With the first provision signed by Muzzafir al-Din days before his death, Iran saw legislative reform vital to their goal of independence from Britain and Russia.
The three main groups of the coalition seeking a constitution were the bazaar merchants, the ulama, and a small group of radical reformers.
They shared the goal of ending royal corruption and ending dominance by foreign powers.
According to the revolutionaries, the role of the shah was being used to keep the Qajar dynasty and other aristocrats wealthy at the expense of Iran's resources and economy.
They argued that whilst Iran's oil industry was sold to the British, tax breaks on imports, exports and manufactured textiles destroyed Iran's economy (which had been supported by the bazaar merchants).
Muzzafir al-Din accumulated a fortune in foreign debt while selling assets to pay interest, instead of investing in Iran.
This sparked the revolt.
The law gave the legislature final approval of all loans and the budget.
More power was divested from the shah with the supplementary fundamental law, passed a few days later, governing the appointment of ministers; a committee of mujtahids was established to ensure that new laws abided by sharia.
Despite the ulamas' efforts at independence from external dominance, Britain and Russia capitalized on Iran's weak government and signed the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention dividing the country between them (with a neutral central zone).
This constitutional period ended when the majlis in Tehran's neutral zone dissolved over the issue of equal rights for non-Muslims; Russia then invaded and captured the city.
Although Iran gained a constitution, Iranian independence was not achieved by the revolts.
With the first provision signed by Muzzafir al-Din days before his death, Iran saw legislative reform vital to their goal of independence from Britain and Russia. The three main groups of the coalition seeking a constitution were the bazaar merchants, the ulama, and a small group of radical reformers. They shared the goal of ending royal corruption and ending dominance by foreign powers. According to the revolutionaries, the role of the shah was being used to keep the Qajar dynasty and other aristocrats wealthy at the expense of Iran's resources and economy. They argued that whilst Iran's oil industry was sold to the British, tax breaks on imports, exports and manufactured textiles destroyed Iran's economy (which had been supported by the bazaar merchants). Muzzafir al-Din accumulated a fortune in foreign debt while selling assets to pay interest, instead of investing in Iran. This sparked the revolt. The law gave the legislature final approval of all loans and the budget. More power was divested from the shah with the supplementary fundamental law, passed a few days later, governing the appointment of ministers; a committee of mujtahids was established to ensure that new laws abided by sharia. Despite the ulamas' efforts at independence from external dominance, Britain and Russia capitalized on Iran's weak government and signed the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention dividing the country between them (with a neutral central zone). This constitutional period ended when the majlis in Tehran's neutral zone dissolved over the issue of equal rights for non-Muslims; Russia then invaded and captured the city. Although Iran gained a constitution, Iranian independence was not achieved by the revolts.
Persian Constitutional Revolution