Effectiveness of his early rule The state under Naser was the recognized government of Iran, but its authority was undermined by local tribal leaders due to the lack of a standing army. The army was weakened by wars with Russia in the
Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and
Turkmenchay (1828) The religious and tribal chieftains held quite a bit of autonomy over their communities. Naser was not effective in implementing his sovereignty over his people. Local groups had their own militias and oftentimes did not obey laws passed by the monarchy, since it did not have the power to enforce them. The people followed the ulama's fatwas instead of state-issued laws. When Naser took power, his army barely had 3,000 men which was significantly smaller than the armies under various tribal leaders. When the state needed a proper army, he would hire the local militias. Prior to his reforms, Naser's government had very little power over their subjects and even during the reforms, they faced more scrutiny over their ability to implement those reforms successfully.
Diplomacy and wars Naser was in
Tabriz when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the
Sun Throne with the help of
Amir Kabir. During his reign he would have to deal with the
Revolt of Hassan Khan Salar, as well as
insurrections by Babis. Naser had early
reformist tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government. With his sanction, thousands of
Bábis were killed, this was in reaction to an assassination attempt from a small group of Bábis. This treatment continued under his prime minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of the
Báb – regarded as a manifestation of God to Bábí's and
Baháʼís, and to historians as the founder of the
Bábí religion. In 1856, Naser ad-Din Shah launched the
Second Herat War to reassert Qajar suzerainty over
Herat, a strategically vital city state in western Afghanistan that Iran had long claimed as part of its historic sphere. Persian forces under Naser's uncle,
Hesam o-Saltaneh captured Herat in October 1856 after a nine-month siege, deposing the local ruler and installing a pro-Iranian governor. This success alarmed Britain, which considered Herat the “gate of India” and feared Persian (and potentially Russian) expansion toward its Indian empire. Britain declared war on Iran in November 1856 (the Anglo-Persian War), but the Persian occupation of Herat itself represented a clear military and political victory for Naser ad-Din Shah, temporarily restoring Iranian control over a region lost since the mid-1700s. received the title of
Generalissimo by the Shah after commanding the Persian forces to siege
Ghorian during the
Second Herat War. On 2 November 1856, at four in the afternoon, the Shah was sitting in the
Mirror Hall of the outer court of the
Golestan Palace, next to the Crystal Fountain. His servant in waiting, Yadullah Khan, brought news of the successful conquest in Herat, for which he was gifted with a thousand
tomans. In the margin of a Persian translation of
Louis de Bourrienne's Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Shah wrote:Thanks to Murtaza 'Ali's blessings, peace be upon him, this was a praiseworthy victory and the eyes of the enemy, particularly the British, turned blind [with jealousy]. Hundred and ten gun salutes were fired in honor of his holiness 'Ali.— Naser al-Din Shah The Qajar court announced a
public levee in honor of the occasion, during which the court chronicler recited the official records of the conquest as ascribed to Hesam o-Saltaneh. The document lists the administrative decisions taken in the aftermath of Herat's capture. In a symbolic move, the Shah's name was mentioned in the
Friday sermon and the
Shia adhan became the call to prayer. Similarly, the mint struck coins in Naseraddin Shah's name. A public holiday was soon declared and a national booklet outlining the conquest was disseminated. in July 1889. The photograph includes
Edward VII and
Alexandra of Denmark.Naser al-Din was the first modern Iranian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a
Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naseraddin Shah was appointed by
Queen Victoria a Knight of the
Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Iranian monarch to be honoured as such. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages, including Persian, German, French, and Dutch. In 1890 Naser met British major Gerald F. Talbot and signed a
contract with him giving him the ownership of the Iranian
tobacco industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after
Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a
fatwa that made farming, trading, and consuming tobacco
haram (forbidden). Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized 'Talbet' company represented foreign exploitation, so for that reason it was deemed immoral. It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke. This was not the end of Naser's attempts to give concessions to Europeans; he later gave the ownership of Iranian customs incomes to
Paul Julius Reuter.
Reforms He defeated various rebels in the Iranian provinces, most notably in
Khorasan, balanced the budget by introducing reforms to the tax system, curbed the power of the
clergy in the judiciary, built several military factories, improved relations with other powers to curb British and Russian influence, opened the first newspaper called
Vaqaye-e Ettefaqiyeh, embellished and modernized cities (for example by building the
Tehran Bazaar) and most importantly opened the first Iranian school for upper education called the
Dar al-Fonun where many Iranian intellectuals received their education. was erected by the shah in 1888. The Shah gradually lost interest in reform. However, he took some important measures such as introducing
telegraphy and
postal services and building roads. as its first Minister of Science. He also increased the size of the state's military and created a new group called the
Persian Cossack Brigade which was trained and armed by the Russians. He was the first Iranian to be photographed and was a patron of
photography who had himself photographed hundreds of times. His final prime minister was
Ali Asghar Khan, who after the shah's assassination aided in securing the transfer of the throne to
Mozaffar al-Din. Although he was successful in introducing those western-based reforms, he was not successful in gaining complete sovereignty over his people or getting them to accept these reforms. The school he opened, Dar al-Funun, had very small enrollment numbers. The restrictions defined by Shia Islam on the shah's collection of the
zakat led to those funds going straight into the coffers of the ulama. Therefore, the financial autonomy given to the ulama enabled them to remain structurally independent, keeping madrasahs open and supporting the students therein. The ulama also maintained their authority to challenge state law. To fund these new institutions and building projects, Naser al-Din repeatedly used
tax farming to increase state revenue. Tax collectors routinely abused their power and the government was viewed as corrupt and unable to protect them from abuse by the upper class. This anti-government sentiment increased the ulama's power over the people because they were able to provide them security. Keddie states in her book,
Roots of Revolution: An Interpretive History of Modern Iran, that at the time "it was still considered a sign of greater status to be admitted to the ranks of the ulama than it was to become a member of the civil service." In 1852, Naser al-Din dismissed and executed
Amir Kabir, the famous Iranian reformer. With him, many believe, died the prospect of an independent Iran led by meritocracy rather than nepotism. In the later years of his rule, however, Naser al-Din steadfastly refused to deal with the growing pressures for reforms. He also granted a series of concessionary rights to foreigners in return for large payments. In 1872, popular pressure forced him to withdraw one concession involving permission to construct such complexes as
railways and
irrigation works throughout Iran. He visited Europe in 1873, 1878 and 1889. In 1890, he granted a 50-year concession on the purchase, sale, and processing of all tobacco in the country, which led to a national
boycott of tobacco and the withdrawal of the concession. This last incident is considered by many authorities to be the origin of modern
Iranian nationalism. ==Assassination==