October 30, 2018 – Arash Khazeni
“The Qajar Empire and the World of 19th-Century Iran”
Speaker – Dr. Arash Khazeni, Pomona College, Department of History
The Qajar Era (1785-1925), named after the dynasty that ruled Iran during the long 19th century, saw the coming of some of the most decisive changes in the country’s modern history. From a western perspective, its beginning roughly coincided with the French Revolution and the rise of industrialized Europe and its imperial power, and its end with the First World War and the demise of imperial systems worldwide. From the perspective of Iran’s history, the rise of the Qajar Empire brought to an end the political instability that had characterized Iran since the fall of the Safavid Empire in 1722, and became the crucial period when Iran encountered European imperialism at the height of its expansion, becoming influenced although not fully transformed by new political, economic, and cultural challenges. Resisting the expansion of the Russian and British empires, Qajar Iran escaped direct colonial domination, but it suffered territorial losses, diminishing prestige, and intervention before coming to an end in a climate of revolution and war in the first decades of the 20th century. Arash Khazeni earned a Ph.D. in history from Yale and teaches Middle Eastern, South Asian, and world history at Pomona College. His research has been published extensively.
Introduction: Roya Ardelan
Fellowship: Bob Knell
Greeter: Anne Sonner
Birthdays: Julia Arias