 ED,STATISTICS, 54 (1967) CAHIERS DE L'ORIENT CONTEMP VOL 64 IRANIAN

STUDIES

162

002461 BEKHOR J LE PROGRAMME-CHOCDE L' IRAN DANS LA LUTTE CONTRE

L' ANALPHABETISME ED,DEV,IRAN,20,LITERACY,SEPAH-E DANES# CAHIERS DE L'ORIENT CONTEMP24/LXV 8-10

(1967)

002648 DAVAERI R (REV) VAED*9-E S#AERAYAET*-E RUH*-E 9ELMI. FURASTIYAEH-KARDAN 9M (TR) NAERAQI E (COM) IRAN,DEV,ED,SCI,20 RK VOL 11 NO 4 173-176 (1347) 002678 5DOR A

AN ASSESSMENTOF EDUCATIONALDEVELOPMENTTHE CASE STUDY OF PAHLAVI UNIVERSITY IRAN ED,DEV,PAHLAVI U,IRAN,20,S#IRAZ MEJ VOL 22 NO 3 317-23 (1968) 002735 9ENAYAETH* RUH*-E 9ELMI VAE S#ENAXT-E H*AEQIQAETNAEZ#AER-E AZEMA'I RUH*-E 9ELMI-RA CEGUNAEHBAYAEDBEH VOJUD AVAERD IRAN,SOC,DEV,ED,SCI ,20 RK VOL 11 NO 6 275-277 (1347) 002986 HUOBR HG IRANS REFORM DES BILDUNGSWESENS

ED, IRAN, DEV, 2 0, REFORM, SURV ORIENT VOL 9 200-203 (1968) 003164 MAEH*JUBMJ TAERG*IB BEH MOT*ALE9AEHVAE RAEHBAERI-E DANES# AMUZAN BEH DOROST NEVES#TAEN VAE DOROST BAEYAN KAERDAEN ED,IRAN,MOD,LANG,STYLE

SOXAENVOL 17 NO 8 750-758

(1346)

One effort remains to make this bibliography a fully functional and self-sufficient research This is to coltool. late and edit our procedural notes for compilation, abbreviation files, and data retrieval procedures, and to bring this information together in the form of a users' handbook. Once this has been accomplished, we will have reached a stage which represents the farthest point to which we can carry the work at our present level of funding and organization.

163

AUTUMN1969

as it is problems with the project There are definite or are all full-time faculty The personnel set up. presently Consequently of Michigan. at the University students graduate only during the summer we have been able to work on the project bibliography, awareness as a current To be effective months. basis, on a regular to operate it must be funded and staffed or tapes on a quarterly up-to-date with the aim of producing would be able to keep their Subscribers basis. semi-annual Each time a new tape is prepared on file. search profiles to of all items of interest a print-out they would receive a copy either may desire or area associations Libraries them. to the biblioof the new additions of the tape or listings graphy. that such a bibliography Compared to the contribution the cost was minimal. of time and effort, can make in savings required working state to its present To bring the project fewer than 2,000 man hours for those jobs that demanded a cerwere all graduThe compilers of professionalism. tain level working on three compilers There were normally ate students. as They had to be conversant, at any given time. the project Russian. including a group, with the major European languages, Arabic, and Turkish is an in Persian, facility In addition, necessity. obvious and also used 300 hours of secretarial The project to The total cost of the project time. key punch operator Our costs would have been much higher date is under $7,000. and search o adapt an existing storage had we not been able program to our needs. includes It already is open-ended. This bibliography which list from periodicals extracted notices of dissertations goals is to send One of our projected them, such as Arabica. in of research notices in the hope of obtaining out inquiries the present modifying without which could be entered progress, to the program, modifications With slight format for entries. could be added, such as Library types of information additional over and above our own key of Congress numbers or abstracts word system. is immeas it stands, Project, The Iran Afghanistan the field of Middle to other areas within adaptable diately as long can be made in any language Entries Studies. Eastern for that language system can be devised as a transliteration IBM key punch machine with the standard which is compatible keyboard. This Automated Bibliography the It demonstrates project. pilot simple automated storage relatively in area literature to the secondary IRANIAN STUDIES

164

is a Studies of Iranian of applying feasibility techniques and retrieval The approximately studies.

contained in the bibliography 4000 entries currently are adeof using such techniques. quate only to show the possibilities As a feasibility study it is merely another selected bibliofrom the graphy-selected from the 60 odd priority periodicals, In conception, few most recent years of publication. however, it aims to be both a comprehensive and a current bibliography. Support from the community of Iranian scholars would make these possibilities a reality. The sums involved would be relatively large but hardly unthinkable. The world wide bibliography of Middle Eastern Studies is growing faster than we realize. If we wait too long before we use modern technology to bring it under control it may reach the stage where it is considered unfeasible. If such a bibliography is compiled and kept current, including reports on research in progress, it will save scholars in the field of Middle Eastern Studies an incalculable amount of time in the future.

165

AUTUMN1969

APPENDIX

A

TRANSLITERATION

I.

The Its

transliteration use is based

)

on

for the

Persian Library

A

P

~p

L

$S_

L

J

~

~

-'

X

)

D

)

DD#

J

,

H*

L.

_

9

(35

Q

-

EY

G

Ow

R

'-

z

)

V

.v

Zt

6

H

y

166

E

x 0K

M

S*

I

U

N

STUDIES

AE

0

(;)

S#

A

F

L

Cr

IRANIAN

J

G*

C t

T* AZ*

T

_...-

works is shown below. of Congress Guide.

UDD*

B S'

SYSTEMS

II.

The

Cyrillic

transliteration

system

A a

A

P p

B 6

B

Cc

S

B a

V

Ti

T

Ir

G A

R

YY

U

D

@

F

E

E

Xx

X

Etc

Jo

LI

C

)K)I

$

4

3 3

z

nilm

H0 a

I

flt

1

Kuc

K

n1-n

L

MM

M

3

+

HD

N

IOio

Ju

Oo

0

R

JA

fl1

~CH SH W

bil

p

167

AUTUMN 1969

APPENDIX

Memoir ABIOG = Autobiography, AFG = Afghanistan Agronomy .AGR = Agriculture, for International AID = Agency unknown ANON = Author Asia CEN AS = Central Commentator COM = Commentary, COMPAR = Comparative CONF = Conference DEMOG = Demography DEV = Development DISS = Dissertation EC = Economics Edition ED = Education, (ED) a Editor ET AL - et alia language F = French FR = France to GEN = General - impossible

especially

in reference

B

Development

specify

more

exactly,

to chronology

GEO = Geology HIST = History ILLUS = Illustrations IRRG = Irrigation working class Laborers, LABOR = Labor, LANG = Language ME = Middle East is when the century only contemporary-used MOD = Modern, Otherof the Modern Period" Ex. "Origins unclear. are used. 19, 20 etc. the designations wise of publication ND = No date NE = Near East etc. band, part, (issue), NO = Number given of publication NP = No place given NPB = No publisher given NPP = No pages language P = Persian PAK = West Pakistan Politics POL = Political, Language R = Russian Turkey for Development (Iran, Cooperation RCD = Regional and Pakistan) or book of an article (REV) = Review technology technique, TECH = Technical, from Persian Ex. TR P-A is a translation TR = Translation to Arabic SCI - Science, scientific Social SOC = Sociology, SUM = Summary IRANIAN

STUDIES

168

SURV = Survey URB = Urban US = United States VOL = Volume

of America

APPENDIX C CITATION FORMSFOR JOURNALSAND PUBLISHERS form for journals the citation list In the following forms with the full letters appear in capital and publishers following. Orientalis

BBL 0 = Bibliotheca

Contemporian de l'Orient CAHIERS DE L'ORIENT CONTEMP = Cahiers Review Asian CAR = Central Affairs Economic of Asian IAEA = Institute Tehran Adabiyat-i Daneshkada-i MAJ-DAT = Majalah-i East Journal MEJ = Middle i Afriki NAA = Narody Azii Ketab RK = Rahnema-ye SOXAEN = Sokhan Eqtesadi TAEH*QIQAT-E EQTES*ADI = Tahqiqat-e

NOTES 1.

These

2.

There

are presently

to

make

of

in use or under

computer

tech-

development

and complexity of much greater bibliographies data systems handle Such systems expense. greater at vastly developed materials, as secondary as well primary and other documents of the social more for use by students but are designed sciences. and behavioral of Emery of the University to Mr. Allan We are indebted to fit program his for adopting Center Computing Michigan

our special 3.

demands

inconsequential

are

nology.

requirements.

for the project support Financial and North Center for Near Eastern

University

by was provided Studies African

the at the

of Michigan.

169

AUTUMN1969

BOOK

REVIEWS

Reappraisal of a Road Project in Iran. By Hierman G. Van Der Tak and Jan de Weille. (World Bank Staff Occasional Papers, No. 7). Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1969. 127 pp. $3.00. ALI M. S. FATEMI The theoretical side of the literature on quantitative methods in development has grown by leaps and planning bounds in recent years. In both East and West, the growth of the literature in various forms of econometrics, mathematical programming and computerized models has been prolisimulation fic. However, a wide gulf separates the theory and the practice. Even in the industrially advanced countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union where central is a creed planning and a policy, the state of the art in practice looks shamefully in comparison underdeveloped to "scientific planning" literature. A discussion of this problem is not, of course, within the scope of the present review. one Nevertheless, wonders whether the distance between the pure and applied science in this instance is simply a severe case of the phenomenon familiar in other disciplines or whether there are more basic underlying reasons. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, some of the emerging nations seem to view the process of development planning as an end in itself. Albert Waterston, a respected practitioner and an astute observer of the international development scene, sometime ago made the point that '...the plan appears to have joined the national flag as a symbol of sovereignty and modernity." of Ali

In the case of theoretical knowledge M. S.

University IRANIAN

Fatemi

is

the developing from advanced

Associate

Professor

of Akron. STUDIES

170

nations nations of

the diffusion has been very

Economics

at

the

fruitful and, in some instances, the flow of major contributions has run in both directions. However, with few minor exceptions, has remained primitive development planning due to the scarcity partly of adequate data and the lack of sufficient

trained

jects after

receive adequate their execution.

its

personnel.

limited

bution between

scope

toward theory

For

notwithstanding,

at least and

few

instance,

development

and appraisal either analysis Reappraisal of a Road Project makes

one aspect

practice

in

pro-

before or in Iran,

an important

the

of bridging

development

contri-

vital

gap

planning.

The book is mainly concerned with a reappraisal of a section of a road project which was financed for Iran through a loan from the World Bank.. This volume also constitutes the seventh book so far published by the World Bank as Occasional Papers. There are three other volumes in this series which closely

relate

to

the

Occasional

subject

of

the

book

under

review:

Paper Number 2 by Jan de Weille,

Quantification Occasional Sector and

matter

of

Road

User

Savings

Paper Number 4 by Hans A. Adler Project Planning in Transportation

Occasional Paper The Economics of

Number 5 by A. A. Road User Charges

Walters

As it will be noted later the book under discussion has heavily drawn from the first of the above three (also authored by Mr. de Weille) as a foundation for its quantitative estimation of road-user costs and savings (Chapter VI). The purpose of this study is an economic reappraisal of a road project for which the World Bank made a loan of $72 million to the government of Iran. The total estimated cost of the project was $185 million. setting defined

Initially, and historical by the loan

the authors background agreement as

give the general of the "project" follows:

a)

the construction and reconstruction 2,470 kms of main roads in western western Iran;

b)

the the

transport which is of and

about south-

improvement to year-round capability 440 km road between existing Khalafabad

and Shiraz

in the

of

south;

c) the planning and preliminary a second main road program; 171

engineering

of

AUTUMN1969

d)

the

planning

of

a feeder

and

preliminary

engineering

road program.

a) of this with section The book is only concerned review of a general After giving and its reappraisal. project (Chapter II) the authors turn to an inveseconomic priorities The in construction. and delays of cost increases tigation in 1962 but was not complefor completion road was scheduled cost of $185 with an estimated The project 1964. ted until million

(including

a ten

per

cent

contingency

allowance)

after

at $226 million. having been reduced in scope was completed of the ten (inclusive in costs This is a 35 per cent increase cost increase This substantial fund). per cent contingency of Iranian in light when considered excessive seems especially Iran enjoyed moderperiod, price chanqes. During the project rose Price Index for 1959-1963 Wholesale ate price stability. by road type costs construction Typical four points. by only are such as maintenance cost data relevant in Iran and other reof traffic, and growth Structure IV. in Chapter discussed fuel and related registration counts, vehicle view of traffic are data, etc., and destination origin figures, consumption subjects of the fifth and Annex I. chapter VI and Annex II an analysis In Chapter of road-user As it has been previously is presented. and savings costs work on an earlier chapter is based to this noted the approach of Road User Savings Quantification of Mr. Jan de Weille, (QRUS). a to produce are expected road improvements Since are essencosts of road-user calculation saving, road-user the preliduring were anticipated Though such savings tial. (1959) the Bank time at that of the project, appraisal minary these benefits. at quantifying in an attempt did not engage estimation of cost-and-savings a method follow The authors in which Bank report earlier to the above-mentioned similar at with are dealt and savings costs as user such concepts which for costs are the basis user In this context, length. by the savings are defined road-user the possible determining in the following manner: authors have a specific for this purpose costs Road-user savings for measuring They are a concept sense. on a speciimprovement resulting from a specific cost unit is the total fic The measuring road. on a at a certain speed a vehicle of operating those it includes only type of road; certain improveare affected by the quality costs which of such as the costs Others, ment of the road. overhead costs, and unloading, loading stoppinq,

as are excluded, etc., duties, levies, taxes, to enter inon these costs there are no savings (P. 53) of the project. to the savings benefits IRANIAN

STUDIES

172

ently

The adaptinq of QRUS material has not been very difficult.

to Iranian

data

appar-

In Chapter VII the question of discernible development benefits of the project are raised. In particular the effect of lower transport costs on agricultural output is investigated. The time period between the completion date of the and the date of this reappraisal project is too short a period of time (only two years) to expect any significant indications. On the other hand, the major problem with the agricultural situation in Iran is the marketing structure. Therefore, it is not surprising that the authors have failed to find any significant evidence that reduced transportation costs have had any effect on agricultural prices. The best and most useful part of the book, in the opinion of this reviewer, is Chapter VIII where an attempt is made to compare the cost of construction and the maintenance of the road with the estimated road-user savings. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis explores the effect of changes in estimates of benefits. To calculate the present worth, the authors have selected a ten per cent interest rate and then have converted the cost and benefit streams into present worth in 1962. Their findings are favorable for most sections of the project. The opportunities for alternative investments are touched upon in a very cursory manner. Only a few lines are devoted to the possibility of alternative railway rehabilitation but the possibility is dismissed and the issue is closed. In Chapter IX, the final chapter in the book, some general conclusions are drawn and the authors have made a few specific recommendations. Most important among the conclusions is the fact that the authors, contrary to their expectations, found no substantial development benefits to Iran as a result of this road project. Price rigidity and monopolistic marketing conditions of food crops are partly to be blamed. Since only five to ten per cent of the margin between farm and retail prices are transport costs, any reduction in road-user costs can hardly have any effect on prices. Among the major recommendations provided here are suggestions for data collection, proper format for project appraisals and follow-ups. There are two detailed supplementary annexes at the end of the book. These provide additional traffic information and give in detail some of the methods of calculation and assumptions used in arriving at the road-user costs and savings in Chapter VI. development very little

The task undertaken by the authors is in an area of planning and project evaluation which has received attention so far. Therefore, their attempt should 173

AUTUMN1969

nature and is consebe considered in light of its pathbreaking quently not totally free from shortcomings. The application of cost-benefit to the analysis of this road protechniques ject in Iran must have required appreciably more "conjectural' The data than one not familiar with the problem can imagine. On page 94 authors seem to be fully cognizant of this fact. they state: As this study illustrates, economic (re)appraisals are dependent on the data used. The lack of and deficiencies in the data can be attributed to an inadequate largely data collection system. Special efforts at data generation were not made for this study and as a result the authors have arrived at very tentative answers to questions raised. The authors did not organize their own investigation and fact-finding projects in such respects as traffic counts. They have basically relied on traffic-count data provided by the Ministry of Roads. Their qualitative description of these data follows: Analysis of the traffic count data reveals some In some instances, rather serious deficiencies. information is obviously wrong; in others, figures are identical to those of previous years, which may mean a new count was not taken; in still others, details and totals do not match. For the purposes of this study, such data have been suitably adjusted or omitted altogether. The recorded traffic flows on some roads, such as Hamadan-Khosravy (Road I), seem high compared with the visual impressions of the authors during a tour of the project roads in 1965. (P. 42) However, it is with the use of this very deficient and dubious data that the authors have proceeded. Their costbenefit and sensitivity analyses have provided certain positive results. However, as far as the findings and the conclusions based on these are concerned, the author's of 'tendescription tative" should be taken very seriously. Even if we were to consider the findings as a mere academic exercise, the book would still a substantial to the genconstitute contribution eral area of development and in particular to the planning field of road project analysis. Those interested in this vital aspect of development planning and project in general, analysis, and anyone interested in undertaking similar projects in Iran, in particular, will find this book useful. IRANIAN STUDIES

174

Political Order in Changing New Haven and London: ton. xiii+488 pp. $12.50.

Societies. By Samuel P. HuntingYale University Press, 1968.

FARHADKAZEMI The problem of political has received development much attention in the social literature in recent science extensive years. of the relatively However, in spite treatment of the subject, of politiour knowledge of the process cal development is, at its best, scanty and inadequate. The complexity of political and its interrelatedness development to a large host of social to some extent elements, explains the meagerness of our knowledge in this area. Nevertheless, a few key concepts of political development have recently received treatment and articuinteresting lation. Amonq these the concepts of social mobilization, political mobilization, political and instituparticipation, tionalization seem to particularly stand out. Samuel Huntington's Political Order in Changing Societies analyzes these concepts and their interrelationship in a most cogent and suggestive manner. While reviewing Huntington's newest book, it may be useful to also discuss broadly the treatment of these concepts by other scholars and authorities upon whose writings some of hiuntington's analysis is based. Karl Deutsch defines social mobilization "as the process in which major clusters of old social, economic and psychological commitments are eroded or broken and people become available for new patterns of socialization and behavior."l More specifically Deutsch views social mobilization as correlated changes in the same direction of seven indicators. The seven indicators include: exposure to modern life, exposure to mass media, changes in residence, urbanization, non-aqricultural occupations among the total o5 those gainfully employed, literacy, and per capita income. For the sake of analytical clarity, social mobilization should be viewed as separate rom political mobilization. Political mobilization refers to the establishment of primarily political relationships between the elite and the masses for the achievement of certain goals and objectives.3 Social mobilization, on the other hand, is changes in the same direction of the indices listed above. Another way to distinguish between social and political mobilization, is to Farhad Kazemi is a doctoral candidate in the Department Political Science at the University of Michigan. 175

of

AUTUMN1969

view the former as the breakdown of the old patterns latter as the integration of the socially mobilized political These distinctions system.4 are strictly cal for as Barnes indicates, "social and political exist in all forms of mobilization, and though thev distinguished analytically it is often difficult to "5 pirically.

and the into the analyticomponents can be do so em-

Huntington defines as a process modernization involving both social mobilization and economic development.6 Modernization is thus a verv broad concept which implies essentially significant changes in norms, values, expectations, ways of life, and socio-economic factors. The reason for specifying economic development as the second important aspect of modernization (rather than treating it as the indicator number seven of social is to stress mobilization), the special problems and issues that are related to rapid economic growth. Social scientists have become increasingly aware of the possible "disturbing" effect of rapid economic growth. This is somewhat different from the traditional view--long a dominant theme in American foreign policy--which held that economic development will ipso facto result in political stability and "democracy." Huntington on Mancur Olson relyinq and others, discusses succinctly the concomitant problems of rapid economic development.7 Huntington elaboratinq on Deutsch's earlier work in this area points out that the process of modernization tends to increase social and political consciousness. Modernization stimulates and unleashes social forces and expands the politicized strata of the population.8 The expansion of the mobilized population also broadens political participation. Political participation is generally defined by Huntington and others as the pressures from the political population for shares in the decision-making structure of the system. Almond and Powell, for example, define as "those indiparticipants viduals who are oriented to the input structures and processes, and engage in, or view themselves as potentially engaging in, the articulation of demands and the making of decisions."9 Political participation, therefore, is not restricted solely to voting The concept behavior. is much broader and implies essentially political consciousness, the articulation of demands, and the presentation of these demands to the polity. Huntington contends that rapid increase in the demands of the socially mobilized will disrupt the political system. These pressures upon the system are bound to undermine the stability of the traditional political structure. The test of a given political system's capability, he IRANIAN STUDIES

176

maintains, is its success in meeting these demands and assimilating the mobilized population into its political culture. When the political to accommodate the new demands, system fails the status of many of its traditional institutions will be threatened and a crisis of legitimacy will result.10 hluntington argues that the most promising way to mobilized is to accommodate the demands of the socially Political develop functional political institutions. development, in Huntington's words, is "the institutionalization of political organizations and procedures."11 method of Huntington asserts that the most fruitful institutionalization is the establishment of political parties. The political party as "the distinctive organization of modern politics," organizes political and participation is capable of meeting the enlarged of modfunctions required ern governments.12 Huntington the relationship emphasizes between political parties and political order in modern societies; he says: A strong political party system has the capability, first, to expand participation through the system and thus to pre-empt or to divert anomic or revolutionary political activity, to moderate and channel the parand, second, ticipation of newly mobilized groups in such a manner as not to disrupt the system. A strong party system thus provides the institutionalized organizations and procedures for the assimilation of new groups into the system. The development of such party institutions is the prerequisite for political stability in modernizing countries.13 This is Huntington's main thesis. He argues throughout this book that political stability coincides with institutionalization. Accordingly, political instability results when social mobilization and political participation increase rapidly without the parallel development of political institutions. Huntington calls this a process of political decay. Therefore in order to prevent this decay and allow for the development of political institutions, he suggests the controversial notion that steps should be taken to moderate social mobilization and political participation.14 I find myself in disagreement with Huntington's view that social mobilization can be slowed down effectively and that this will help political stability. In the first place, forced slowdown of social mobilization can only be accomplished (and at that partially) by an oppressive political system. Nothing short of sheer force can "stop" the socially 177

AUTUMN1969

forced participation. Secondly, from political mobilized mobilization is likely to lead to a great slowdown of social social, among those who are kept at their deal of discontent I beand political positions economic, by the government. concern with order and staoverwhelming lieve Huntington's implications of these possible bility has led him to overlook mobilization. for the slowdown of social his suggestion of overemphasis will find Huntington's Many readers It in its entirety. difficult to accept stability political is a deorder and stability is perhaps true that political However, there are times when sired goal for most everyone. only by doing away change can be affected social qualitative with anachronistic institutions and practices. problems with Huntington's There are also additional his discussion of these concerns The most important analysis. although parties, His chapter on political of institutions. does not add much to our knowledge. and adecuate, well written of other political Furthermore, there is hardly any discussion which could conceivably (such as bureaucracy) institutions parties. as political play a role as important proon the lines Measurement of institutionalization Huntdifficulties. presents additional posed by Huntington into account the four variables that by taking ington suggests of orautonomy, and coherence complexity, of adaptability, we can gain system, of a political and procedures ganizations The of institutionalization.15 into its level some insight with their many subcategories of these variables measuring is measurement of "functional For example, impractical. often is of norms and values" or "distinctiveness adaptability" in a developing for a scholar most difficult doinq research acute when questionnaires, The problem is especially nation. fear are to be employed since tests or attitudinal interviews, the from the government may influence reprisals of possible answers. respondants' of these and other shortcomings, However, in spite to the study of modernibook is a contribution Huntington's analysis general with Huntington's Many will disagree zation. But they will have to give him credit and his conclusions. issues some of the central of modernization.16 for clarifying

NOTES 1.

Mobilization "Social Karl W. Deutsch, Science American Political elopment," ber, 1961), p. 494.

IRANIAN

STUDIES

178

and Political DevReview, LV (Septem-

2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

Ibid., p. 495. Samuel Barnes, "Mobilization and Political Conflict: A Theoretical Bases of Consensus Inquiry into the Structural and Dissent," (mimeo), p. 2. For this distinction I am indebted to Professor A.F.K. Organski, oral communication, 1969. For Organski's discussion of mobilization see his Staaes of Political Dev(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965). See also elopment discussion Binders' of national integration in terms of the closure of the gap between elites and non-elites; Leonard Binder, 'National Integration and Political American Political Development," Science Review, LXIII (September, 1964), p. 627. Barnes, p. 3. Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), p. 33. Ibid., pp. 49-59. p. 37. Deutsch, p. 498. ibia., Gabriel Almond and G. Bingham Powell, Jr., Comearative Politics: A Developmental Approach (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1966), p. 53. Seymour Lipset, Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1963), p. 65.- See also Gabriel Almond, 'Political Systems and Political Change," American Behavioral Scientist, VI (June, 1963), p. 6. Samuel P. Huntington, "Political Development and Political Decay," World Politics, XVII (April, 1965), p. 393. Huntington, Political Order..., p.91. See also Joseph La Palombara and Myron Weiner, The Origin and Development of Political Parties," in La Palombara and Weiner (Eds.), Political Parties and Political Development (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1966), p. 5 and p. 30. Huntington, Political Order..., p. 412. Ibid., See also his "Political Development and p. 86. Political Decay," pp. 419-421. Huntington, Political Order..., pp. 12-24; and Hluntington, 'Political Development and Political Decay," pp. 394-405. The chapter on "Political Change in Traditional Polities" is especially recommended to the readers of Iranian Studies. Hlere Huntington discusses (with references to Iran) the dilemmas and problems faced by "modernizinq" monarchies.

179

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The Economic of

of

Readin2s.

Cicago

History Edited

Press,

of the by

1967.

Middle

Charles

East,

Issawi.

xv + 543 pp.

1800-1914: Chicago:

A Book University

$12.50 MANOUCHER PARVIN

broad This book is an informative review of certain trends in the history of the socio-economic development of the Arab countries of Asia, the Nile Valley and Turkey. Ilowever, the title of the book covers more ground than its content. Among missing countries of the Middle East one can think of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. But a text on the history of the economic development of Iran (by the same author) is in progress, and thus this shortcoming will be partially overcome. The sixty-two articles come from various places, times and authors. These essays are translations from Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Russian and Turkish, and are classified and organized according to the country with which they are concerned. There is a general introduction to the text, some specific introductions to each part, which summarize the essays, and finally an epilogue discussing the political economy of the 1914-1961 period. Appendices of weights and measures, a and currencies are provided. Furthermore, and indices glossary, a selected but extensive bibliography, of place names and subjects constitute other useful and practical features. The essays on each country are diverse and not integrated in any fashion. However, as a whole they provide a picture of certain aspects of economic integration of these countries into the regional and world economies. The cultural, and and technological political problems of the development In growth of agriculture, industry and mining are discussed. addition, the process of internal economic integration of each finance is studied the role of public country by describing in the development of transportation, communication and commerce.

Manoucher Parvin is Assistant of New York, City University IRANIAN STUDIES

Professor of Economics Hunter College. 180

at the

Broadly speaking, the essays the reader with present a primarily decline in polidescriptive account of the area's tical and economic spheres In the and its subsequent revival. general introduction and elsewhere in the essays, the noneconomic factors which caused the economic decline are enumerated as being a halt in the intellectual and scientific life of Islamic and the gradual of the society transformation Islamic religion to a dogmatic and intolerant one. Furthermore, various wars (i.e. with Crusaders, Mongols, Tartars, etc.) implanted the root of a militaristic, feudal socioeconomic organization In addiresistant to further progress. tion, the scarcity of forests, is menand rivers minerals tioned as a strict the economic factor which has attenuated rate of economic development or brought it to a complete halt. Finally, technological progress on many economic fronts came to a standstill, reversed itself and traced a regressive path. Thus, during their economic decline, Middle Eastern nations experienced a regressive technological transformation for which no convincing explanation is offered in this book or elsewhere, although several alternative hypotheses have been suggested. Scarcity of natural resources cannot be accepted as sufficient reason for such prolonged stagnation and regression of economic life. Modern theorists no longer consider natural resources as a crucial factor of economic growth. Furthermore, war, being in general the manifestation of the interplay of politico-economic factors and forces, cannot be considered as the ultimate cause of prolonged economic stagIn fact, nation. one could reasonably as to why inquire Middle Easterners were on the losing side of most of such wars--except, of course, for intra-Middle East wars. This brings us to a methodological Of the inquiry. sixty-two essays concerning the economic history of a region, studying specific questions of land tenure, taxation and industrialization in various countries, not even one attempts to discuss the question from the Marxist point of view. This, of course, is not an unusual methodological bias. Perhaps a collection of similar articles published in the Soviet Union would have shown a completely reverse bias. But such is the present state of the social sciences. The tastes and interests of a particular reader will influence his evaluation of the various essays. For instance, the article, "The Ethnic Division of Labor," (pp. 114-125) is not only interesting from the socio-economic and historical points of view, describing geo-religious population distribution as the major contributing factor to the ethnic division of labor, but also in revealing the ethnic character of minority groups, i.e. Armenians, Greeks and Jews, and their roles as highly active political, financial and trade agents. For instance, in this essay one reads that Armenians "...often played a very significant intermediary role between government 181

AUTUMN1969

in which and the people, hardly to be praised." brings

The epilogue, us up to date.

they

"1961:

exhibited Shifts

a shrewdness in Economic

which

is

Power,"

forty years, and more particuIn the last in the last ten, three main shifts larly in economic power have taken place in the to nations; from foreigners Middle East: to the industrial, from the landed interest and managerial infinancial, commercial, sector to and from the private terests; the state. points, this epilogue However, at certain In a discussion of Soviet tic in style. stated:

becomes journalisaid to Egypt, it is

we all know that this aid has Of course, attached.' 'with no strings been offered And we also know that Soviet diplomats their Western coununlike and generals, never thump the table with terparts, fists--though they sometimes bang their shoes. But money has a way it with their of talking, and one cannot but feel that the linguistic of the rouble may ability be considerable. of Egypt, of the Aswan Dam in the life However, the importance speaking, is unquestionable. economically and psychologically to help failed fact that Western countries It is a historical it is public Furthermore, this national goal. Egypt realize of Dr. Mossadegh was overthrown knowledge that the government in order to pave the way for a settlement of the oil crisis interests. to outside of 1953, which would be more favorable It such historical facts. can alter No one's "shoe-banging' due to poliis one thing influence to talk about political in the international arena commodity exchange tico-economic of one country and another to discuss economic exploitation by another. Issawi has opened for us a new All in all, Charles of the window through which to view the past and the present This is an extremely important economics of the Middle East. of the field. contribution for the progress

IRANIAN STUDIES

182

British Leiden,

in the Persian Gulf. By Abdul Amir Amin. E. J. Br-ill, 1967. vi + 163 pp. $9.00

Interests Netherlans:

THOMASM. RICKS that in order Professor Hamilton Gibb once wrote for history to be more than a 'meaningless of facts," the sequence historian must attempt "a search of the web for the patterns of human life."l labors in Persian Gulf history, Mr. Amin's a revision of his in the Perdissertation ("British Interests sian Gulf, in an another 1747-1778"), have resulted of example a "meaningless sequence of facts." Coming at a time when Persian Gulf historians, both Western and Iranian, have recently published a combined total of some ten monographs on the area,

a thoroughly

broad but articulate

and meaningful

monograph

would have been most welcomed. The reader be most diswill appointed to know that the present work is yet another catalogue of events, peoples, and dates, cast in the familiar framework of Britain versus the peoples The disof the Gulf. appointment is further heightened that considering Mr. Amin is reporting, for the first time, the results in the of research little-known area of eighteenth century Persian Gulf history. Outside of one other monograph and L. Lockhart's admirable. work on Nadir Shah, few historians have attempted to research

Iran's

eighteenth

century

"time

of troubles'

or the

Gulf

re-

gions. Any hope that a treatment of an earlier period of Persian Gulf/Iranian history nmight allow the nineteenthtwentieth century historian of the Gulf the opportunity to see "the patterns on the web of human life" with is shattered the publication of British Interests. Even when a pattern does emerge from the fog or facts, Foreign Office Reports, names, and events, there is very little of the pattern left that can be called history. The author begins, by way of introduction, with a discussion of Britain's position in the Persian Gulf prior to 1747, noting that up to that time the East India Company and its agents "had so far developed neither distinct political nor strategic interests in the area, for it was mainly interested in protecting and expanding its trade." He then adds that "to enable it (the Company) to carry out this function Thomas

History

M. Ricks

is

a graduate

at Indiana

University.

student

183

in

the

Department

of

AUTUMN1969

(of trade), however, it was obliged to engage in considerable political and military activities." The reader is hard put to distinguish "interests" from "activities,' assuming that the two are in fact distinguishable and not merely opposite sides of the same coin. The point is crucial to understanding the author's thesis that prior to the mid-eighteenth century, the East India Company, representing Britain's economic interests in the Persian Gulf, avoided any extensive political commitments to that region, its sole interest being commerce. The author concludes that during the period under examination (1774-1778), two developments altered British the policy: drastic expansion of British in India and the breakinfluence down of Persian authority in the Gulf. The greater part of the book is subsequently to the effects devoted of that breakdown on the Gulf's and the resulteconomy, Britain's policies, ing "experience" British agents acquired when it came time to enforce and maintain political and military in the control nineteenth century. So much for patterns of history. Relying on such tired myths as the Persian to the sea"2 'invincible repugnance and repetitive cliches such as Nadir Shah's insatiable greed for empire-building and the confusion which reigned "throughout the State" his death, following Mr. Amin pieces together, in the introduction, the histories of Iran, Muscat, the Persian Gulf, and British India from the Gombroon Diary, the Bombay Public Consultation, one or two travelogues, and Lockhart's This two admirable twenty-two pages. works, all within is not an argument for lengthy histories. It is, however, most disappointing that an historian would attempt to treat a period so under-researched and little known as the pre-1747 Persian Gulf with such brevity. The disappointment is compounded with the realization that the remainder of the work is based on such shaky antecedents. It is this writer's view that any attempt to write history, even diplomatic history, about the Persian Gulf in the eighteenth century is doomed to failure until more research is done on the peoples of the Gulf, their institutions, political as well as economic, their states, etc. It is becoming abundantly clear that no amount of Foreign Office Reports, price tables, or European travelGulf history, ogues can serve as the only basis of Persian much less eighteenth century Iranian/Persian Gulf history. in Iran and The time is fast approaching when both historians elsewhere atmust no longer be satisfied with such lopsided or publications as British tempts at historical research of Interests. It is hoped that the level of sophistication will historical research on the Persian Gulf/Iranian history to be ccepted no longer The allow an history history. corollary would interested e-that historians, primarily Western, do not necessarily write interesting or wellIn this respect, researched history. Mr. Amin has done the Persian a great service. Gulf historian Furthermore, his IRANIAN STUDIES

184

initial floundering has led him to several due to an over-reliance on written sources.

serious

pitfalls

Having stated that, prior to the mid-eighteenth century, the East India Company obviated any "distinct political or strategic interests" in the Gulf, Mr. Amin proceeds to stress the importance of the Company's treaties with the Iranian Government for commercial privileges (ragam) at Bandar 'Abbas, the machinations of the Company's Agent, Mr. Savage, at that same port, the Company's constant preoccupation with the strategic importance of Bushire, and Bandar Bahrain, 'Abbas, avowedly for commercial and the sensitivity reasons, of the Council of Bombay towards persons in power at the respective ports, their relationships to Nadir Shah, Karim Khan Zand, or the Pasha of Baghdad. In addition, while maintaining that the breakdown of Persian authority in the post-1747 period rendered necessary "considerable political and military" activity by Britain and the Company, Mr. Amin demonstrates several instances of keen interest on the part of the local chiefs and sheikhs as well as Karim Khan in maintaining control and security in the Gulf precisely because it was bad business not to do so. Moreover, the control in their respective domains was such that, if anything, tribal warfare and "piracy" usually resulted from a too-tyrannical grip on their respective "'clients." Finally, Mr. Amin goes so far as to imply that had it not been for the cooperation of such men as Karim Khan and the Pasha of Baghdad, the British and the East India Company's interests, albeit political, strategic, or commercial, may have all but disappeared long before the nineteenth century. It is unfortunate that Mr. Amin did not research the Persian sources for more detailed information on such an interesting implication. The detail that the reader does get is, unfortunately, more fitting in a history of the East India Company. This is particularly true of the tables of exported goods, the lists of the Persian Gulf agents, their annual salaries and expenses, and selections in the appendices, all provided at the end of the book. At best, the Foreign Office Reports and European travelogues are of dubious value in explaining the motives of Iran's authorities, their poliand strategies. cies, However confusing the organization of materials, the lack of Persian/Arabic sources, and the frequent extraneous detail may be, the misspellings and errors in place-names are certainly baffling. Such mistakes as "wollen' (p. 12), "stample" (p. 25), "verry' (p. 37), "bery" (p. 48), "Comapny's" (p. 58), "ptorect" (p. 88), and "bnt" (p. 113) are irritating and surprising in a Brill publication. But, as difficult as transliterating Near Eastern languages can be, there is little excuse for the inconsistencies of "hormuz' for "Hurmuz," "Muhammed" for "'Muhammad," or errors such as "M. Velly Khan" for "M. Wall Khan,", Kangun" for"Kangan," 185

AUTUMN1969

"Kharag" for "Kharg," 'Bandar Riq" for "Bandar Rig,' and for "Kharku Island." There also seems to be "Cargo Island" little use in writing 'Abu Shahr" for "Bushire.n All misspellings and diacritical quwibbles aside, it seems wholly incomprehensible to supply a map whose actual value has even outlived its historical worth particularly in a work which bristles with place-names so assiduously dotted and underlined. For examples historians now know that an historical landmark such as "Siraf" (Bandar Tahirl) is not opposite Qays Island as Ibn Battuta Not only would a better would have it. map or maps have eliminated the excruciating spelling and errors of location in Neibuhr's rendition, but such statements as "Kangun (a port between Bandar 'Abbis and Bandar Riq)" might have been corrected earlier had the author realized he had placed the port somewhere along 400 miles of the Persian Gulf coast! Mr. Amin has ventured into one of the more difficult histohistorical periods of Persian Gulf history. For this, His attempt to write a diplomatic rians must be grateful. history of the period is, however, disappointing, though hardly his fault altogether. The pitfalls of British Interests of further once more highlight the necessity only too clearly and 'Umani eighteenth research into Iranian, Eastern Arabian, century histories. It is hoped that Mr. Amin's work is only the beginning of such an effort.

NOTES 1.

"Problems of Modern Middle Eastern History," Report Current Research, Spring 1956, Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C., 1956), 1-7.

2.

Sir Percy Sykes, A History of Persia, II, 336. See Hadi Hasan, History of Persian Navigation (London, 1928), 'Abbas Iqbal, dar bab B rain va Jaz'lir va Mutali'ati Savaiil-i Khallj-i Fars (Tehran, 1949), etc.

IRANIAN STUDIES

186

on

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORICAL

SPECIFICITY

and detailed case studies Political narratives dominate the field of Iranian history. Ahmad Ashraf, in his of a article on "Historical Obstacles to the Development Bourgeoisie in Iran," published in the last issue of Iranian Studies (Spring-Summer, 1969), deserves for his aniipraise tious attempt to apply a sociological theory to Iran and to and its histori"provide a structural view of a total society cal development." The theory he chooses to apply and the difficulties he encounters, some comments. however, deserve The central from is derived theory of the article Karl Marx's observations on "Asiatic from Max societies," Weber's concept of 'patrimonial and from Karl government," Wittfogel's controversial book on "Oriental despotism." Using these three sources, the article the "structural stresses differences between the pre-modern history and the preof Persia modern history of the West," and argues that the Iranian bourfrom the beginning geoisie, of the sixteenth century until.the has failed to develop because of 'the superimposition present, of a traditional bureaucratic machinery over the economic structure" of the country. The article emphasizes that even now "the patrimonial nature of domination over the whole society obstructs the development of a modern bourgeoisie." The author, having introduced this central theory at some length, suddenly in two brief sentences injects into the discussion two other factors which have no logical connection with the central theme: "the existence of powerful tribal groups" and "colonial penetration." Thus, an article which had begun with one sociological theory for why the bourgeoisie has failed to develop, soon turns into a multi-factor explanation. In order to test the validity and the importance of the central theory we must first look at some economic factors that have prevented the growth of the bourgeoisie, since the term "bourgeoisie" refers to a social class produced in certain stages of economic development; and, secondly, we must look at the "bureaucratic machinery" and see how far it was responsible for preventing the growth of the bourgeoisie. 187

AUTUMN1969

The problem Ahmad Ashraf has dealt with is an integral part of the wider question of why the Middle East has experienced a slow and prolonged economic decline from the the nineteenth twelfth century until century (see Charles The Economic Hlistory of the Middle East, 1800-1914. Issawi, Chicago: University In genof Chicago Press, 1967, p. 3). eral, economic decline can be caused either by shortage of concrete economic resources, or by socio-political obstacles, or by a combination of both. Ashraf's article rnakes the first element unimportant, and the second all important. Thus, we are given a detailed but we discussion of the bureaucracy, and are told nothing about natural resources, geographical technological factors that have hindered One development. cannot theorize about underdevelopment in Iran without mentioning such obvious obstacles as aridity, the lack of low cost water transportation, and the vast unhospitable distance between urban centers. And one cannot deal with the problem without taking into account technological factors, especially since economists agree that technological progress (production, distribution, and application of new knowledge in economic activity) is an important Befactor in economic development. tween the twelfth and the nineteenth centuries, technology in the Middle East not only stagnated but even retrogressed. For example, the windmill--a source of low cost motive power--was originally invented in Iran in the early Muslim or even preMuslim times, but while it was imported into Europe and extensively used in the Low Countries, it gradually disappeared in the Middle East. We are given no explanation as to how and why any of the factors used by Ahmad Ashraf caused this disappearance. The hypothesis that bureaucratic machines prevent the growth of the bourgeoisie can be challenged both on theoretical and empirical On the theoretical levels. level, one can argue that bureaucracies help the bourgeoisie. The household administrations created by the Tudors in England and the Bourbons in France contributed towards the expansion of trade and paved the way for bourgeois revolutions. Both of these administrations were more like "patrimonial governments" rather than like Weber's feudal or modern political systems. Moreover, the article itself shows that the Iranian bureaucracy has been strong in the three periods when the Iranian bourgeoisie has prospered: during the Safavids, under Reza Shah, and in contemporary Iran. On the empirical level, one cannot prove that the bureaucracy has prevented the development of the Iranian bourgeoisie from 1500 to the present, mainly because there was no worth mentioning bureaucracy in most of these four-and-a-half As the article centruies. correctly and at length describes, the Safavids, at their height (1587-1667), created a strong IRANIAN STUDIES

188

centralized state with a bureaucratic machinery and a standthe shah' sauthority. ing army capable of enforcing What the article does not mention is that they were unable to finance of absolutism, these instruments and consequently, their power 1667. was in sharp decline after (see Ann K.S. Lambton, Landlord and Peasant in Persia. London, 1953. pp. 105-129). until the time The bureaucratic machinery was not recreated of Reza Shah, two-and-a-half centuries later. Thus, we are left with the long period between 1667 and 1925 when there and yet the bourgeoisie was no bureaucracy, failed to develop. to his two To account for this wide gap, the author resorts other factors--the tribes and the colonial powers--but by doing so he relegates in the his main theory to a minor position essay. Finally the only sign of the usage of the economic is a collection data in the concluddiscipline of statistical ing part of the paper. It should be clear that to measure is not to understand; what is needed is an interpretation of the empirical data. PARVIN MANOUCHER ERVANDABRAHAMIAN THE AUTHOR REPLIES:

My essay on "Historical Obstacles to the Development of a Bourgeoisie in Iran" has, fortunately indeed, generated some controversy which I believe will help to clarify a number of vexing issues in this important area of Iranian history. I should like to assert at the outset, however, that the comments made by Parvin and Abrahamian reflect their misperception of the central theme of my essay as well as some of its key concepts. Contrary to Parvin and Abrahamian's characterization of my essay as an "ambitious attempt to apply a sociological theory to Iran," the main objective of the paper, as discussed in some detail in its introduction, was the application of the principle of historical specificity to the course of the historical development of a social phenomenon, i.e., the bourgeoiin Iranian society. sie, This principle transcends both nomothetic and idiographic methodologies and thus, my work, which is an illustrative example of its application, is neither nomothetic nor idiographic. In fact, some of its features are entirely idiosyncratic--the result of a unique history. guideline,

Taking the principle I started my essay

of historical by clarifying 189

specificity the meaning

as a of the

AUTUMN1969

concept in some detail. I then proceeded to construct a typology of the existing approaches to the historical development of Iranian a short exposition society, providing of Marx's and Weber's illuminating concepts relevant to the specificities of Iranian I concluded history. my introductory remarks by citing seven historically specific features of Iranian society, attempting to construct .the central theme of the essay around three objective obstacles historical in the development of an independent I then apbourgeoisie. plied this scheme to five periods of Iranian history from the time of the Safavids to the present. Comparing this outline of the original work with its distorted version presented by Parvin and Abrahamian, one sees the basic problem of the in understanding authors the inner logic of my essay. Parvin and Abrahamian gratuitously refer to what I have presented as necessary conditions as being both necessary and sufficient, in order to make, I suspect, the position they are attacking more vulnerable to criticism. Moreover, they seem to have confused the development of an independent bourwith economic growth in general; geoisie traditional, patrimonial bureaucracy with legal-rational, modern bureaucracy; and the growth of a dependent bourgeoisie with the development of an independent Some clarification bourgeoisie. of these three points may, therefore, be in order. First, the proposition that these factors are "three important objective obstacles to the growth of an independent in Iran," does not indicate bourgeoisie that they are the only factors involved. The causal in economic development, factors however, are not confined to political and economic sets of as indicated elements, by Parvin and Abrahamian. The subjective factor inherent in economic action and other sociological, anthropological, geopolitical, technological and natural factors must also be taken into account. In my essay, however, I chose to deal with objective historical obstacles since the application of the principle of historical specificity, the principle of relevant selectivity, and above all, the interplay of theory and empirical data, had led me to the conclusion that these obstacles provide the most relevant focus of attention. I maintain that in many cases we use history to get rid of it. I do not believe in a historical monograph for its own sake. In an attempt to analyze historical phenomena we should select problems that have relevance to the particular culture in question. In my search for the relevant factors which have shaped the current position of Iranian bourgeoisie, I did not proceed from the past to the present, but from the present to the past. In fact, as indicated in its last footnote, the whole essay should be considered as a historical introduction to an empirical study on the current position and the development of Iranian bourgeoisie. IRANIAN STUDIES

190

Since the basic research problem is an investigation of the nature and the dynamics, as well as the consequences of the relationship of the bourgeoisie to the patrimonial household and the dominant class--as manifested by the subordination of the bourgeoisie to the former and its coalition with the latter--the historical factors have been presented those that are relevant to the objectives of the empirical research. The other sets of factors have not been dealt with simply because they do not constitute the main continuing obstacles to the development of an independent in bourgeoisie Iran. For the same reason the tribal chaos has only. been alluded to. Second, concerning adequate economic explanation, the confusion has arisen from equating the development of an independent bourgeoisie with economic growth as such. Clearly, the bourgeoisie is not the only agent of economic activity; bureaucracy is an alternative agent; and there are, of course, several roads to economic development. Furthermore, in criticizing my work, Parvin and Abrahamian have relied too heavily upon Professor Issawi's short and inconclusive introduction to the Economic History of the Middle East, 1800-1914 (pp. 3-6), ignoring at least three fundamental differences between these two works: First, Issawi is concerned with economic growth, whereas I am concerned with the development of an independent bourgeoisie. Second, Issawi deals with the Arab countries of the Middle East, while I focus on Iran, a country with somewhat different economic cycles of growth and decay. Third, the historical periods used to illustrate these cycles are different in the two works. While Issawi quite properly talks about the "prolonged decline" in the economy of the Arab countries "from about the twelfth century until the nineteenth, followed by a sharp recovery and steady growth to the present day" (p. 3), I discuss the growth of Iranian economy in the seventeenth century, its decay in the eighteenth century, its recovery in the late nineteenth century, its growth in the Reza Shah era, and its upsurge in the recent period--as related primarily to the development of an independent bourgeoisie. Third, concerning the relationship between the bureaucracy and the bourgeoisie, it appears that Parvin and Abrahamian have misunderstood the original hypothesis presented in the essay. According to this hypothesis, the rise of a strong and centralized patrimonial authority has been a significant in bringing factor about economic growth and recovery of trade and industry throughout thirty centuries of Persian history. However, the available evidence indicates that in all these periods the superimposition of the patrimonial authority over trade and industry has impeded the development of an independent bourgeoisie, while facilitating the growth of a ependent one tute

(see for

my essay on "Nezame Feodali ya Social Research, Tehran, 1968).

191

Nezame

Asiaiy,-

Insti-

AUTUMN1969

In conclusion, I may reiterate that due to their basic misperception of a number of key concepts in my essay, notably the principle of historical specificity, Parvin and Abrahamian have made criticisms that are in the main irrelevant, if not misleading. AXMAD ASHRAF

IRANIAN STUDIES

192

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