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55-426: The council is composed of twenty one members elected on a plurality-at-large voting basis for four-year terms. The chairman and the deputy chairman of the council are chosen by the council at the first regular meeting in odd-numbered years. It holds regular meetings on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am (except on holidays or if decided by special resolution not to meet). Persian Constitutional Revolution passed

110-508: A "brief but violent confrontation" in which Sattar Khan was wounded, Yeprem Khan, the recently appointed police chief of Tehran "succeeded in disarming them". The revolution ended in December 1911 when deputies of the Second Majlis, suffering from "internal dissension, apathy of the masses, antagonisms from the upper class, and open enmity from Britain and Russia", were "roughly" expelled from

165-518: A 50-year monopoly over the distribution and exportation of tobacco in exchange for £25,000 to the Shah personally and £15,000 a year to the state. Iranians cultivated a variety of tobacco "much prized in foreign markets" that was not grown elsewhere, and the arrangement threatened the job security of a significant portion of the Iranian population – hundreds of thousands of workers in agriculture and

220-443: A Muslim not trained in the religious sciences to obey a mujtahid , i.e. a marja' , when seeking to determine Islamically correct behavior.) After this debacle, the new Shah, Mohammad Ali Qajar , understood that he could not use royal prestige and tradition to fight constitutional government. Instead, he would find religious allies. There were clergy on both sides of the dispute. On the side of constitutional government were three of

275-420: A century of successive defeats, an Asian power had defeated a European power, an event that bolstered pride throughout Asia. This feeling was particularly strong in those countries, like Iran, that had experienced Russian penetration and oppression. Many considered it significant that the only Asian power with a constitution had defeated the only Western power without one, and constitutions came to be looked upon as

330-436: A curb on royal authority and the establishment of the rule of law as their concern about foreign (especially Russian) influence grew. The Qajars had taken large loans from Russia and Britain to pay for the Shah's extravagant lifestyle and the cost of the government; the shah financed a royal tour of Europe in 1900 by borrowing ₽22 million from Russia, using Iranian customs receipts as collateral. In 1905, protests erupted about

385-497: A fight in early 1906, government forces killed a sayyid (a descendant of Muhammad ). In a skirmish shortly afterwards, Cossacks killed 22 protesters and injured 100. The bazaar again closed and the ulama went on strike, a large number taking sanctuary in the holy city of Qom . Many merchants went to the British embassy in Tehran , which agreed to shelter the basti on the grounds of

440-654: A financial crisis, with annual governmental expenditures far in excess of revenues as a result of the policies of his father. The monarch, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah signed the 1906 constitution shortly before his death. Weakness and extravagance continued during the brief reign of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (1896–1907), who often relied on his chancellor to manage his decentralized state. His dire financial straits caused him to sign many concessions to foreign powers on trade items ranging from weapons to tobacco. The aristocracy, religious authorities, and educated elite began demanding

495-455: A law on local governance known as "Ghanoon-e Baladieh". The second and third articles of the law, on "anjoman-e baladieh", or the city council , provide a detailed outline on issues such as the role of the councils in the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. Baladieh, or the modern municipality in Iran was established in 1910, to cope with

550-465: A parliament, giving it final approval of all loans and the budget. The majles was endorsed by the leading clerics of Najaf – Akhund Khurasani , Mirza Husayn Tehrani and Shaykh Abdullah Mazandarani . In the late 19th century, like most of the Muslim world, Iran suffered from foreign intrusion and exploitation, military weakness, lack of cohesion, and corruption. In the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and

605-464: The ulama , and a small group of radical reformers – argued that Iran's oil industry was being sold to the British, while tax breaks on imports, exports and manufactured textiles were destroying Iran's economy (which had been supported by the bazaar merchants), and that the shah was selling assets to pay interest on the fortune in foreign debt he had accumulated. It ended in December 1911 when deputies of

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660-668: The Constitutional Revolution of Iran , took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar dynasty . The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia (Iran) , and has been called an "epoch-making episode in the modern history of Persia". The revolution was "the first of its kind in the Islamic world, earlier than the revolution of the Young Turks in 1908 ". It opened

715-533: The Islamic Revolution a new constitution was approved on 2 and 3 December 1979 establishing an Islamic Republic. The Constitutional Revolution began in 1905 with protest against a foreign director of customs (a Belgian) enforcing "with bureaucratic rigidity" the tariff collections to pay for a loan to another foreign source (Russians) that financed the shah's ( Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar ) extravagant tour of Europe. The revolutionaries – mainly bazaar merchants,

770-556: The electoral system and the internal frameworks of the Majlis (Parliament) and the Senate . By the royal proclamation of August 5, 1906, Mozzafar al-Din Shah created this first constitution "for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Persia." Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is credited with chapters 4 and 5. The electoral law of September 9, 1906 defined the regulations for the Elections to

825-485: The majlis ) to the shah's policies. Parliament appointed American lawyer William Morgan Shuster as Persia's treasurer-general. In response, Russia issued an ultimatum to expel Shuster and suspend the parliament, occupying Tabriz . After shelling the Majles (parliament) of Iran in the capital Tehran, 40,000 of Mohammad Ali Shah's soldiers were ordered to attack Tabriz, where Constitutional rebels were holding out. Sattar Khan

880-493: The "secret of strength" of Western governments. The political base of the constitutionalist movement to control the power of the shah was an alliance of the ulama , liberal and radical intellectuals, and the bazaar . But the alliance was based on common enemies rather than common goals. The ulama sought "to extend their own power and to have Shi'i Islam more strictly enforced"; the liberals and radicals desired "greater political and social democracy and economic development"; and

935-450: The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay , Iran lost "Georgia, Armenia, and their Caspian navy" to Russia, "gave up its claims to Afghanistan, and paid an indemnity of three million pounds to the tsar". In the Treaty of Paris (1857) , it agreed to withdraw from Herat (formerly part of Iran) and signed a commercial treaty with Britain. The lack of a standing Iranian army was part of the problem because

990-592: The Elections to the Majlis. (No women, foreigners, men under 25, "persons notorious for mischievous opinions," those with a criminal record, active military personnel, etc. were allowed to vote. Members of the parliament were required to be fully literate in Persian, "Iranian subjects of Iranian extraction," "locally known," "not be in government employment," between the ages of 30 and 70, and "have some insight into affairs of State." The fundamental laws of December 30, 1906 defined

1045-502: The Majlis and threatened with death if they returned by "the shah's cabinet, backed by 12,000 Russian troops". The 1891 fatwa by Mirza Hasan Shirazi that effectively shut down tobacco use in Iran and reversed the monopoly agreement on tobacco, showed the enormous influence of the Usuli Twelver Shi'i clergy among the Iranian people that went beyond issues directly involved with religion. (Usuli Shi'i consider it obligatory for

1100-741: The Majlis. Article 3 of this chapter stated that (1) women, (2) foreigners, (3) those under 25, (4) "persons notorious for mischievous opinions," (5) those with a criminal record, (6) active military personnel, and a few other groups are not permitted to vote. Article 4 stated that the elected must be (1) fully literate in Persian , (2) "they must be Iranian subjects of Iranian extraction," (3) "be locally known," (4) "not be in government employment," (5) be between 30 and 70 years old, and (6) "have some insight into affairs of State." Article 7 asserted, "Each elector has one vote and can only vote in one [social] class." The fundamental laws of December 30, 1906 defined

1155-449: The Second Majlis from the parliament "with the support of 12,000 Russian troops". After the 1921 Persian coup d'état ( Persian : کودتای ۳ اسفند ۱۲۹۹ ), Iran's parliament amended the constitution on December 12, 1925, replacing the 1797–1925 Qajar dynasty with the Pahlavi dynasty as the legitimate sovereigns of Iran. The 1906–1907 constitution, though not adhered to, remained until after

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1210-501: The Second Majlis, suffering from "internal dissension, apathy of the masses, antagonisms from the upper class, and open enmity from Britain and Russia", were "roughly" expelled from the Majlis and threatened with death if they returned by "the shah's cabinet, backed by 12,000 Russian troops". In between there were two different majles (parliaments), a deposed shah and a 1907 division of the country by Britain and Russia capitalizing on Iran's weak government. A new fundamental law created

1265-438: The bazaaris "to restrict favored foreign economic status and competition". The intellectuals were a "small but growing" group, many of whom learned of Western ways while travelling abroad and "were generally struck by Western economic development, comparative justice, and lack of arbitrary rule". In their writings these intellectuals criticized Iran's "autocratic rulers, petty officials, venal clerics, and arbitrary courts, and of

1320-569: The bazaars. This led to unprecedented nationwide protest erupting first among the bazaari , and then the ulama . In December 1891, the most important religious authority in Iran, marja' -e taqlid Mirza Hasan Shirazi , issued a fatwa declaring the use of tobacco to be tantamount to war against the Hidden Imam , using the strongest possible language to oppose the Régie (tobacco monopoly). Bazaars shut down, and Iranians stopped smoking tobacco, Despite

1375-675: The beginning of the constitutional movement, Sheikh Fazlullah Nouri made speeches and distributed tracts in support of the sources of emulation (Shi'i marja' religious leadership) in Najaf and their position on constitutionalism. They all agreed that the people must counter autocracy and injustice with a constitution that limited the powers of the state and a legislature that represented the country. However, when monarch Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar made clear his desire to roll back democracy and reestablish his authority by military and foreign support (in 1908), Shaikh Fazlullah reversed his position and sided with

1430-405: The constitution and bombarded the parliament in 1908 with Russian and British support. This led to a second effort with constitutionalist forces marching to Tehran, forced Mohammad Ali Shah's abdication in favor of his young son Ahmad Shah Qajar , and re-established the constitution in 1909. The revolution ended in December 1911 when the Shah's ministers oversaw the expulsion of the deputies of

1485-514: The country was neutral. In 1908, the shah moved to "exploit the divisions within the ranks of the reformers" and eliminate the majlis , staging a coup d'état and creating a period in Iranian history called the Minor Tyranny . It was at this point that Fazlollah Nori defected from the constitutionalists, helping the shah kill some revolutionaries and bomb the parliament. Persia tried to remain free of Russian influence through resistance (via

1540-469: The embassy. During the summer of 1906, about 12,000 men camped in the gardens of the British embassy in what has been called a "vast open-air school of political science". Demand for a parliament ( majlis ) began, with the goal of limiting the power of the shah. Mozaffar ad-Din Shah agreed on a parliament in August 1906, and the first elections were held that fall. One hundred fifty-six members were elected,

1595-744: The forces that were raised to fight the Russians (for example) were "faction-ridden tribal contingents" and lacked modern artillery. To compensate for his lack of an army, the Qajar Shah would use "loyal tribes", putting down a rebellion by declaring a rebellious city or region "open booty" for the tribe, who would then appear to rape and pillage – a far more destructive means of discipline than arresting and punishing rebels. Major roads between cities that might have appeared to be investments in improving transportation, provided opportunities not for greater trade and prosperity, but for tax collectors to fleece towns along

1650-849: The growing need for the transformation of Tehran's city structures. After the First World War, Reza Shah , the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, immediately suspended the "Ghanoon-e Baladieh" of 1907 and the decentralized and autonomous city councils were replaced by centralist/sectoralist approaches of governance and planning. Persian Constitutional Revolution Revolution: June 1905 – August 1906 Semi-organized groups: [REDACTED] Qajar dynasty Civil war: August 1906 – July 1909 [REDACTED] Parliament Qajar dynasty The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( Persian : مشروطیت , romanized :  Mashrūtiyyat , or انقلاب مشروطه Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh ), also known as

1705-514: The highest level clerics ( marja' ) at the time – Akhund Khurasani , Mirza Husayn Tehrani and Shaykh Abdullah Mazandarani – who telegraphed fatwa in favor of the constitution from their schools in Najaf , Iraq; of the three, Muhammad Kazim Khurasani , (aka Akhund Khurasani) was the most involved in the issue, he and his student Muhammad Hossein Naini argued that while complete justice was impossible until

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1760-526: The imposition of Persian tariffs to repay the Russian loan for Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's royal tour. In December of that year, two merchants in Tehran were bastinadoed for price-gouging. The city's merchants rebelled, closing its bazaar. The clergy followed suit as a result of the alliance formed during the Tobacco Protest . The two protesting groups sought sanctuary in a Tehran mosque, but the government entered

1815-528: The laws of Islam. Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar , the sixth Qajar shah, came to power in January 1907. He opposed the constitution. The British switched their support to the shah, abandoning the constitutionalists. In August of that year, taking advantage of Iran's weakness, the Anglo-Russian Convention was signed, dividing Iran into a Russian zone in the north and a British zone in the south; the center of

1870-411: The low status of women." The "mercantile class" or bazaari became convinced that "law and order, security of property, and immunity from arbitrary power could all be achieved by importing parliamentary democracy" from Europe. The ulama (i.e. Islamic scholars) had less to gain and a less direct incentive to support a constitution, but were convinced (at least for a time) that their "hierocracy vis-a-vis

1925-442: The monarchy" would not be weakened. The tobacco protest of 1891–1892 was "the first mass nationwide popular movement in Iran", and described as a "dress rehearsal for the...Constitutional Revolution", formed from an anti-imperialist and antimonarchist coalition of "clerics, mercantile interests, and dissident intellectuals". In March 1890, Naser al-Din Shah granted a concession to an Englishman, Baron Paul Julius Reuter , for

1980-425: The mosque and dispersed them. The dispersal triggered a larger movement that sought refuge at a shrine outside Tehran. The shah yielded to the demonstrators on January 12, 1906, agreeing to dismiss his prime minister and transfer power to a "house of justice" (forerunner of the Iranian parliament). The basti protesters returned from the shrine in triumph, riding royal carriages and hailed by a jubilant crowd. During

2035-556: The overwhelming majority from Tehran and the merchant class. The National Consultative Assembly first met in October 1906. The shah was old and frail, and attending the inauguration of parliament was one of his last official acts. Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's son, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar , was unsympathetic to constitutionalism; the shah signed the constitution (modeled on the Belgian constitution ) by December 31, 1906, making his power contingent on

2090-473: The popularity of tobacco – which Iranians were said to be less likely to forego than bread  – the religious ban was so successful that it was said that women in the shah's harem quit smoking. The protest demonstrated to the Iranians "for the first time that it was possible to win out against the Shah and foreign interests… there is a direct line from the coalition which participated in

2145-481: The powerful Bakhtiyari tribal leaders threw their support to the Tabriz rebels. Constitutionalist forces marched to Tehran, forced Mohammad Ali Shah's abdication in favor of his young son Ahmad Shah Qajar , and re-established the constitution in 1909. A further split in the revolutionary movement occurred in 1910 when "a group of guerrilla fighters headed by Sattar Khan, refused to obey a government order to disarm." After

2200-424: The price they were paid for wheat harvest dropped to 1/6 what it had been in 1871; irrigation systems had fallen into ruin, "turning fields and villages into desert". In 1872, Nasir al-Din Shah negotiated a concession granting a British citizen control over Persian roads, telegraphs, mills, factories, extraction of resources, and other public works in exchange for a fixed sum and 60% of net revenue. This concession

2255-572: The return of the Hidden Imam, "human experience and careful reflection" shows "that democracy reduces the tyranny of state" making it a "lesser evil" in governance and something Shi'i must support until the return of the Imam; also supporting constitutionalism was Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi , who argued that only the sources of emulation (highest level clerics) should be heeded when it comes to matters of faith. The leader of those opposing constitutional government

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2310-491: The road, and thus "encouraged the local peasants to settle in more distant regions". A survey for the British Foreign Office reported: 'There are large tracts of fertile land which remain waste owing to their proximity to the main roads, as no village having cultivators on such spots can possibly prosper or enjoy the least immunity from the pestering visits of Government officials, and thefts and robberies committed by

2365-522: The role of the Majlis as a bicameral legislature: the National Consultative Assembly was to be based "on justice." and there was to be "another Assembly, entitled the Senate." The Constitutional Amendment of 1907 declared Twelver Shi'ism to be the state religion, and called for a council of five high ranking Twelver Shia clerics to ensure that the laws passed by the parliament were not against

2420-474: The role of the Majlis in the system and its framework. It further defined a bicameral legislature . Article 1 established the National Consultative Assembly based "on justice." Article 43 stated, "There shall be constituted another Assembly, entitled the Senate ." Among the topics discussed in the amendment, was the declaration of Twelver Shi'ism as the state religion and establishment of

2475-613: The shah and his court. Persian Constitution of 1906 The Persian Constitution of 1906 ( Persian : قانون اساسی مشروطه , romanized :  Qānun-e Asāsi-ye Mashrute ), was the first constitution of the Sublime State of Persia ( Qajar Iran ), resulting from the Persian Constitutional Revolution and it was written by Hassan Pirnia , Hossein Pirnia , and Esmail Momtaz , among others. The Constitution

2530-488: The shah's court. Under the Qajar dynasty (1789–1925), foreign (Western) mass-manufactured products, "especially textiles, undermined the traditional handicrafts, and consequently presented for many bazaars a mutual enemy – the foreigner." In Isfahan at least, 10% of "the guilds in this city were weavers; not even 1/5 of those survived" competition with imported textiles. Widows and orphans were hurt, and farmers suffered: by 1894

2585-608: The tobacco movement… culminating in the Constitutional Revolution" and arguably the Iranian Revolution as well, according to Historian Nikki Keddie . The fourth Qajar monarch, Naser al-Din Shah was assassinated on 1 May 1896 by Mirza Reza Kermani , a follower of Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī , when he was visiting and praying in the Shah Abdul-Azim Shrine . At Mozaffar al-Din Shah 's accession Persia faced

2640-435: The tribes.' Perhaps worst of all the indignities Iran suffered from the superior militaries of European powers were "a series of commercial capitulations." While the sales by the shah of titles, patents, privileges, concessions, monopolies, lands, ... high offices" paid for some improvements, such as a telegraph network and in Tehran a regular police force, a municipal civil service, etc., they were also spent on consumption by

2695-458: The way for the modern era in Persia, and debate in a burgeoning press. Many groups fought to shape the course of the revolution. The old order, which Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar had struggled for so long to sustain, was finally replaced by new institutions. Shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signed the 1906 constitution shortly before his death. He was succeeded by Mohammad Ali Shah , who abolished

2750-464: The will of the people, and died three days later. The constitution itself was created by the royal proclamation on August 5, 1906 by Mozzafar al-Din Shah on "for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Persia." The Quran was the foundation of this constitution while the Belgian constitution served as a partial model for the document. The electoral law of September 9, 1906 defined the regulations for

2805-555: Was Fazlullah Nouri . Other opponents included Mullah Qurban Ali Zanjani. Nouri maintained that sharia was a complete code of life, not just for religious ritual, and any other codes were both unnecessary and against Islam. Although he ranked below Marja' religious leaders, he told Shi'i Muslims to ignore the Marja' they followed if that marja' supported democracy. After the parliament was formed, its members stayed in touch with Akhund Khurasani. Whenever legislative bills were discussed, he

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2860-428: Was also in effect during Pahlavi Iran . It divides into five chapters with many articles that developed over several years. The Quran was the foundation of this constitution while the Belgian constitution served as a partial model for the document, which guaranteed each citizen equality before the law, and a safeguarding of personal honour, property and speech. The electoral and fundamental laws of 1906 established

2915-458: Was appointed the commander in chief of High Council, i.e. commander of the constitutionalist forces. By April 1909, the Tabriz rebels had lost large numbers of fighters, but succeeded in driving out royalist forces from the city, and Sattar Khan and his lieutenant Bagher Khan had distinguished themselves as heroes. Inspired by this victory, constitutionalists across Iran set up special committees in Tehran, Rasht, Qazvin, Isfahan and other cities, and

2970-511: Was rolled back after bitter local opposition. Other concessions to the British included giving the new Imperial Bank of Persia exclusive rights to issue banknotes, and opening up the Karun River to navigation. Nikki R. Keddie points out that The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 and the Russian revolution of 1905 gave impetus to an Iranian opposition movement that had been growing since 1901. After

3025-629: Was telegraphed with the details for a juristic opinion. In a letter dated June 3, 1907, the parliament told Akhund about a group of anti-constitutionalists who were trying to undermine legitimacy of democracy in the name of religious law. Akhund Khurasani and the other two members of the trio ( Mirza Husayn Tehrani and Shaykh Abdullah Mazandarani ) replied: اساس این مجلس محترم مقدس بر امور مذکور مبتنی است. بر هر مسلمی سعی و اهتمام در استحکام و تشیید این اساس قویم لازم، و اقدام در موجبات اختلال آن محاده و معانده با صاحب شریعت مطهره علی الصادع بها و آله الطاهرین افضل الصلاه و السلام، و خیانت به دولت قوی شوکت است. At

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