The Iranian Enlightenment (), sometimes called the first generation of intellectual movements in Iran (), brought new ideas into traditional Iranian society from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. During the Qajar era, and especially after Iran's defeat in the last Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), cultural exchanges led to the formation of new ideas among the educated class of Iran. The establishment of Dar al-Fonun, the first modern university in Iran and the arrival of foreign professors, caused the thoughts of European thinkers to enter Iran, followed by the first signs of enlightenment and intellectual movements in Iran.
During this period, intellectual groups were formed in secret societies and secret associations. These secret societies included Mirza Malkam Khan's Faramosh Khaneh (based on Masonic lodgesMuhamad Muhit Tabbatabbai, "Collection of works of Mirza Malkam Khan", page, 125 1948), Anjoman-e Okhovat, Society of Humanity and Mokhadarat Vatan Association. These groups spread their ideas by distributing leaflets and newspapers. These secret societies stressed the need to reform the land and administrative system and reduce the role of the clergy in society, as well as to limit the rulers within the framework of the law.
Secular Iranian thinkers based their work on confronting religious traditions. They were confronted with Shia Islam, which on the one hand was mixed with superstitions, and on the other hand, according to Ali Akbar Velayati, the strictness and intellectual prejudice of some religious people caused intellectual-scientific decline.
Among the thinkers of this period were Mirza Malkam Khan, Mirza Abdul'Rahim Talibov, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Iraj Mirza, Mirzadeh Eshghi, Aref Qazvini, Mirza Hassan Roshdieh, Mirza Aqa Khan Kermani, Hassan Taqizadeh, Amir Kabir and Haydar Khan Amo-oghli. Most of these intellectuals expressed their thoughts through poetry and fiction, simple stories and parables that were easy for people to understand and helped to spread Enlightenment throughout Iran.
The first generation of intellectuals in Iran went beyond the borders of the country and influenced neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and the Arab world such as Egypt. People like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani collaborated with most of the great thinkers of this period from Iran.
Background After Iran's defeat in the war of 1826–1828 with Russia, the military, scientific and economic backwardness of Iran became clear to the educated class. As a result, a number of French-speaking princes, students, and literates traveled to France in 1843 to study. Among them were a number of great thinkers such as Mirza Malkam Khan and Abdul'Rahim Talibov.Fereydun Adamiyat, The idea of progress and the rule of law, 1973, p. 10-11
One of the most important Iranian figures influencing the Iranian intellectual movement was Mirza Fatali Akhundov. A native of Tabriz but a resident of Georgia, Russia, he nevertheless wrote important books in Persian, including . This book can be considered an exciting statement against the Iranian traditions of the Qajar era.Fereydun Adamiyat, "Mirza Fatali Akhundov's Thoughts", page, 16 1970
Economy The economy of the Qajar era was affected by the conflicts after the collapse of the Safavid Empire. Due to unrest in the Safavid and Qajar governments, the economy of Iran collapsed. The Qajars inherited a country whose economy had long been based on land and agriculture. The Qajars sought to stabilize the economy and expand industry and carpet weaving, trade and limited foreign trade and livestock products. The economic situation of Iran after the reign of Fath Ali Shah Qajar became a feudal economy due to the rise of Qajar princes throughout Iran.
Along with this feudal economy, the increasing influence of colonial and imperialist companies such as the East India Company in Iran, caused a complete economic collapse during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. While a governor could earn one hundred tomans annually through embezzlement, a simple worker was paid one toman a month plus a loaf of bread. Some large feudal lords and large wealthy people, using their position and political influence, acquired large agricultural estates. Prince Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan took over all of Isfahan and its environs by poisoning and assassinating its capitalists and seizing their property.Seyed Hadi Mousavi, Society and market in the era of Naser al-Din Shah with a look at the social and economic situation in the Qajar era, 2019, p. 34-40
All these dire economic conditions had degraded people's view of science and enlightenment, so the Qajar era, especially since the time of Naser al-Din Shah, was a major setback for science in Iran.Seyed Hadi Mousavi, Society and market in the era of Naser al-Din Shah with a look at the social and economic situation in the Qajar era, 2019, p. 41
Influence of the French Enlightenment Since there was no basis for creating an intellectual society in Qajar Iran, early thinkers followed the example of their French counterparts. During this period, Iranian intellectuals looked to France. France was a base for Iranians to study and reside in because it had no direct involvement in the developments in Iran and was a serious rival to British colonialism. From that time until the era of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, familiarity with French was one of the requirements of the Iranian educated class, and in fact, French took the traditional place of Arabic as the specialized language of students. Almost all works of Western literature, philosophy and history were translated into Persian through French.
Because of this, many intellectual customs in Qajar Iran were inspired by the French, including the tradition of setting up salons. Secret societies were mostly formed in the homes of wealthy princes interested in science. Gradually, many people were attracted to these secret societies and had different political ideologies. In 1859, the works of Voltaire, one of the most famous French philosophers of the Enlightenment, were first translated into Persian by Jalal al-Din Mirza Qajar, a freethinking prince.Karim Mujtahedi, "Voltaire's historical reputation in Iran", 2004
Jalal al-Din Mirza, himself a student who had traveled to France to study on behalf of Amir Kabir in 1843, there became acquainted with Western philosophy and after much effort translated Voltaire's works into Persian. He presented a manuscript to Naser al-Din Shah.Karim Mujtahedi, "Voltaire's historical reputation in Iran", 2004 After a while, Voltaire's books became available to the educated class of society. One of the significant factors in the growth of the Iranian Intellectual movement was the translation of the works of Western philosophers and, above all, Voltaire.
Centers Kerman, Gorgan, Tabriz and Yazd were the important centers of this period.Pioneers of New Thought in Iran: The Age of Iranian Enlightenment, p. 17 For various reasons, these cities were not affected by the socio-economic losses suffered by the rest of Iran. Kerman, due to the support of the last survivor of the Zand dynasty (Lotf Ali Khan), was angered by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. His successors tried to rebuild the city and appease the people by sending rulers such as Mohammad Esmail Khan Nouri, Vakil al-Mulk, and Ebrahim Khan, and to forget the past by erecting works such as the Ebrahim Khan collection.ẒAHIR-AL-DAWLA, EBRĀHIM KHAN Ebrāhim Khan as governor of Kermān. For this reason, Kerman became a city of science and many great thinkers of this period such as Mirza Aqa Khan Kermani came from this city.Ali Asghar Shamim, Iran during the Qajar dynasty, 1992, p. 386
Gorgan was under the control of Sardar Rafie Yanehsari and his family during this period. Sardar Rafi decided to modernize Gorgan because he came from an artistic and scientific family and traveled to big cities such as St. Petersburg. In order to realize this dream, Sardar Rafi invited European orientalists to explore Gorgan and its surroundings. The first excavations were carried out around 1900 under an artificial hill near the city of Gorgan, where the Astarabad treasury was discovered. Experts believe that some of the objects in the treasury, which are very similar to the discoveries of Tepe Hissar, belong to the third millennium BC and nearly 5,000 years ago. Since then, Gorgan became one of the favorite centers of orientalists, and as a result, caused the arrival of modern science in Gorgan. Sardar Rafie was very interested in the ancient history of Iran and wished to re-introduce the ancient values of Iran.
Yazd was and still is the Zoroastrian center of Iran. The city had a mint and a library. With the investment of the great capitalists of Iran at that time, Keikhosrow Shahrokh and Jamshid Bahman Jamshidian and Parsi investors including Jamsetji Tata, this city made a lot of progress in a short period and even surpassed Tehran.
Tabriz became one of the most important centers of this period due to its trade routes to Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Tabriz was the second most populous city in the country, with a population of 240,000 at the beginning of the twentieth century, according to Bartold. On the eve of the Constitutional Revolution, 15% of the country's exports and 25% of the country's imports passed through Tabriz. The merchants of Tabriz had become acquainted with modernity through their travels to Russia and the Ottoman Empire, and some of them were considered intellectuals. Hence, they called for an advisory and law-based political structure. In Tabriz, a class of constitutionalist and anti-monarchist intellectuals was formed, led by several teachers, clerics, and merchants. Tabriz had two telegraph lines to Tehran; one was state-owned and the other belonged to the Indo-European Telegraph Company. Therefore, residents of Tabriz were always informed of the developments in the capital very quickly. On the eve of the Constitutional Revolution, a large number of Iranians, especially Azerbaijanis, had migrated to the Caucasus to work. Many of them were influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1905 and turned to radical ideas. Thus, social democratic tendencies were widespread in the region and formed constitutionalist nuclei such as the Social Democratic Party and the Azerbaijan Provincial Association.
Amir Kabir reforms
Amir Kabir became Naser al-Din Shah's first prime minister in 1848. He launched a plan for reform in Iran, including the establishment of Dar al-Fonun, the establishment of the newspaper Vaqaye-e Ettefaqiyeh, religious reform,Amir Kabir and Iran, p. 334 the fight against torture,Fereydun Adamiyat, Amir Kabir and Iran, 2005 and social reform. The construction of Dar ol-Fonun was completed two days after the removal of Amir Kabir, who ordered the recruitment of professors from Europe. The arrival of foreign professors such as Jakob Eduard Polack, Alfred Jean Baptiste Lemaire and Johann Louis Schliemer in Iran and the beginning of their work at Dar ul-Fonun University brought Western science and culture to Iran. Mirza Malkam Khan, who was Iran's ambassador to Britain at the time, also returned to Iran to teach at Dar ol-Fonun.
Amir Kabir made a significant contribution to the development of the Persian language as a modern medium.AMĪR KABĪR, MĪRZĀ TAQĪ KHAN, Amīr Kabīr made a second indirect contribution to the elaboration of Persian as a modern medium with his foundation of the newspaper Rūz-nāma-ye waqāyeʿ-e ettefāqīya, which survived under different titles until the reign of Moẓaffar-al-dīn Shah. Vaqayeʿ-ye Ettefaqiyeh newspaper became the first modern Iranian newspaper with the publication of world news articles, an events page, a children and adolescents page, and translation of foreign articles. After Amir Kabir's removal, the management fell into the hands of others, but until the newspaper was banned, there was no censorship in articles and news.Amir Kabir and Iran, p. 336