Suchergebnisse

Every ruler defeated by an enemy and unable to maintain himself in another country would come to this land for safety, and be untroubled by the schemes of his foe. The people of Tabaristan have no need of anything brought from another province, and everything that exists in the cultivated world for living a pleasant life can be obtained there. Winter is like autumn in other places and summer like spring; its land is covered with meadows and gardens, so that the eye rests on nothing but greenery. The air from the north is temperate and soft, but due to the proximity of the sea and the multitude of pools, fogs and clouds are sometimes more frequent than in other provinces.—Ibn Isfandiyar,Tārīkh-i Ṭabaristān,1:76, extractsIf anyone blessed with perceptiveness, intelligence, wisdom and an understanding of the times, after reading and contemplating this book, ponders with the eye of reflection and experience the tyranny, heretical innovations and contempt for others that the men of Gilan have constantly displayed, he will know for sure what consequences will follow from ingratitude for benefits received and from violation of the dues owed to an ancient benefactor.—ᶜAbd al-Fattah Fumani,Tārīkh-i Gīlān,5

"The history of modern Iran has been momentous, precarious, and turbulent. The country's struggle with democracy started in 1906 with the Constitutional Revolution that established Iran's first parliamentary democracy and ended in 1921 with a coup d'état that eventually brought a new monarch to power. Sepahdar: Fathollah Khan Akbar is the biography of a consequential player during this period. By the 1880s, Fathollah Khan Akbar had inherited enormous wealth from his uncle, and had added to it from running the Gilan and Mazandaran customs administrations. He was an important provincial landowner who on several occasions had hosted Mozaffar al-Din Shah. However, as the Constitutional Revolution started to take shape and protests hit home, he became involved in national politics and came out in support of the cause and the Majles. Over his forty-year political career, during which he witnessed the rule of five monarchs, Sepahdar experienced setbacks such as imprisonment and kidnapping, as well as victories such as the 1909 "Triumph of Tehran," which he personally financed while exiled from the city by the shah. Throughout these ups and downs, and while Iran had been divided into zones of Russian and British influence, Sepahdar played all sides while maintaining a strong sense of patriotism and independence. During both his short premierships, he repeatedly defied British authorities when Iran's interests were at risk. This book is for those interested in Iran's political history in the first quarter of the twentieth century. It sets out, in granular detail, the events, obstacles, and characters involved in the struggle to form an independent democracy. And it provides much new information, including how Sepahdar and the future Reza Shah Pahlavi collaborated to achieve a coup that was bloodless. As a bonus, the preface by Goli Akbar Kashani, Sepahdar's granddaughter, is suffused with family stories and memories."--Provided by publisher