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CONSTELLATIONS. Although several of the constellations visible in the northern hemisphere were recognized and named by the Sumerians already in the 3rd millennium b.c.e., there is no evidence that this feature of Mesopotamian astronomy was shared by the ancient Iranians. Nowhere in the Gathas of Zoroaster or the Old Persian…

CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC. The supplement (motammem) to the Constitution (Qānūn-e asāsī, lit. “fundamental law”) adopted in 1325/1907 had represented a compromise, in which some features of European constitutional law that were obviously inconsistent with traditional Shiʿite religious law were modified (see constutional revolution of 1323-29/1905-11 iii). There was,…

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN. When Amir ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan (r. 1297-1319/1880-1901) acceded to power (see afghanistan x), he established a centralized monarchy in Afghanistan for the first time. Previously the political structure had been based on the notion that the ruler’s authority was derived from and therefore limited by the jergas,…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION (Enqelāb-e mašrūṭa) of 1323-29/1905-11, during which a parliament and constitutional monarchy were established in Persia. i. Intellectual background. ii. Events. iii. The Constitution. iv. The aftermath. v. Political parties of the constitutional period. vi. The press. vii. The constitutional movement in literature.

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION i. Intellectual background The establishment of a constitutional regime in Persia was the chief objective of the Revolution of 1323-29/1905-11. Like any other major revolution, the Constitutional Revolution in Persia encompassed a broad spectrum of ideas and objectives, reflecting diverse intellectual trends, social backgrounds, and political demands. At…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION ii. Events After 1308/1890 the Persian government found itself in increasing financial difficulties, as inflation produced a sharp decline in the value of the land tax (mālīāt; M. Durand, “Memorandum on the Situation in Persia,” 27 September 1895, F.O. 60/566; Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th ed., 1902, s.v. “Persia”; Gilbar,…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION iii. The Constitution The term for “constitution” in Persia, qānūn-e asāsī (lit. “fundamental law”), was borrowed from the Ottoman empire in the 19th century. Throughout the earlier Islamic period qānūn had been the common term for financial and administrative regulations laid down by the ruler independent of the…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION iv. The aftermath In the decade 1329-39/1911-21, from the Russian ultimatum and the dissolution of the Second Majles (see ii, above) until the coup d’etat of 1299 Š./1921, the Constitution was put to a series of crucial tests. Although the independence of Persia had been acknowledged in the…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION v. Political parties of the constitutional period Political parties were first officially organized after Moḥammad-ʿAlī Shah was forced to abdicate in 1327/1909, at about the time elections for the Second Majles were beginning (see ii, above). Four parties, or ḥezbs, were represented in the Majles: the Democrats (Ferqa-ye…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION vi. The press There are no statistics on literacy in Qajar Persia, but it can be conjectured that the literate population was very small. Until the beginning of the Pahlavi era there were people who could “read” the Koran and prayer books, for teaching in religious schools consisted…

CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION vii. The constitutional movement in literature The term “constitutional literature” refers here to literature produced from the late 19th century until 1339=1300 Š./1921, under the impact of aspirations for reform and the constitutional movement. There were three phases in the development of this literature: the preconstitutional period from…

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES in Persian architecture. Materials Mud. The most frequent building material in Iranian cultural areas has always been mud, which is available everywhere. When wet, it can simply be plastered on walls without shaping. Alternatively, it can be tempered and formed into large blocks with more or…

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INDUSTRY To sustain its economic development Iran requires construction materials of all kinds. These include cement, lime, plaster, asbestos (products), and decorative stones, which are discussed in this article. The production of bricks, tiles, and sanitary ware is discussed in the article BRICKS AND CERAMICS INDUSTRY IN IRAN….

CONTARINI, AMBROGIO (1429-99), Venetian merchant and diplomat, author of a noteworthy report on Persia under the Āq Qoyunlū Uzun Ḥasan. He was descended from a patrician family, and in his youth he lived in Constantinople as a merchant until the Turco-Venetian war began in 1463. In 1470, aboard the Aegeus,…