Provincial concerns

"Most histories of nineteenth century Iran have been concerned with events at the center of the Qajar state - the shahs, their courts, the involvement of foreign powers - despite the fact that the administrative system was still a very decentralized one. Provincial Concerns by James D. Clark turns its focus toward the outlying regions in looking at perhaps the most important province in Iran during this period: Azerbaijan. Without an understanding of what went on there, the author maintains, the history of the period can not be properly grasped. Associated with it were the most populous city in the country, the greatest amount of trade, many of the most important political figures, agricultural wealth, prominence in the military, and a special position within the Qajar government, not least of all because its governor was also the heir apparent. Being primarily a narrative history of the period from 1818 to 1906, this book gives an account of how the province was administered, the problems the officials of the central and local governments encountered there, and the new challenges that were arising at the end of the century as Iran became ever more exposed to world developments. Finally, the events and personalities in Azerbaijan at this time constitute an important prologue to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution."--BOOK JACKET.