Book Cd. 4581, 1909, and partly from letters and despatches to

the leading journals of London and New York.

The Shah, Muzaffer-ed-Din, who came to the throne in 1896, on the assassination of his father, Nâsr-ed-Din (see, in Volume VI. of this work, PERSIA), was credited with a desire to reform the government of his kingdom, and made considerable effort to that end in the early years of his reign; but the adverse forces controlling his court were too strong for him, and he seems to have yielded to them completely at last. He was surrounded by a corrupt ring which lived on the spoils of government, and piled debt upon debt. Under the last of the Grand Viziers (Atabegs, or Atabeks) who ruled Persia in his name before the outbreak of revolution, "governments were put up for sale, grain was hoarded and sold at extortionate prices, the Government domains were stolen or sold for the benefit of the conspirators, rich men were summoned to Teheran (or Tehran) and forced to disgorge large sums of money, oppression of every sort was countenanced for a consideration; the property, and even the lives, of all Persian subjects were at their mercy. {482} Finally, there was every reason to believe that a conspiracy was on foot to dethrone the foolish and impotent Shah and to oust the Valiahd [heir to the throne]. In their place was to be put the Shooa-es-Sultaneh, the Shah’s younger son, who was a by-word even in Persia for extortion and injustice. The policy of the Atabeg and his friends had thus aroused the opposition of all classes in Persia: of the few more or less patriotic statesmen, who knew to what a goal the country was being led; of the priests, who felt that their old power and independence would perish with that of their country; and of the great mass of the population and the mercantile classes, who were the daily victims of the tyranny of their oppressors. In December [1905] the storm broke. The Governor of Tehran, without any just cause, ordered an aged Seyed to be cruelly beaten. A large number of the prominent Mujteheds took ‘bast’ [refuge] in the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim, near the capital."

The "taking of ‘bast,’" or refuge, in some sanctuary or other place of protection, is an old Persian mode of political protest or demonstration, to command attention to public discontents. In 1848 the chief persons of the Empire had taken refuge with the English and Russian Legations in order to obtain the exile of a tyrannical Minister, Mirza Aghassi, and since then it had been the custom of persons who had grievances against their own Government to take refuge under the shelter of a foreign Legation. The "Mujteheds" mentioned in the above quotation as having resorted to this expedient in December, are the higher and more influential of the Mohammedan priests in Persia, distinguished from the Mullahs or common priests, whose ranks are open to any believer who can read the Koran and who assumes to interpret its laws.

The Government used vain endeavors of bribery and intimidation to break up the "bast" at the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim. The refugees had stirred up the whole country by a published statement of grievances, appealing to the patriotism of the people, and the Shah surrendered to the effect produced. He made promises of a grant of popular representation, and of administrative reforms. By the end of January a promising state of affairs seemed to have been brought about. "The refugees were brought back to Tehran in the Shah’s own carriages, escorted by an enthusiastic crowd." But dissensions between the popular leaders and the Mujteheds soon arose. "No definite step was taken to give effect to the Shah’s promises, except a vague letter promising Courts of Justice and a new Code, and the appointment of a Council to consider the whole question of reforms. In this Council it soon became evident that the Government could control the leaders of the reform movement, and that the sympathies of the great Mujteheds were not heartily with the popular movement. All was outwardly quiet in Tehran, but in the provinces the people of Shiraz and Resht had taken violent measures to prevent the reappointment of the Shah’s sons as their Governors, and the movement in both cases was successful. In the capital itself the streets and the bazaars were quiet, but every day sermons were preached in the mosques, in which, as one of the popular party said, ‘What we hardly dared to think a year ago was openly spoken.’ The best-known preacher of Tehran, a Prince of the Imperial house, preached every Friday against the tyrannies and corruption of the Government. An order for his expulsion was issued. The chief Mujteheds, incited by the people, pressed the Government to withdraw the measure, and the Government had to yield."

In the middle of May the Shah had a paralytic stroke and was removed to the country. For some weeks there was a lull in the popular agitation. Then, early in July, the principal Mujteheds were roused by the conduct of the Grand Vizier to a fresh preaching of revolt. On the 11th the Vizier ordered the arrest of one of the preachers; a crowd of people attempted to rescue him, and was fired on by the troops. General rioting in the capital ensued, with victory, for a time, on the side of the people; but in the end the Government appeared to have won the day. "The town was in the hands of the troops. The popular leaders had fled. The Shah was in the hands of their opponents. For the popular party the outlook was a grave one."

In these circumstances the leaders had recourse again to the "bast," and this time in a Foreign Legation.

"On the evening of the 9th fifty Mullahs and merchants appeared at the Legation and took up their quarters for the night. Their numbers soon increased, and on the 2nd September there were about 14,000 persons in the Legation garden. Their conduct was most orderly. The crowd of refugees was organized by the heads of the guilds, who took measures to prevent any unauthorized person from entering the Legation grounds. Tents were put up and regular feeding places and times of feeding were provided for. The expense was borne by the principal merchants. No damage of a wilful character was done to the garden, although, of course, every semblance of a bed was trampled out of existence, and the trees still bear pious inscriptions cut in the bark. Colonel Douglas, the Military Attache, kept watch over the Legation buildings, but no watch was needed. Discipline and order were maintained by the refugees themselves.

"The Government sent answers to the popular demands, which they requested Mr. Grant Duff to read to the people. The Government communications were received with derision. At last there appeared to be no other resource than a personal appeal to the Shah. The people stated firmly that unless their demands were granted they would remain in the Legation, as it was their only place of safety, and they maintained that until the Shah knew what was the real situation their requests would never receive due consideration. Mr. Grant Duff obtained the consent of His Majesty’s Government, and announced to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that he demanded an audience. An audience was fixed for the 30th July. The audience, however, never took place. The Commander of several of the Tehran regiments, on whom the Minister of the Court and the Grand Vizier chiefly depended, made the fatal announcement that his troops would not serve against the people, and that they were on the point of themselves taking refuge in the British Legation. The Court party yielded. The Sadr Azam [Grand Vizier] resigned, and the Azad-ul-Mulk, head of the Kajar tribe [the tribe of the imperial dynasty], proceeded to Kum in order to inform the refugee Mullahs that the Shah had granted their demands for a National Assembly and for Courts of Justice.

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"The chief difficulty which then confronted Mr. Grant Dull was that the people had entirely lost confidence in their own Government, and declined to treat with them except through the British Representative. When the Government made the announcement of the projected reforms, the people answered that they would not accept the promise of the Government unless it was confirmed and guaranteed by the Government of the King of England. This was naturally impossible. Acting under instructions, Mr. Grant Duff informed the refugees that he could do no more for them, and entirely declined to guarantee the execution of the Shah’s Decrees. The Government then attempted to come to an arrangement direct. It failed. The popular leaders rejected the Shah’s Decrees as vague or inadequate, and where posted up in the city they were torn down and trampled on. In this extremity the Government again appealed to Mr. Grant Duff and begged him for his assistance. At his suggestion a meeting took place at the residence of the new Grand Vizier, the late Minister for Foreign Affairs, between the Government and the popular leaders. After a long discussion, at which Mr. Grant Duff took no part except when questioned, an agreement was arrived at, and an amended Rescript published which definitely promised a National Representative assembly [in the Persian language a Mejlis or Medjliss] with legislative powers. The Rescript was read out in the British Legation to the assembled refugees and was received with enthusiasm. … On the night of the 16th the Mujteheds returned amid popular plaudits, and on the 18th a grand meeting was held in the Palace precincts as a sort of earnest of the National Assembly."

The Court party, however, had only suffered an appearance of defeat. It spent the next week "in gradually paring down all the Shah’s promises, and in the production of a Rescript in which the original project of the Constitution was hardly recognizable. The late Grand Vizier, who had lingered in the neighborhood, suddenly returned to his country seat near the Shah’s residence, and the Shah absolutely refused to sign the Regulations for the Assembly. The popular excitement was intense. Notice was served on Mr. Grant Duff that the people would again take refuge in the Legation, if necessary, by force. About twenty-five of the leaders actually did take up their quarters there. It seemed as if the disturbances were about to break out anew." But now the Russian Minister came into cooperation with Mr. Grant Duff, in representations to the Shah that overcame the evil influences by which he was swayed. Regulations for the election of delegates to the Assembly were now signed; but fresh difficulties arose from the refusal of provincial governors to carry them out. These in turn were overcome and the elections were held. "Meanwhile it had been decided, in order to avoid delay, that the Tehran Members of the Council should meet at once, without waiting for the provincial Delegates, and the first session of the new Assembly was opened [October 7, 1906] by the Shah himself, in the presence of the priests, the Court, and the foreign representatives. … The provincial Members arrived one by one as they were elected, and as yet there are many vacant places, the provinces not showing much alacrity in electing their Members. The Assembly soon showed its power. It refused absolutely to consent to the Anglo-Russian advance [of a preferred loan] on the ground that the public revenues ought not to be pledged to foreigners. It announced its intention of instituting reforms, especially in the finances of the country, and of providing itself the necessary funds for carrying on the Government by founding and endowing a National Bank. But, before taking any steps of this nature, it insisted on having a signed Constitution. A Committee was nominated to consider the terms of the Constitution, and, in consultation with a Committee named by the Government, a Constitution was drawn up and submitted to the Chamber." It did not satisfy the popular demand and scenes of confusion followed; but in the end it was amended and approved, and, on the 1st of January, 1907, the important instrument, ratified by the Shah and by the Valiahd—the heir to the crown—was delivered to the Assembly and received with joy. One week later, on the 8th of January, the Shah died.

The text of the Constitution, as translated for communication to the British Government, is given in this Volume under the heading—CONSTITUTION OF PERSIA.

PERSIA: A. D. 1907 (January-September). The new Shah, Mohammed Ali. His evil surroundings. Hostility between him and the Assembly. Prime Ministry of Atabeg-i-Azam. The Government without money. Inaction of the Assembly. Discouragement of the Atabeg. His assassination.

The new Shah, who assumed the crown under the name or title of Mohammed Ali Shah, professed acquiescence in the constitutional change which the nation had forced his father to accept; but those who knew him appear to have expected that he would act a perfidious part. That improved conditions in the country were far from settled became apparent very soon. As early as the 30th of January, Sir C. Spring-Rice, who had succeeded Mr. Grant Duff as the diplomatic representative of Great Britain, wrote to his Government: "I regret to state that the prospects of a good understanding between the Shah and the popular party are still remote. The _entourage_ of the Shah, especially his father-in-law, the Naib-es-Sultaneh, is personally interested in the continuance of the existing abuses; and their influence has certainly made itself felt to a regrettable extent, and has led to increasing agitation against the Shah himself. On the other hand the action of the popular Assembly has not been such as to lead to conciliation."

The precariousness of the situation in the country, the paralysis of government and the prevalence of disorder during a number of months following, may be indicated sufficiently by a few passages from the despatches of Sir C. Spring-Rice and Mr. Charles M. Marling, Charge d’Affaires to the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey:

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_February 27, 1907._ "It is clear that a national movement of a semi-political and semi-religious character does exist and is spreading. The great Mujteheds of Kerbela are now entering on the scene, and delegates are being sent out from the capital to the provinces to preach the principles of liberty. Patriotism, of a distinctive Persian type, has always been the characteristic of the Shiite believers. The present Shah of Persia has no religious status, and, in the view of the religious leaders, no fundamental right to the allegiance of the Persians, whose real chief is no living King, but the twelfth Imam, the coming Messiah, even now present on the earth, though unseen. The patriotism of the Shiite does not therefore centre in the person of the Kaliph, but is, or can be, of a highly revolutionary character."

_May 23._ An "important question has arisen in relation to an addition to the Constitution, guaranteeing equal treatment for all Persian subjects, irrespective of their creed. The mullahs protested. Of the three great Mujteheds, only one—Seyid Mohamed—declared in favour of it. The others, supported by a large body of the clergy, maintain that Mussulman law must be enforced in a Mussulman country. The clerical world is divided on the subject. A large number of the priests, headed by Seyid Mohamed and the popular preacher Sheikh Jamal-ed-Din, declare openly that the law of Mahommed is a law of liberty and equality, and that those who say otherwise are traitors to their country and unworthy of their religion. The representative of the Parsees informs me that he has great hopes that a decision will be taken favourable to toleration; but the matter is still in suspense."

"The Atabeg-i-Azam [about whom something will be told below] arrived at Tehran the 26th April, and was formally appointed President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of the Interior on the 2nd May. He proceeded to the National Assembly on the 4th May, accompanied by his whole Cabinet, and made a statement of policy."

"The tone of the local press is getting more and more democratic, and new papers are constantly appearing. There are at present nearly thirty papers published in Tehran alone, including several dailies. Papers are also published in nearly all the provinces, and a Persian paper of a very anti-dynastic tone is published at Baku and widely circulated in Persia. Anonymous pamphlets are also widely spread in Tehran as before. A number of them are printed at Baku, and are remarkable for their inflammatory character. The Tehran pamphlets are chiefly directed against the Atabeg-i-Azam and the Government."

_June 18._ "The financial condition of the Government is, if possible, worse than ever. The police of the capital are on strike; it has been found almost impossible to scrape together money enough to induce the Tehran troops to leave for the scene of the rebellion."

"The Government would, if it dared, borrow abroad to meet its present liabilities. But, in view of the popular sentiment, it does not resort to a foreign loan. It appeals to the Assembly for help, in the form of subscriptions to the proposed National Bank. The answer it receives is that the people will subscribe as soon as the rich nobles, who are known to have large sums of money, show the way. This the rich refuse to do. As to raising money by taxation, the Assembly appears to be convinced that as soon as the Government has any money in hand it will use it for the destruction of the Medjliss. Any effective control of expenditure is regarded as quite out of the question. The exasperation against the Shah is rapidly increasing."

"There is a considerable difference between the north and the south. In the south the popular movement has an almost farcical character; it turns on personal or pecuniary questions. In the north there appears to be a more or less definite political aim and a keen sense of patriotism. So far there is no sign of an anti-foreign outbreak."

_July 19._ "The general condition of the whole country is undoubtedly bad, and is probably slightly worse than last month. The disturbances at Tehran have been chiefly brought about by artificial means to serve the purposes of the reactionaries. There seems, however, no reason to regard it as dangerous, though the Government has every appearance of being bankrupt, and artificial demonstrations are of daily occurrence. There is so far no reason to fear an outbreak and consequent danger to foreign lives or property."

_August 15._ "The Assembly still continues to sit, and it celebrated the anniversary of the grant of the Constitution amid great scenes of popular enthusiasm. But it has done, and is doing, nothing of practical value. Its proceedings are disorderly, and it comes to no decision. The covert opposition of the Shah and his friends is conducted with considerable skill through a section of the priestly party, who are heavily subsidized. They have obtained some measure of success, and the reactionary forces show a considerable amount of vigour. But the popular leaders are not seriously afraid of these enemies, and confidently maintain that the restoration of autocracy in Persia is now impossible. The chief enemies of the Assembly are its own members."

"The Atabeg is in a state of great depression, is afraid for his life, distrustful of the Shah, and professes that he is anxious to resign. He is useful as a man holding a middle position between Shah and people, and possessing great experience and knowledge of the country, but he is quite incapable of organizing or administering a Government or of carrying out any thorough-going reform."

_September 13._ "On the evening of the 30th ultimo the Atabeg called on me and talked at length on the political situation. The general tenor of his observations was that the Shah would withdraw his opposition, the Medjliss would work with the Government, and that very shortly the Government would be able to put an end to the disorder which reigned in the country. I never saw him in better spirits.

"The next day [August 31] the Atabeg and the Ministers repaired to the Palace and requested the Shah to accept their resignations unless he would solemnly pledge himself to cooperate with the Government and the Medjliss. They obtained the promise in writing, and repaired in a body to the Assembly. The proceedings of the Assembly on that day were on the whole harmonious and satisfactory. The Atabeg read the Shah’s statement, and explained that the Government and the Assembly would now be able to proceed to the serious work of reform. There was some opposition, but it was overruled. The majority of the Members showed their sympathy with the Government.

{485}

"The Atabeg left the Assembly accompanied by the principal Mujtehed, Seyed Abdullah. They reached the outer door of the Palace inclosure, and had just parted when the Atabeg was shot and killed. One of his assailants was captured, but wounded his captor and escaped; another, finding himself surrounded, shot himself. …

"For some time lately rumours have been spread abroad through the local press and by word of mouth to the effect that the Atabeg was in secret collusion with the Shah, for the overthrow of the Assembly and the sale of the country to Russia. Statements to this effect reached me from Members of the Assembly. There can be no doubt as to the genuineness and intensity of the feeling against the Atabeg. A French doctor, who attended one of the assassins some time before the murder, assured Mr. Churchill that he and his friends were quiet and respectable persons of the middle class, imbued with the strongest feeling of patriotism, and ready to devote their lives to the service of their country. The attacks on the Atabeg had lately gained in virulence, and had attracted universal attention. … Popular sentiment approved the murder, and the assassins were regarded as saviours of their country. The streets of Tabreez were illuminated. The result of the Atabeg’s murder is for the time to disorganize the whole system of government."

In a recent book on Persia, by W. P. Cresson, the writer, an American, who had visited the country during the final Ministry of the Atabeg Azam, and had talked with him, describes him with admiration, having been especially impressed with his liberality of views and his knowledge of European and American affairs. In his periods of exile from Persia (which occurred several times in the course of his public life) he had visited both Europe and America and studied them well.

PERSIA: A. D. 1907 (August). Convention between Great Britain and Russia relative to Persia.

See (in this Volume) EUROPE: A. D. 1907 (AUGUST).

PERSIA: A. D. 1907-1908 (September-June). A series of Political Overturnings. The Shah deserted. Temporary Supremacy of the Assembly. Nasr-ul-Mulk Premier. Addition to the Constitution. The Shah’s attempted Coup d’État and failure. Attempted Assassination of the Shah. His successful second Coup d’Etat. The Assembly dispersed and its dissolution proclaimed. New Elections promised.

The assassination of the Atabeg Azam was followed soon by a strange series of overturnings in the political situation, outlined, and but slightly explained in the following excerpts from despatches of the British Legation at Tehran:

_September 13, 1907._ "A deputation recently called on the Mushir-ed-Dowleh [former Grand Vizier] and asked him to take office. He refused unless he was provided with money. He said that he would not take the dangerous responsibility of accepting a foreign loan, and that unless the Persian people supplied the funds necessary to carry on the Government, or consented to the Government finding funds elsewhere, all government would be shortly impossible."

_October 2._ "Shah has been solemnly informed by a Committee composed of Princes, high military and civil officials, and great landlords, and including all the reactionaries of prominence, that, unless he maintains the Constitution and works with the Medjliss their support will be withdrawn from the throne. The usual reassuring answer was returned by His Majesty. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, whose position is very precarious owing to the strike in his own Department, is opposed to them, but the head of the new Government has promised them support. The members of the Committee yesterday took a solemn oath of fidelity to the Constitution in the Assembly, where they had repaired for the purpose. Excepting support of the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Shah is now practically isolated, though he is supposed still to entertain reactionary views."

_October 3._ "Saad-ed-Dowleh has been dismissed from post of Minister for Foreign Affairs."

_October 10._ "The Mushir-ed-Dowleh died very suddenly on the evening of the 13th September.

"On the 27th September the Princes and civil and military officials of note, who had up till then formed the reactionary party, presented an ultimatum to the Shah declaring their adhesion to the Constitution and the National Assembly, and threatening to sever all connection with the throne should His Majesty not cooperate with the National party. … There was little on the surface to indicate the sudden _volte-face_ of the reactionaries. The chief cause must undoubtedly be reckoned to be fear. The murder of the Atabeg … and the suspicion that the sudden death of Mushir-ed-Dowleh was not due to natural causes, had unquestionably produced a very deep effect. …

"The result of the first year’s work of the Assembly has been on the whole rather negative, but at least it has succeeded in asserting its will against the influence of the Shah and clergy, and has now a reasonable prospect of being able to start on the path of reconstruction."

_October 25._ "New Ministry has been formed under presidency of Nasr-ul-Mulk, reappointed Minister of Finance. Most important members are Mushir-ed-Dowleh, son of the late Mushir-ed-Dowleh, Foreign Affairs; Sanied-Dowleh, Interior; Mukhber-es-Sultaneh, Justice."

_November 27._ "I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a full translation of the text of the Constitutional Law as passed by the National Assembly and signed by the Shah on the 8th of October.

[This addition of articles to the Constitution signed by the Shah on the 30th of December, 1906, will be found, in this Volume, appended to that instrument, under CONSTITUTION OF PERSIA.]

The Law reduces the Sovereign to practical impotence, but by far its most important part is that defining the powers of the Tribunals. Articles 71 and the succeeding Articles, though ambiguously worded, intentionally so, will, if carried into execution, deal a deadly blow at the judicial powers of the Mollahs."

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_December 15._ "Disorders are threatening here. Violent speeches, denouncing the Shah and demanding the exile of the Shah’s Chief Adviser and Agent, Saad-ed-Dowleh and Amir Bahadur Jang, were made yesterday at a popular meeting at the principal mosque. The Ministry has resigned, but the Shah refuses to accept resignation. This morning an excited crowd gathered outside the Assembly, but was dispersed by armed men sent by the Shah."

_December 15._ "Ala-ed-Dowleh, who was sent to the Palace by the Assembly with a message, and another brother of President of Assembly were arrested by the Shah at 3 o’clock this afternoon. Shah sent for Prime Minister at 5 p. m., put chains on him, and threatened to kill him five hours after sunset. I have sent to demand assurances for Nasr-ul-Mulk’s safety from the Palace, and am requesting co-operation of Russian Minister."

_December 16._ "Nasr-ul-Mulk is exiled, and leaves for Resht to-day. As he fears Shah will attempt his life on the way, he begged me to send a member of the Legation with him, as was done when the late Atabeg was sent to Kum in 1897. This, I said, I was for the moment unable to do. I am, however, sending two gholams. On his arrest the Assembly dispersed, and the Anjumans, on which its real power rested, remained inactive. The other Ministers have all resigned. They were summoned to the Palace and were practically under arrest there till they also left the Palace when Nasr-ul-Mulk was released by my demand on his behalf. … Armed partisans of Shah have occupied principal square since midday yesterday. For the present his coup d’état seems to be successful. The Committees are collecting armed round the Assembly this morning. There is no sign of danger to Europeans, and there has been as yet no fighting."

_December 17._ "More armed ruffians are being brought into the town and are congregating in Cannon Square, supported by troops and guns. … Round the Medjliss building the Anjumans [popular associations] are again assembling armed."

_December 18._ "No Government has been formed. The popular party is acting strictly on the defensive, and the Committees are still guarding the Assembly. The Shah last night conceded the Assembly’s demands, which are moderate."

_December 22._ "Russian Minister and I have just come back from the Palace. He laid the situation before the Shah with the utmost frankness, and the strongest assurances that he would respect and uphold the Constitution were given us by His Majesty. Steps are now being taken by us to let the Constitutionalists understand that it is incumbent upon the two Legations to see that the Shah observes the pledges he has given us."

_December 31._ "Meantime [after the interview, above reported, with the Shah], the general situation had become more threatening. The Tabreez Anjuman [local assembly or Committee] had succeeded in circulating throughout Persia the threat of deposing the Shah, and the larger cities, where the idea of constitutional government has taken root, appeared to be greatly excited. Telegrams promising armed support against the Shah had been received from Shiraz, Ispahan, Resht, Kazvin, Kerman, and Meshed, and signs of sympathy had come in from other quarters. In Tehran itself, despite unmistakable signs that the Shah must yield, as he did late in the afternoon, the excitement against His Majesty was, if anything, more marked."

"It has been difficult to find a method of conveying the Shah’s guarantee in a manner agreeable to the susceptibilities of the Assembly. However, on Friday Mushir-ed-Dowleh furnished M. de Hartwig with a rough draft of a declaration which we might each communicate to the President of the Assembly, and taking this as the basis we prepared a letter in French."

_January 2, 1908_. "Although Tehran is now relatively quiet, and the provinces have been much less affected than might reasonably have been apprehended by the knowledge of what was happening at the capital, I fear that relief is only temporary, and that Persia is drifting nearer and nearer to complete anarchy. The struggle between the Shah and his people has resulted in a complete victory for the latter, but I am not sanguine that the prospects of the establishment of constitutional government on a durable basis have been much improved thereby. For the moment, indeed, the Shah has been completely cowed, and is now retired into the Anderoon [harem]."

_January 29._ "In the early days of the month, though externally the town was quiet enough, it seemed as though another crisis might occur. The Shah, after a few days’ comparative inactivity, recommenced his campaign against the Assembly."

_February 28._ "The Shah, who had not been out of the Palace since he paid his state visit to the National Assembly on the 12th November, 1907, was proceeding at 3 p. m. to his country seat at Dochantapeh when a determined attempt was made on his life. The procession was formed of a motor-car in front and a carriage behind, with the usual escort of horsemen and running footmen. A little way past the house of the Manager of the Imperial Bank, and before reaching that of the Zil-es-Sultan, a fusillade was opened on the motor-car, in which it was supposed the Shah rode, by some persons from the adjoining roofs, who evidently could not see into the vehicles from their elevated position. Two bombs were then thrown at the motor-car completely shattering it, and killing two persons and wounding about seven others. The Shah, who was seated in the carriage behind the motor-car, immediately emerged and took refuge in a neighboring house."

_April 24._ "While … the general condition of Persia has been more tranquil, at the capital all the indications show but too clearly that the struggle between the Shah and the Enjumens [Committees or Associations] has lost none of its bitterness. I say advisedly the Enjumens, for in the last trial of strength, in which the Shah was again worsted, the Assembly played a very small part indeed."

_May 21._ "The condition of the country is going from bad to worse, and the feeble Government is absolutely unable to do anything to restore a decent degree of order, and even if money were forthcoming, it is in the last degree improbable that without foreign assistance any serious measure of reform can be undertaken."

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_June 8._ "On Saturday morning, the 6th June, an apparent reconciliation between the Shah and the popular party took place, but the next morning it was reported to His Majesty that a telegram had been sent to Zil-es-Sultan [one of the royal princes, and an aspirant to the throne] at Shiraz by the Eujumens asking him to come to Tehran and assume the Regency. The same evening the Zil’s eldest son, also Serdar Mansur, Ala-ed-Dowleh, and Azad-ul-Mulk, the Head of the Kajar tribe [the imperial tribe] who took part in the agitation last week, were arrested by the Shah."

_June 23._ "About 6 o’clock this morning twenty Cossacks were sent by the Shah to arrest eight persons who were in the mosque adjoining the Assembly House. The demand for the surrender of these persons met with a refusal, and a shot was fired from the mosque. Fighting then started, and is still continuing. The number of people killed is said to be large. Guns are being used by the Shah’s troops."

_June 23._ "The Assembly building and the mosque have been cleared by the Shah’s forces, and the meeting-place of the Azerbaijan Enjumen has been destroyed. The Shah has arrested the Chief Mujtehed, Seyyid Abdullah, the Sheikh-ul-Reis, and some ten other alleged leaders of popular party. The Cossack Brigade has lost forty men. The loss on the other side is said to be very small, but the exact number is unknown. A state of siege has been proclaimed and the Enjumens have dispersed. Some shops and houses, including that of the Zil-es-Sultan, and the Assembly building, have been pillaged."

_June 25._ "The first shot was undoubtedly fired by the people in the mosque and Assembly, among whom some Deputies were included. I believe that every preparation had been made to clear the mosque by force if this proved necessary. In any case, the Shah had reasonable ground for taking strong measures, as the attack was made by the popular party on the troops. …

"Efforts are being made to catch Deputies, and several, including the President of the Assembly, have already been arrested. The Enjumens seem to be cowed; their supporters are falling away, and the Shah has complete mastery. Yesterday morning two prisoners were strangled at the Shah’s camp, and there are about thirty persons, other than Deputies, under arrest. There are now in the Legation fifty refugees.

"There has been fighting in Tabreez between the popular party and the Shah’s partisans. There is no sign from the other provinces, and the Zil-es-Sultan is trying to dissociate himself from the agitation."

_June 26._ "A Proclamation stating that the present Assembly is dissolved has been issued by the Shah. Proclamation announces that new elections will be held in three months, and a Senate will be formed."

PERSIA: A. D. 1908-1909. Final Hostilities between the Shah and the Supporters of the Constitution. Tabriz the Center of a Revolutionary Movement. Entrance of the Bakhtiari into the Struggle. Siege of Tabriz and its Relief by the Russians. Capture of Teheran by the Nationalists and Bakhtiari. Deposition of the Shah. A child enthroned.

The occurrences of June, narrated above, were at the beginning of the final outbreak of hostilities between the partisans of the Shah and the supporters of the Constitution, which soon ran into actual civil war.

When the Shah had established his authority at Teheran, Tabriz became the center of popular opinion on the side of the Constitutionalists, or Nationalists, and the main seat of their strength. Fighting began there on the 23d of June, simultaneously with the conflict at Teheran, and continued intermittently and indecisively throughout July and August, at the end of which time the Nationalists were said to be 10,000 strong. On the 24th of September the Royalists began a bombardment of the town, with five guns, to which the Nationalists responded vigorously with four. October 10th the Nationalists assumed the offensive, attacking the camp of the besiegers, routing their cavalry, and securing possession of a desirable bridge.

On the 24th of September, under pressure from the representatives of Great Britain and Russia, the Shah decreed that a Mejlis (National Assembly) "composed of religious and proper persons, will, by the help of God and the favor of the 12th Imam, be convoked by us for the 19th Shavval"—that is, November 14—and that a law of elections should be made known by October 27. The latter date passed without producing the promised election law and no elections followed in November; but on the 8th of the latter month the Shah’s partisans organized a "demonstration" at Teheran against the Constitution, on the strength of which the mendacious sovereign replied to British and Russian remonstrances against his faithlessness by saying that "a large section of the population regarded a constitutional regime as contrary to their religion." Presently, on the 22d of November, he issued a rescript proclaiming that the Ulema had declared such an institution as a Parliament to be contrary to Islam and therefore he would not convoke it.

Early in 1909 the revolt first organized at Tabriz became rife in many parts of the nominal Empire of the Shah, both north and south. On the 25th of January _The Times of India_, published at Bombay, where commercial and political interests in Persian affairs are equally keen, described the situation then existing as follows: The "news from Persia is extremely grave, because it indicates the collapse of the Shah’s authority from north to south. The Anjumans [Enjumens—a term which seems to be applied to local assemblies and to all political associations alike] of Astrabad and Lahidjan have repudiated the present regime. This means that the Caspian littoral is being lost to the Shah. What is of even greater consequence is that the spread of the revolt to Lahidjan may mean the cutting off of the trade with Teheran via Resht, which is now the principal route open to traffic. Then in the far south, almost on the Gulf littoral, the Nationalists of Laristan have thrown off all semblance of the Shah’s authority. Recently it was stated that the Bakhtiaris had risen in revolt, and had looted Isfahan. It was not to be expected that the Lars, of which the Bakhtiaris are an offshoot and who enjoy a modified independence, would remain quiescent under these conditions. Reuter is however in error in stating that these tribal fights ‘are interrupting’ communications between Bushire and Shiraz. {488} These have been interrupted for many months, and as we stated on Friday, the muleteers who usually ply between Bushire and Shiraz some time ago removed their animals to the Resht-Teheran road. The insecurity of this route is illustrated by the fact that the Derya Begi, the fount of Persian dignity at Bushire, was held up and robbed on his way from Teheran to his charge on the coast. All these straws point to the rapidity with which anarchy is spreading."

The Bakhtiari referred to in this account of affairs, and who now began to bear an important part in the Persian revolutionary conflict, are a semi-independent and nomadic tribe, occupying the region of the mountains which bear the same name, in western Persia, within the provinces of Luristan and Khuzistan. They claim, it is said, by descent from the Bactrians of remote antiquity, to represent the purest blood of ancient Iran. In connection with recent disturbances, they began to be mentioned in June, 1907. The head of one faction among them, Semsam-es-Sultaneh, had then been removed by the Persian provincial governor from the post of Ilkhani (a title surviving from the Mongol conquest of the 13th century,—see PERSIA: A. D. 1258-1393, in Volume IV. of this work), and his supporters were reported to be "out in every direction attacking caravans." The only mention of them in the following months was as pestilent bandits in the Ispahan quarter, holding the roads and breaking up commerce and travel; but they came at last into Persian history as allies of the Nationalists in the struggle for Constitutional Government.

Press reports from Tabriz in February were to the effect that the Shah’s forces, estimated at 12,000 in number, had closely invested the town; that the besieged Nationalists were provisioned for two months, and were making sorties daily. Also that Resht was full of armed Caucasian revolutionaries. At the middle of March a correspondent of the London _Times_ made his way from Teheran to Resht, and found that the revolutionary movement there was entirely "exotic." "If the Caucasian element was removed," he wrote, "nothing would remain. One can estimate fairly accurately that there are about 600 men under arms in the town and on the road. It is said that 5 per cent. of these are Persians. This morning I watched the departure of a contingent of men for the front. Greeks, Kurds, Armenians, Tartars, Russians—all the Caucasian peoples were represented, but not a single man of the race for the advancement of whose cause these men have taken arms."

This correspondent was led to suspect, as others have done, that the religious movement in Persia known as "Babism" (see, in Volume I. of this work, under BAB) had much to do, in a secret way, with the existing revolutionary undertaking. "Those who are in a position to judge." he said, "estimate the present proportion of Babis in the population of Persia at from 10 to 30 per cent. I have, indeed, heard the Persians estimate it as high as 50 per cent."

Before the end of March the Nationalists were in control of the ports of Bender Abbas and Bushire on the Persian Gulf. On the 30th of March the following went to the London _Times_ from Teheran: "In spite of numerous defections to the Nationalist side during the last fortnight, the situation at Teheran remains practically unaltered. The Cossack Brigade is still the premier factor, and there seems no reason to doubt either its allegiance to the Shah or its ability to deal with any element of disturbance likely to arise in the capital. The bazaars remain partially closed, but the business of the town proceeds without interruption.

"From outside there is nothing to apprehend for the present. The Bakhtiari have made no sign, though their position has been rendered materially more secure by the recent espousal of Nationalism by the most notable family at Shiraz. From Resht the revolutionaries continue to launch remonstrance, warning, and anathema at the Shah, but they are too wise to march on the capital without a lead from elsewhere.

"To-day’s news from Tabriz indicates that the situation of the town is extremely grave. A section of the Nationalists advocate negotiating with the besiegers, but Satar Khan has decided to continue his resistance. The stores of food are to be appropriated for the fighting men, and when the stock remaining is exhausted the inhabitants will have no alternative but to leave the town and run the gauntlet of the Shah’s lambs."

The Cossack Brigade referred to in the despatch above was a body of Persian Cossacks which had been for some time past in the service of the Shah, under the command of a Russian officer, Colonel Liakhoff. In the House of Commons, on the 24th of March, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs was sharply questioned as to this employment of a Russian officer, and the alleged employment of others, in the Shah’s service, and asked whether they were serving the Shah or the Tsar. In reply he said: "It may be that in the events of the summer—what is called the coup d’État—Colonel Liakhoff, the Russian officer in command of the Persian Cossacks, who had been lent to the Shah for the purpose, I understand, of disciplining that body of Persian Cossacks, to provide a bodyguard for the Shah, and in case of need to preserve order in Teheran—it may be that he exceeded the limit of those purposes. If he did so I am convinced that it was not by the instructions, on the authority, or with the approval of the Russian Government; and since the coup d’Etat there has been no question, according to reports which we have received, that the Russian officers who remained in the service of the Shah have kept within the limits of the purposes for which they were lent to the service of the Shah, and have not taken part in anything that could be called political encounters in Persia. If Colonel Liakhoff exceeded the limits in Teheran, he acted directly under the Government of the Shah, and the question whether the Russian Government approve or disapprove his action is one between himself and them, and is not a matter on which we are called upon to express an opinion."

On the 5th of April it was reported that the sufferings of Tabriz "are increasing daily, and it is undoubted that a great tragedy is approaching. If Tabriz holds out, thousands must die of starvation, while, if it falls, probably tens of thousands will be massacred." A fortnight later, on the 20th. the Shah yielded to the insistence of the British and Russian Legations that he should allow an armistice at Tabriz of six days and the importation into the town of sufficient food for that period. {489} Meantime a detachment of Russian Cossacks, under General Snarsky, had crossed the frontier into Persia, and was marching to Tabriz with supplies. This Russian relief expedition, approved by the British Government, reached the beleaguered city without resistance on the 30th, and its presence brought the conflict at that point to an end. A correspondent of _The Times_, who had been in Tabriz throughout the siege, taking some leadership in the defence (in company with a teacher attached to the American Mission’s high school, Mr. Baskerville, who met death in the fighting) and who gave, two months later, a graphic narrative of the experience, said in concluding it:

"Tabriz was ultimately saved by the coming of the Russians. Their entry into the town was the direct cause of the opening of the roads, the dispersal of the disappointed armies of the Shah, the promulgation of the Constitution, and the appointment of a Constitutionalist Ministry. It saved Tabriz from a surrender which could not otherwise have been delayed for three days longer, and thereby it averted the complete collapse of the Constitutional movement."

With victory at Tabriz snatched from him, the Shah ostensibly threw up his hands. On the 5th of May it was announced that he had "signed an Imperial rescript acknowledging that the disorderly condition of the country imposed the necessity of taking measures to reorganize the administration. The rescript recognizes that this can only be secured through the constitutional principle, and his Majesty fixes July 19 for the election of a representative Assembly, for the formation of which electoral laws will soon be promulgated."

This revival of promises failed, however, to arrest the revolutionary movement. On the 7th of May the Nationalists expelled a royal force from Kazvin—less than a hundred miles from Teheran—and declared their intention to march on Teheran. "They are well-armed and well-mounted," said a correspondent who came from Kazvin, "and possessed of plenty of money. Their commander, a Sipahdar, and his second in command, an Afghan, are now at Kazvin, and everything points to the possibility of early action. The Bakhtiari, who have assembled at Ispahan and number 3,000, also declare their intention of marching on Teheran."

Of the Sipahdar, who now becomes the fighting leader of the Nationalists, a writer in the New York _Evening Post_ relates that "when a merchant in Tabriz, he offered the government his services in wiping out the brigands who scoured the provinces, and, selecting a picked band, went out to fight fire with fire, by the same methods of terrorizing that the robbers had employed. As a result, he made the provinces safe, at least."

Pressed by the Russian Legation to withdraw from Kazvin, pending the fulfilment of the Shah’s promises, the Sipahdar, commanding there, declared that he could not control his men. The situation was complicated by the presence of the Russians at Tabriz. As _The Times_ correspondent wrote: "The perfectly unambiguous declaration by Russia that her troops will be withdrawn from Tabriz the moment order is restored and danger to Europeans is past is valueless in the eyes of Persians while the troops are there."

The framing of a new electoral law, to the satisfaction of an electoral committee of the Nationalists, was finished on the 6th of June, and the Shah’s signature to it was expected in a few days. High hopes were placed on the coming of Nasr-ul-Mulk, the exiled statesman at Paris, who had been solicited to accept the Prime Ministry, and who seemed slow to take the proffered honor. But the wrecked structure of constitutional government could not so easily be set in motion. The revolutionaries at Kazvin became threatening again, and were in motion toward Teheran before the end of June, while the Bakhtiari began a simultaneous advance. On the 29th of June the Russian Government issued orders "to assemble a considerable force at Baku, to be held in readiness in case of a _coup de main_ against the Persian capital." Meantime the new electoral law had been signed, but not promulgated, "owing to the prevailing excitement," it was said.

On the 3d of July the Russian Government addressed a Circular Note on the situation in Persia to the Governments of foreign Powers, saying, in part:

"The Imperial Government, on consideration of the position of affairs, has come to the conclusion that the principle of absolute non-interference in the internal affairs of Persia and in the conflict between the Shah and the Persian people must remain, now as formerly, the basis of its policy in Persia. In this connexion we could not leave out of sight the fact that in the event of the Bakhtiari and revolutionaries entering Teheran the Russian and other European Legations and European institutions and subjects, as well as our road from Enzeli (on the Caspian Sea) to Teheran, might find themselves in an extremely dangerous position, and the more so because, according to information which has reached us, the only Regular troops at the Shah’s disposal consist of the Persian Cossack Brigade, which is at present so weakened that it is scarcely in a condition to maintain order in Teheran.

"This circumstance imposes upon the Imperial Government the moral obligation to take all measures in order that, in case of necessity, it may be possible to render effective aid to the above-mentioned (European) establishments and subjects and to ensure unrestricted traffic between Teheran and Enzeli in all circumstances. It has, therefore, been decided to send a force from Baku to Enzeli consisting of one regiment of Cossacks, one battalion of Russian infantry, and one battery of artillery. The force will not advance beyond Kazvin (86 miles from Teheran), and will ensure communication between Kazvin and the Caspian Sea.

"The further advance of a portion of the force depends upon the course of events. It can only ensue upon the demand of the Imperial Legation in Teheran in the event of the dangerous situation aforesaid arising."

{490}

The Russian and British Legations attempted mediation between the Sipahdar and the Shah, to check the former’s advance, but his demands made their intervention hopeless. The Shah’s forces pushed out to intercept the on-coming revolutionaries, encountered them on the 11th, 18 miles west of Teheran, and fighting went on at a distance from the city for two days; but forces which slipped between the defensive lines made their way into the capital on the morning of July 13th, and there was fighting in the streets until the 16th. The Shah then sought refuge at the Russian Legation, and the Russian officers of the Persian Cossacks, besieged in their barracks, made terms with the Nationalist leaders.

Four days later the Persian situation was stated to the British House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey, as follows:

"The Shah, after taking refuge in the Russian legation, abdicated, and his son, Sultan Ahmed Mirza [a young child] has been proclaimed Shah by the Nationalist Committee under the regency of Azad-ul-Mulk, head of the Kajar tribe, pending the convocation of Parliament. The commanders of the Fedai and Bakhtiari, as temporary chiefs of the Persian Government, have accepted the services of the Persian Cossack brigade under their Russian officers, on condition that the latter are completely under the orders of the Minister of War. This arrangement was ratified at a meeting between the commanders and Colonel Liakhoff. Teheran is quiet, and the Persian Cossacks are already fraternizing with the Fedai. The Sipahdar has been appointed Minister of War, and the Sirdar Assad Minister of the Interior." Being asked if he would represent to the Russian Government the undesirability of advancing Russian troops to Teheran, Sir Edward added: "In view of the declarations already made by the Russian Government as to the circumstances under which alone Russian troops would be sent to Teheran and in view of the fact that no troops have been sent to Teheran during the recent troubles, in spite of the fact that at one time some apprehension, which happily proved to be unfounded, was expressed for the safety of Russian subjects, such representations would be most uncalled for."

On the 17th the Provisional Government gave notice to the Anglo-Russian legations of the selection of the new Shah, and asked that he should be delivered to their keeping; whereupon, wrote the _Times_ correspondent, "M. Sablin announced the request to the Shah, who replied that he thought his mother would not consent. The Shah then took M. Sablin to his mother and an affecting scene ensued. Both the mother and father broke down at the thought of parting with their favourite son and offered their second son in his place. M. Sablin replied that the selection had been made by the people and that he had no voice in the matter. The boy wept bitterly in sympathy with his parents and declined to leave his mother. Finally their Majesties were persuaded to agree. On receiving the Shah’s assent, the necessary proclamation was immediately promulgated and it was arranged that the Regent and a Nationalist deputation would receive the little Shah.

"An interested crowd witnessed his departure this morning from the custody of his natural guardians. During the morning Sultan Ahmed wept bitterly at the prospect of becoming a King, and it required a stern message to the effect that crying was not allowed in the Russian Legation before he dried his eyes. Then the little man came out bravely, entered a large carriage, and drove off alone, escorted by Cossacks, Sowars, and Persian Cossacks and followed by a long string of carriages. At Sultanatabad he was met by the Regent and the deputation and ceremoniously notified of his high position and of the hope entertained by the nation that he would prove to be a good ruler.

‘Inshallah, I will,’ replied the lad. Arrangements for the Coronation will be made hereafter. In the meanwhile the little Shah, who is guarded by a Bakhtiari, remains with his tutors at Sultanatabad, where his mother is free to visit him."

At Teheran, affairs settled quickly into quiet, but disorders were prolonged in various parts of the provinces, being especially serious at Shiraz. The deposed Shah remained for weeks at the Russian Legation, while negotiations with him for a pension or allowance in return for his surrender of jewels and money to the State went on, and the unhappy child who occupied his palace had more sorrow than he.

Early in August Colonel Liakhoff returned to Russia and was appointed to a regimental command. On the 1st of September a general amnesty, with a few exceptions, was proclaimed by the new government at Teheran. On the 9th of September the deposed Shah left the shelter of the Russian Legation and journeyed, with his queen, four younger children and several friends, under Russian escort, to a residence in Russia, at Odessa, which was his choice. Persia was still waiting for the able and much trusted constitutionalist statesman, Nasr-ul-Mulk, to return from his exile at Paris and accept the offered premiership in the government; but on the 21st of September the report went out that he had definitely declined the post. He returned to Persia, however, in October. On the 11th of October the Russian Government made known that it had decided to withdraw the greater part of the troops it had been keeping at Tabriz. A new Mejliss, for which the Regent had ordered elections, was assembled on the 15th of November. On the 7th of December the Mejliss unanimously approved the proposals of the Government with regard to borrowing abroad and the employment of Europeans in executive capacities for the reorganization of the Finance Department. This, no doubt, will improve the situation very greatly.

PERSIA: A. D. 1909 (January). Destructive Earthquake in Luristan.

See (in this Volume) EARTHQUAKES: PERSIA.

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PERU: A. D. 1899-1908. Outline of History.

The leading events of Peruvian history are recorded in Volume VI. of this work down to the election of President Eduardo de Romaña, in 1899. "Romaña was a member of a prominent family of Arequipa, and had been educated in England, at Stonyhurst. He further had studied for, and taken a degree as, an engineer at King’s College, London; and whilst he had not acquired much experience in politics, he nevertheless successfully filled the Presidential Chair throughout his term. He was alive to the necessity for the development of the resources of the country, and, fortunately, his administration was not embarrassed by disturbances other than some small political intrigues such as inevitably take place in a country which, as Peru, was evolving a _régime_ of civil government. {491} During this term there was some influx of North American capitalists, who acquired important interests, in the copper mines of Cerro de Pasco, and who commenced the construction of a railway line thereto. … The presidency of Señor Romaña uneventfully expired at its natural time; elections were held, and Señor Manuel Candamo, who had already provisionally been head of the State, was chosen as president in May, 1903. Candamo had been successful in quieting political animosities after the revolt against Caceres and in consolidating the political situation. Peru now showed real evidences of advancement. The old turbulent element was passing away; those leaders who had placed purely personal ambition before the true interests of their country had given place to the natural talent and ability of the best citizens, whom the times were calling to the front. Candamo’s rule promised well for the country. He was surrounded by able men, among whom, as chief cabinet minister, was Dr. Domingo Almenard, an upright lawyer. The fiscal revenue was increased by taxes, against which there were murmurings, but which the country was able to bear, and the tax on tobacco was set apart for the construction of new railways. Unfortunately, this able administrator, Señor Candamo, continued but a short time in office, for he was overtaken by illness, and died at Arequipa in May, 1904. This event left the country under the temporary leadership of the second vice-president, Señor Calderon, for the first vice-president had died also. An election was at once called according to law, the two candidates which were put forward being Dr. Jose Pardo, son of the former president of the same name, and Señor Nicolas Piérola, who had already been at the head of the Government on two occasions. Rivalry between the partisans of these two candidates became acute, and although it was feared for a moment that some disturbance might occur, good sense prevailed, and the elections proceeded without interruption. Both contestants were good men—Piérola representing the party known as the _Democratas_, whilst Pardo headed the _Civilistas_. There were not very radical differences of principle underlying these distinctions of name; both were for civil government and for national progress. Piérola had done good work during his former term, whilst Pardo had the prestige of the good name and administration of his father, the former president of 1872-1876, and was also held in esteem personally among the best element of the country. The result of the election—held, probably, more fairly than ever in Peru before—fell to Dr. Pardo, who took the presidential scarf and office in September, 1904, and who still guides the affairs of his country in a manner which has won the esteem of the nation, in a general sense.

Dr. Pardo’s Cabinet was formed of some of the most capable men in the country, prominent among whom was the minister of Finance, Señor Leguia, to whose work is largely due the improved financial situation. At the present time—1908—the best elements of Peru are in the ascendant."

_G. Reginald Enock, Peru: Its Former, and Present Civilization, History and Existing Conditions,