ESTEQLĀL

 

ESTEQLĀL, newspaper published by the constitutionalists who had taken refuge in the Ottoman consulate in Tabrīz during the Russian occupation of the city in 1327/1909. Fifty-four issues were published from 23 Jomādā I 1327 to 16 Jomādā I 1328/12 June 1909-26 May 1910. It was originally a weekly, but after the seventh issue it appeared three times a week. It was produced at first by a committee chosen from among the refugees: Moḥammad-Reżā Šīrāzī, the publisher of Mosāwāt; Mīṟza Aḥmad Qazvīnī; and Mīrzā Āqā Bolūrī, the publisher of Nāla-ye mellat. Until the seventh issue the newspaper had no masthead, did not list the name of a publisher, and was printed on a lithograph press that the constitutionalists had brought with them to the consulate. After the victory of the constitutionalists Mīrzā Āqā continued to publish the paper alone, working out of the office of the Anjoman-e eyālatī. The newspaper contained a mixture of features and news stories, the latter generally concerned with Azerbaijan. It was opposed to Russian policies.

The format was four two-column pages first lithographed (nos. 1-7) and later on typeset, measuring 20 x 30.5 and 22 x 36 cm, respectively. It carried no illustrations. Early issues cost 2, 3, 4 šāhīs for Tabrīz, other Persian cities, and abroad, respectively. Subscriptions for later issues were 15 qerāns, 20 qerāns, and 15 French francs. Copies are kept at Tehran University, National Library (Tehran), and Cambridge and Princeton universities.

 

Bibliography (for cited works not given in detail see “Short References”):

“À Tauris,” RMM 8, 1909, p. 505.

Browne, Press and Poetry, no. 43.

A. Kasrawī, Āḏarbāyjān, p. 50.

G. Kohen, Tārīḵ-e sānsūr dar maṭbūʿāt-e Īrān, 2 vols., Tehran, 1362 Š./1983, II, p. 420.

R. Mach and R. D. McChesney, “A List of Persian Serials in the Princeton University Library,” unpub. handlist, Princeton, 1971.

Ḥ. Naḵjavānī, “Tārīḵča-ye entešār-e rūz-nāmahā wa majallāt dar Āḏarbāyjān,” NDA Tabrīz 15/1, 1342 Š./1963, p. 6.

H. L. Rabino, Ṣūrat-e jarāʾed-e Īrān. . ., Rašt, 1329/1911, no. 18.

Ṣadr-e Hāšemī, Jarāʾed o majallāt, nos. 121-22.

U. Sims-Williams, Union Catalogue of Persian Serials and Newspapers in the British Librariess, London, 1985, no. 240.

M. Solṭānī, Fehrest-e rūz-nāmahā-ye fārsī dar Ketāb-ḵāna-ye markazī-ye Dānešgāh-e Tehrān, Tehran, 1354 Š./1975, no. 33.

Tārīḵ-e Bīdārī, ed. Saʿīdī Sīrjānī, II, pp. 473-75.

(Nassereddin Parvin)

Originally Published: December 15, 1998

Last Updated: January 19, 2012

This article is available in print.
Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 654-655