A Study of the Causes of Famine in Iran during World War I

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, for various political and economic reasons, the European countries were divided into the Allies and the Central Powers which led to the beginning of World War I. During those years, Iran was politically and economically too weak. Despite the fact that Iran declared neutrality in this war, it attracted the attention of world powers because of its vast oil resources and especial geographical location. In this way, Iran too was affected by the war. At the time Iran had lost its political independence due to certain colonial contracts (e.g., 1907, 1915). With the start of the war, a large group of foreign troops occupied Iran. This in fact was a heavy blow to the economics and agriculture of Iran, and together with the successive droughts, marked the most extreme famine of the century in Iran. Food shortage, high prices, disease contagions, and the pressure of the foreign forces to collect food supplies, increased the mortality rate so much so that almost half of the Iranian population died in dire conditions.