The Qajar period of Iranian history (1797-1925) is being reinterpreted by historians of modern Iran. Once considered as a time of static backwardness, the period is now more often recognized as an age of dynamic political and social change. Beginning with a brilliant renaissance of literature and arts early in the nineteenth century, Qajar Iran not only was able to hold its independence during the awesome age of Western imperialism, it also managed to transform its traditional tribal society into a modern Iranian nation state.
Hafez Farmayan, a pioneer in the scholarly study of Qajar Iran, was among the first historians to draw attention to the significant social and cultural change taking place during the Qajar period and often under Qajar patronage. This volume of essays by his students, colleagues, and friends attempts to further expand this understanding of Qajar history. After examining the circumstances which led to the establishment of the dynasty, they explore the innovations which took place in education and the arts as well as the changing status of women and the significant trends among the leading intellectual figures of the period.
Travel, both by Iranians abroad and foreigners to Iran, played a key role in reshaping Iranian perceptions of neighboring countries and more distant ones. A number of essays explore this theme by surveying the burgeoning travel literature during the Qajar era; travel by Iranians to the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Japan; and travel by Russians and the British to Iran. They show, in ways that should be of interest to scholars interested in the general phenomenon of “transculturation” in the age of imperialism as well as to Iran specialists, how travel to and from Qajar Iran contributed significantly to changing material conditions, social values, and intellectual perspectives.