War and Peace in Qajar Persia: Implications Past and ... - Oguzlar.az

208 Ali Gheissariwas among the volunteer fighters of Tabriz trained by Howard Baskerville), furtherweakened his desire to return to Tabriz. In Istanbul he also picked up Frenchand became associated with the Iranian constitutionalist society there (i.e.Anjoman-e Sa’adat). Memoirs, p. 44. Hajj Reza was a regular member andsupporter of the Anjoman-e Sa’adat, which was active between 1908 and 1912.In fact many Azeri merchants who were residing in Istanbul were supportive ofthe Anjoman-e Sa’adat. See Ahmad Kasravi, Tarikh-e Mashrouteh-ye Iran, p. 724;see also Hodjatollah Djoudaki, “L’Anjoman-e Sa’âdat des Iraniens d’Istanbul,”in Thierry Zarcone and Fariba Zarinebaf-Shahr, eds, Les Iraniens d’Istanbul(Istanbul and Tehran: IFÉA/IFRI, 1993), pp. 85–90; and Samad Sardarinia,Mashahir-e Azerbaijan, pp. 513–28. For additional observations on the Iranianmerchants in Istanbul, see also Khan-Malek Sasani, Yadboud-ha-ye Sefarat-eEstanbul [Memoirs of the [Iranian] Embassy in Istanbul] (Tehran: Ferdowsi,1345/1966). For photos of Hajj Reza, see Figs 4–6. Fig. 6, taken at the IranianConsulate in Istanbul (c. early 1920s, probably 1924), shows him with SheikhAsadollah Mamaqani (1883–c.1950), who had earlier been a liaison of AyatollahMohammad-Kazem Khorasani (1839–1911), a leading pro-constitutionalist religiousauthority (marja’) in Najaf, to the Anjoman-e Sa’adat in Istanbul. Mamaqanihad authored, among others, Maslak al-Imam fi Salamat al-Islam [the Doctrineof Imam for the Well-Being of Islam] (Istanbul, 1328 AH/1910; reprinted,Tabriz, 1329 ah/1911; new edition, Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran, 1363/1984),on the compatibility of Islam and constitutionalism. For a discussion onMamaqani and his tract, see Ali Gheissari, Iranian Intellectuals in the TwentiethCentury (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998), pp. 32–6 and 139–40 (notes88–97). In early 1920s Hajj Reza was a strong supporter of the Iranian Society(Anjoman-e Iranian) (founded in 1340 ah/1921) as well as the Iranian School inIstanbul, and kept close acquaintance with the Iranian literati, such as HosseinDanesh (1870–1943), among others. For valuable information on the intellectuallife of the Iranian community in Istanbul during the constitutional period, withparticular reference to Hossein Danesh, see John Gurney, “E. G. Browne andthe Iranian Community in Istanbul,” in Zarcone and Zarinebaf-Shahr, eds, LesIraniens d’Istanbul, op. cit., pp. 140–75. Hajj Reza also kept a close interest inpolitical developments in Iran, an indication of which can be noted in his shortessay, published in the Iran newspaper in 1919, protesting about the namechange of Arran to Azerbaijan. See “Sevvomin Sourat-e E’teraz: Ma ChehHastim?” [Third Letter of Protest: What Are We?], Iran 462 (27 Ramadan 1337ah/28 June 1919), reprinted in Kaveh Bayat, Azerbaijan dar Mouj-Khiz-e Tarikh:Negahi be Mabahes-e Melliyoun-e Iran va Jarayed-e Baku dar Taghiir-e Nam-eArran be Azerbaijan, 1296–1298 Shamsi [Azerbaijan in the Tide of History: AnOverview of the Nationalists’ Debates and the Baku Press on the Name Changeof Arran to Azerbaijan, 1917–1919] (Tehran: Shirazeh, 1379/2000), pp. 134–6.43 On one occasion Hajj Mohammad-Taqi regretfully mentioned the loss of afavourite volume, Majlesi’s Tohfat al-Za’er [Pilgrim’s Gift], while travelling on acarriage near Qouchan. Reportedly, one of the straps holding his luggage ontothe back of the carriage broke and as a result he lost several of his personal belongings,including that book which he “liked more than anything else.” Memoirs,p. 205. Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (1628–1699/1700) was a prolific Shia scholarof the Safavid period; some of his shorter writings on faith, prayer, and moralitywere intended to instruct common readers.44 See Figs 1–3. Nevertheless, in these photos Hajj Mohammad-Taqi is seen wearingcylindrical Qajar hats, which were possibly made of fine Astrakhan lambs woolor felt (“mahout”). These hats differed distinctly from the traditional headdressfor merchants in Iran at that time, which often consisted of a tightly wrappedsmall turban, made of a thin linen or cotton fabric, striped and with a crimped