British troops land at Bushehr

The treaty ending the second Russo-Iranian war transferred the khanates of Erevan and Nakhchivan to Russia, imposed an indemnity, and expanded Russian commercial privileges. It formalized a sharp...

Following Muhammad Shah’s death, Nasir al-Din Shah became ruler. His long reign intensified state centralization and foreign borrowing and concessions, while court officials, provincial communities,...

The Báb, founder of the Bábí movement, was executed by firing squad in Tabriz on the order of Qajar authorities. Encyclopaedia Iranica notes disagreement between 8 and 9 July in contemporary accounts....

A group of Bábís attempted to assassinate the Shah near Niyavaran. The attempt failed; state reprisals followed against Bábís and others, including the killing of Táhirih and the torture and execution...

After Qajar forces took Herat, Britain declared war and framed its intervention through the defense of Afghanistan and British India. The episode reflects the imperial strategic logic of the “Great...

Under the treaty, Iran agreed to evacuate Herat and renounce claims over the city and Afghanistan; Britain agreed to withdraw its forces. The settlement privileged British strategic objectives and...

Nasir al-Din Shah granted Baron Julius de Reuter sweeping privileges involving railways, mines, irrigation, forests, and other resources. The concession was exceptional in scope and provoked...

The Qajar government withdrew the Reuter concession amid domestic opposition, Russian pressure, and concern about its extraordinary reach. Iranica and British parliamentary records describe its...

During Nasir al-Din Shah’s third European tour, the government granted Major G. F. Talbot a monopoly over Iran’s tobacco production, sale, and export; it was ratified in 1890. The concession...

A new concession authorized a British-backed Imperial Bank of Persia, which received note-issuing privileges and became a major foreign financial institution in Iran. The deal illustrates how...