Tahqiqāt-e Târix-e Eqtesâdi (Economic History Studies of Iran)

Abstract Guilan silk played an important role in the economic market of northern Iran during the Qajar era. As a result, a large part of the people of Guilan, including the producers and merchants of this product, were associated with the silk economy. However, the government's economic policies, both domestically and internationally, did not provide for the interests of the silk industry. Therefore, the opposition to the economic policies of the central government by the silk producers and merchants, along with the beginning of the constitutional era, became an excuse for these groups to participate in the political and social events of the constitutional era. The present article seeks to ask what was the role of the silk merchants and silk manufacturers of Guilan in the social and political developments of the Constitutional Revolution? The research findings show that the interests of silk producers and merchants, combined with increasing pressure from the government and local governments, led to an alliance between them and the peasants and constitutional mujahideen to participate in the constitutional movement. The present research is conducted using a historical method and an analytical approach, using library and documentary data.

Abstract labor as an influential and sensitive segment of Iranian social structure, have faced numerous contradictions and conflicts. These contradictions also existed during the Second Pahlavi period. The question of this research is what are the social factors affecting labor contradictions and tensions during the Second Pahlavi period? This study has been conducted with a historical analysis approach. research articles related to the situation of labor during this period have also been used as other sources. The results show that although the policies of the Second Pahlavi period were relatively focused on improving the welfare of labor and their social security, wage inequality, unbalanced distribution of labor relative to income, and unequal access to welfare services still existed. The government's policy towards industrial labor was a combination of incentives and repression; on the one hand, there was the enactment of labor laws, improved working conditions, the development of health insurance, and limited labor participation in the shares of industrial factories; on the other hand, the formation of government unions (yellow) and SAVAK surveillance of labor prevented the full realization of their rights. In cases where the dispute resolution process failed, security measures were taken, including dismissals, repression, and arrests of labor.

Abstract The emirs of Hormuz, during the 8th and 9th centuries AH, took advantage of the island’s strategic position as a transit hub and its trade relations with major ports in the East. Consequently, Hormuz, by virtue of this commercial role, held a superior economic status in the region.

However, with the Portuguese conquest of Hormuz in the 10th century AH, the island’s economic standing as the main center of trade in the Persian Gulf underwent complex and ambiguous changes that remain unclear to researchers. The arrival of the Portuguese connected Hormuz’s economy to the global economy, which led to a growth in regional trade. At the same time, archival documents and sources reveal the weakening of merchants’ livelihoods and the decline of the local economy.

This research primarily aims to study the economy of Hormuz from 912 AH to 996 AH, using research and archival document analysis, to clarify why despite the increase in revenues during these years, the economic decline of Hormuz under Portuguese rule has been reported. The review of documents indicates that the growing revenues during this period were not invested in strengthening Hormuz’s commercial infrastructure, but rather served the interests of Portuguese captains and officials.

Abstract Kurdistan has historically functioned as a locus of coexistence and interaction among diverse ethno-religious communities. Although Jews constituted a demographic minority, they played a significant role in the region’s socio-economic transformations. Improvements in their social and legal status facilitated broader participation in trade, commerce, and regional economic networks, although their activities were continuously mediated by relations with the central state, interactions with foreign powers, and the Muslim majority.

This study employs archival sources and historical data through a descriptive–analytical methodology to examine the economic occupations and commercial agency of Kurdish Jews from the Constitutional Revolution to the end of the Pahlavi era, analyzing the structural and social factors that enabled or constrained their economic opportunities. Findings indicate that Kurdish Jews were able to secure a firm position within the regional economy and played a pivotal role as merchants within trade networks connecting Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Mesopotamia. Strategic selection of professions with lower social sensitivity, capacity to navigate structural constraints, and leveraging emergent opportunities were key determinants of their economic success.

Abstract "This article aims to examine the form and content of contracts with foreign companies located in the Angurestan mansion, a property endowed by Haj Mohammad Ebrahim Malek al-Tojjar Esfahani in the city of Isfahan, and to compare them with the domestic leases of this merchant. It employs a descriptive-analytical approach and utilizes the content analysis method. The findings from the analysis of lease agreements concluded between this merchant and foreign companies, including Hods, Ziegler, and Lynch, indicate that the leased properties encompassed a wide range of uses, and the amounts and terms of the leases reflected the exigencies of the time. The most significant formal difference is the linguistic diversity in these documents, where English and Russian languages are used alongside Persian. This linguistic diversity reflects the expansion of Iran's commercial relations with Western countries during the Qajar period and the impact of these relations on the manner of drafting commercial contracts. Furthermore, the research shows that the writing of the formula of contract ('sighat-e-aqd') in these documents was less formal, with only one lease agreement among the examined samples containing this formula. These findings provide valuable information regarding linguistic and legal developments during the Qajar era. The results of this research demonstrate that the lease agreements concluded with European countries reflect the expansion of Iran's commercial relations with Western countries during the Qajar period and the impact of these relations on the manner of drafting commercial contracts."

Abstract This study examines the educational policies of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company during the interwar period (1921–1945). In these years, the growing need for skilled labor in the nascent oil industry, combined with pressure from the Iranian government to employ local workers, led the company to establish technical schools. Drawing on archival sources and historical documents, the study investigates the formation of this educational system, the company’s rationale for developing it, and its impact on the training of skilled Iranian labor. The findings indicate that while these schools contributed to workforce training in Iran, the company’s economic and political interests—particularly cost reduction and greater control over labor—played a decisive role in shaping these policies. The research also highlights how systematic discrimination between Iranian and foreign workers, poor working and living conditions, and the absence of meaningful career advancement opportunities for Iranians generated dissatisfaction among both workers and graduates of these schools. Ultimately, the study evaluates the short- and long-term consequences of these policies for the oil industry and Iranian society.

Abstract From the mid-Qajar period, Iranian-made textiles faced serious challenges in competition with imported European fabrics, and local products were gradually replaced by foreign textiles. Supporting national goods became one of the strategies for sustaining domestic production. this concept emerged as an idea and later materialized in practice through the establishment of various companies and associations aimed at promoting the consumption of domestic textiles in Mashhad.

no research has been conducted in this area so far and the measures and approaches to support of domestic goods, the results achieved, and the reasons their failure have not been identified. the present study aims to explore the ideas and practical actions taken to support domestic goods. The findings show that, influenced by the activities of the Eslamiyeh Company, the book Lebas al-Taqwa, the speeches of Haj Seyyed Mohammad Aqa, and the promotional efforts of the Adab newspaper, support for domestic products began. After the Constitutional Revolution, this movement gained further attention within associations such as the Esna Ashari Association, the Sa'adat Association, as well as in the poems of Esmail Khoyi. Later in the newspaper Fekr-e Azad and the fatwa of Mirza Reza Damghani also influenced support for the consumption of domestic textiles.

Abstract From the Sasanian Empire and other great states such as the Roman Empire, the Han Empire, and the Abbasid Caliphate, there are reliable tax data that can be used to compare the economic power of these governments. Since the current currency and the geographical conditions of the states were different, contemporary researchers use the conversion of money into the price of grain, especially wheat, to estimate the economic power of the states. By finding the approximate price of wheat in each of the investigated states and converting the total tax received by these states into the mass unit of wheat, it is possible to compare their economic power. The main issue of the current research is the comparative study of the income of the Sasanian kingdom with the mentioned governments to compare their economic power. The obtained results will show that, Although the Sassanians collected less taxes from each people and lands than the States after them, but on average, they had about 3 to 6 times the income of the largest non-Iranian states of the ancient and middle world in terms of the price of wheat. The research method comparative study and data collection method is library.

Abstract Textile production in the Samanid realm was closely intertwined with pastoralism, agriculture, and horticulture, and was shaped by the natural environment of Khorasan, Transoxiana, and Khwarezm. The production of wool, cotton, flax, and silk sustained the textile industry, whose occupational structure encompassed spinning, weaving, and dyeing. Nishapur, Marv, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Kath served as major centers of production. The diversity of textiles included silk, cotton, and woolen fabrics such as palaas and felt. The weaving industry benefited from the commercial prosperity of Nishapur, Marv, Bukhara, and Kath, while textiles were exported to other regions via the Khorasan Highway and the Silk Road.

The central question of this study concerns the relationship between textile production and the economic, social, and geographical structures of the Samanid domain. The research aims to examine the role of natural factors, occupational networks, production centers, and trade routes in the development of weaving. The study employs a descriptive–analytical approach based on historical and geographical sources.

Findings show that abundant water, thriving agriculture and herding, and a favorable geography created ideal conditions for raw material production. Nishapur, Marv, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Kath were key textile centers, distributing their products through trade routes to other lands.

Abstract The simultaneity of the drafting of Iran’s Second Five-Year Development Plan (1995–1999) with the 1992 Rio Conference raises two critical questions: Did the Rio Conference influence the formulation of the Second Plan? And, more broadly, what is the relationship between sustainable development and the planning and implementation measures within this plan? The research findings indicate that, despite the inclusion of the term sustainable development in the plan’s amendments and legal framework, environmental protection was largely neglected. This was because the government’s focus was directed toward controlling inflation and reducing non-essential expenditures, which were deemed necessary to manage inflation, control liquidity, and promote economic growth, thereby supporting development. The marginalization of environmental concerns in the Second Plan resulted in the concept of sustainable development remaining largely rhetorical, with no effective practical measures implemented to advance it. From this perspective, the Second Development Plan embodied a fundamental paradox: while claiming to pursue sustainable development, its environmental imperatives were disregarded. This contradiction perpetuated the degradation of natural resources, intensified environmental pollution, and accelerated soil and forest erosion, highlighting that achieving sustainable development in Iran requires a reconsideration of policy-making and the establishment of more effective institutional mechanisms.