Qajar Iran

Qajar Iran was the state ruled by the Qajar dynasty, a Turkic tribe that reunified Persia in the late eighteenth century and governed it until the early twentieth.

The dynasty was founded by Agha Mohammad Khan, who ruled as shah from 1789, defeated his rivals to reunite the country after decades of instability following the fall of the Safavids and the death of Nader Shah, established Tehran as the capital, and was formally crowned in 1796. Under his successors, notably Fath-Ali Shah and later Naser al-Din Shah, the Qajars presided over a Persia that retained its independence but faced relentless pressure from the expanding Russian and British empires competing for influence in the region in what became known as the 'Great Game.' Costly wars with Russia early in the nineteenth century resulted in the loss of Persia's territories in the Caucasus through the humiliating treaties of Gulistan and Turkmanchay. Throughout the period, the Qajar state struggled with a weak central administration, limited revenues, and growing economic dependence on European powers, to whom rulers granted concessions over resources, trade, and infrastructure that provoked domestic resentment. Naser al-Din Shah's long reign saw some attempts at modernisation and the introduction of new technologies, but reform was halting. Popular and clerical opposition to foreign concessions and autocratic rule grew, culminating in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911, which forced the establishment of a parliament (Majlis) and a constitution, marking a milestone in Iranian political history despite subsequent setbacks. The dynasty was further weakened by the disruptions of the First World War, foreign occupation, and internal disorder. In 1921 Reza Khan, an officer of the Cossack Brigade, seized power in a coup, and in 1925 the Majlis deposed the last Qajar shah and proclaimed Reza Khan the new ruler, founding the Pahlavi dynasty and bringing Qajar rule to an end.

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