An Iranian Town in Transition

Book excerpt: An Iranian Town in Transition deals with the social and economic history of Tabriz, a town in north-west Iran and the centre of the historical province Azerbaijan. The focus of this study is on the notables of the town in an epoch of fundamental change that stretches from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Far from narrating a simple history of events, the study addresses major questions related to endowments (waqf), the workings of the Shiite judiciary, urban and provincial administration, the changing role of the 'ulama, and tenure of landed property in concrete case-studies. With its wide perspective on developments in urban society, the study interprets the process of social change in the transitional period from the Zands to the Qajars as a crucial starting point for the modern history of Iran. Stressing the importance of indigenous sources for this period, the author drew heavily on hitherto neglected Persian archival material. A large number of documents, deeds, and court protocols are included in critical edition in the appendix.