Russian Terrorism in Tehran: A Qajar Princes’ Letters During the “Minor Tyranny” of 1908

Abstract

ABSTRACTDuring the Minor Tyranny of 1908, a daughter of Naser al-Din Shah named Malakeh-ye Iran suffered the indignity of having her house in Tehran plundered when the autocratic Shah attempted to re-assert control over the newly won powers of the democratic Constitutional movement. It is generally thought that the ransacking of her house was due to the sympathetic views towards the Constitutional movement that she shared with her husband, Zahir al-Dawleh and their radical son, Zahir al-Soltan. Malakeh-ye Iran’s letters to her husband, who was in Gilan at the time of the attack, graphically describe this traumatic event and are intriguing because neither her supposed “pro-Constitutional” views are apparent, nor does she blame the autocratic Shah (and her nephew), Mohammad ‘Ali for the destruction of her home. It is to be speculated whether her reluctance to blame and criticise the Shah was due to her family connections or whether she feared that the letters might be intercepted and read by the Shah’s spies. Aside from shedding light on one of the most dramatic periods of the Constitutional Movement, the letters also demonstrate the erudition of a Qajar princess, and the bravery and courage of a hitherto unexplored character whose exploits and role during the Constitutional period deserve greater attention.