An experiment in revolutionary nationalism: The rebellion of Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan in Mashhad, April-October 1921

Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 33, Issue 4, 1997, Pages 693-750

  Cronin, Stephanie ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 26444533596     PISSN: 00263206     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00263209708701178     Document Type: Review

References (161)

1. Chaqeri's account of the Jangalis, based on extremely thorough research, bears witness to the fragmentary nature of the source material for the internal history of the movement. Cosroe Chaqueri, The Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran, 1920-1921: Birth of the Trauma (Pittsburgh, 1995).
2. For a discussion of Lahuti and the rebellion which he led in 1922 see Stephanie Cronin, The Army and the Creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910-1926 (London and New York, 1997).
3. A particularly rich source for the history of Pasyan's revolt consists of the weekly Meshed Diaries and Khorasan Intelligence Summaries covering the period from September 1920 to December 1921. The Diaries were compiled by the Consul-General, Lt.-Col. F.B. Prideaux and the Intelligence Summaries by the Military Attache, Lt.-Col. E.A.F. Redl, and his successor, Major H.J.K. Wallis. The Diaries may be found in FO371/4912; 6419; 6420, the Summaries in FO371/4917; 6419; 6420, FO248/1332. The major Persian source for Pasyan's revolt is Kavih Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, Majmu'ah-i Asnad va Madarik 1300 Shamsi (Tehran, 1370), a collection of documents recently published by the Institute for Research and Cultural Studies in Tehran.
4. This largely supersedes the documentary material published by Mihrdad Bahar, Dar Barah-i Qiyam-i Zhandarmiri-yi Khurasan bih Rahbari-yi Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan (Tehran, 1369), although the introduction remains of interest.
5. Also available is Pasyan's own explanation of his actions and the beliefs which inspired them, Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', Mashhad, Laylah-i 13 Saratan 1300, in Chand Nafar az Dustan va Havakhahan-i Anmarhum, Sharh-i Hal-i Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan (Berlin, 1927), pp.26-45.
6. An old but still useful account of the episode and some documents are provided by Malik al-Shu'ara Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar-i Ahzab-i Siyasi-yi Iran (Tehran, 1371).
7. Less reliable is 'Ali Azari, Qiyam-i Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan dar Khurasan (Tehran, 1329).
8. Marxist analyses are put forward by Ja'far Mujiri, 'Qiyam-i Khurasan va Darsha-yi An', Dunya, Vol.7 (Winter 1966), pp.101-18;
9. 'Abd al-Husayn Agahi, 'Qiyam-i Milli-yi Khurasan', Dunya, Vol.6 (Spring 1965), pp.74-80.
10. For a discussion of the Islamic Republic's attempts to appropriate Iranian history see Ervand Abrahamian, Khomeinism (London and New York, 1993), pp.88-110.
11. For an account of the histories of the Gendarmerie and the Cossack Brigade and their relations with each other, see Cronin, The Army.
12. For a detailed account of this process see Cronin, The Army.
13. Lt-Col Parviz Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri-yi Iran (Qum, 1332), p.272.
14. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, p.276;
15. Husayn Makki, Tarikh-i Bist Salah-i Iran (Tehran, 1323), Vol.1, pp.321-2.
16. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', pp.26-7.
17. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah Ibid. p.27.
18. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah Ibid. pp.27-8.
19. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah Ibid. p.28.
20. For a discussion of this process see Cronin, The Army.
21. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, pp.130-1.
22. Cowan, Qazvin, to Marling, 30 November 1915, FO248/1106.
23. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, pp.130-1. Ibid.
24. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, passim.
25. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', p.31.
26. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah Ibid. p.32.
27. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah Ibid. p.32
28. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, pp.101-5.
29. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', pp.33-5.
30. Pasyan also possessed a love of classical Arabic poetry and employed it in his writing. See, for example, the quotation at the beginning of document no. 144, in Kavih Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, Majmu'ah-i Asnad va Madarik 1300 shamsi (Tehran, 1370), p.254.
31. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', p.36.
32. Quoted in Janet Afary, The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911: Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy and the Origins of Feminism (New York, 1996), p.77
33. Richard W. Cottam, Nationalism in Iran (Pittsburgh, 1979), p.107.
34. Houshang Sabahi, British Policy in Persia 1918-1925 (London, 1990), pp.102-7.
35. A translation may be found in Meshed Intelligence Summary no. 24, 12 June, 1920, FO371/4917/C4654/510/34.
36. Meshed I. S. no. 34, 21 August, 1920, FO371/4917/C9625/510/34.
37. For a general assessment of the impact of communism on the Gendarmerie see Cronin, The Army.
38. Meshed Diary no. 19, 10 May, 1919, FO248/1249/8.
39. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, p.222.
40. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, pp.214-19; Meshed Diaries nos. 20-30, 22 May-31 July, 1920, FO 371/4912.
41. Meshed Diary no. 26, 28 June 1919, FO248/1249.
42. Monthly Summary, October, 1920, FO371/6434/E2004/2004/34.
43. Meshed Intelligence Summary no.15, 9 April 1921. FO371/6420/E6979/88/34.
44. Meshed I. S. no. 2, 8 January 1921, FO371/6419/E3611/88/34.
45. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah', p.38.
46. Meshed Diary no 48, 4 December 1920, FO371/6419/E1486/88/34
47. Meshed Intelligence Summary no 51, 18 December 1920, FO371/6419/E2355/88/34
48. The sarkishik was the senior responsible official present in the shrine, deputizing for the mutavallibashi. The shrine possessed five sarkishiks, who were on duty in shifts, throughout the day and night.
49. Meshed Diary no 7, 12 February 1920, FO371/6419/E4501/88/34
50. Meshed I. S. no 3, 15 Jan. 1921, FO 371/6419/E3611/88/34.
51. Homayoun Katouzian, 'Nationalist Trends in Iran, 1921-26', International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.10 (1979), pp.533-51, p.539.
52. Riyasat-i Vuzura' bih Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan, 14 Farvardin, 1300; Riyasat-i Vuzura' bih Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan, 14 Farvardin, 1300, in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, documents No.1 and 2, pp.51-2. Meshed Diary no 15, 9 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6384/88/34.
53. Translation in Meshed Diary No.15, 9 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6384/88/34.
54. Norman to Consul-General, Meshed, 6 April 1921, FO371/6404/E5722/2/34.
55. A'lamiyyah-i Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan, 15 Farvardin, 1300, in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, doc. No.3, pp.52-3.
56. Meshed I. S. No.16, 16 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6979/88/34.
57. Meshed I. S. No.18, 30 April 1921/6420/E8262/88/34.
58. Meshed I. S. No.17, 23 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6984/88/34.
59. Meshed I. S. No.22, 28 May 1921, FO248/1332.
60. Meshed Diary No.19, 7 May 1921, FO371/6420/E8262/88/34.
61. Meshed Diary No.16, 16 April 1921. FO371/6402/E6863/88/34.
62. Alam al-Dawlah subsequently transferred to the Gendarmerie as Accountant and Quartermaster and became chief of police under Pasyan when the Swede, Major Bronikowsky, was dismissed from his post.
63. Consul-General, Meshed, to Government of India, 8 April 1921, FO371/6404/E5722/2/34.
64. Meshed Diary No.16, 16 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6863/88/34.
65. Born in 1883, Zahir al-Islam's father was imam-i jum'ah of Tehran and his mother a daughter of Nasir al-Din Shah. Among his previous appointments was that of mutavallibashi of the Sipah Salar mosque in Tehran and he was one of the largest landowners in Khurasan. He was forced to leave Mashhad in June by the implacable hostitlity of the shrine hierarchy. In September 1921 he was accused of complicity in a plot against Qavam al-Saltanah and Riza Khan and was arrested, but after a short time released.
66. Meshed I. S. No.17, 23 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6984/88/34.
67. Servants and guards of the shrine.
68. Meshed I. S. No.20, 14 May 1921, FO248/1332. According to the British military attaché, 'Those now smarting under deprivation demand that their ancestral lands be restored to them and have vowed their lives and the lives of their sons in the fight with those who have deprived them of their rights and their means of livlihood.' Ibid.
69. Meshed I. S. No.24, 11 June 1921, FO248/1332.
70. The Jangalis adopted this radical programme partly in response to the influence of their local communist allies.
71. Chaqueri, The Soviet Socialist Republic, p.215.
72. Meshed Diary No.20, 14 May 1921, FO371/6420/E8544/88/34.
73. Katouzian, 'Nationalist Trends, p.539.
74. Chaqueri, The Soviet Socialist Republic, p.215. Ibid.
75. Cronin, The Army.
76. According to Afsar, Sayyid Ziya apparently sent orders to the commanders of the Qum and Semnan gendarme battalions, Major Muhammad Khan Dargahi and Major Fath Ali Khan Saqafi Tupchi, that they should send troops towards Tehran. The commanders obeyed, although they were unaware of the purpose of their summons but while en route they received news of the fall of the cabinet and returned to their headquarters. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, pp.277-8.
77. Meshed I. S. no.21, 21 May 1921, FO248/1332.
78. Meshed Diary No.22, 28 May 1921, FO371/6420/E8544/88/34.
79. Consul-General, Meshed, to Norman, 31 May 1921, FO371/6405/E8263/2/34.
80. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, Vol.1, p.145.
81. Pasyan's terms are listed in full in Meshed Diary No.23, 4 June 1921, FO371/6420/ E8807/88/34.
82. See, for example, Bahar's assessment of the relative popularity of gendarmes over cossacks and the high reputation of Pasyan himself. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, p.159.
83. Sabahi, British Policy, p.160.
84. Annual Report, 1922, Loraine to Curzon, 16 July 1923, FO371/9051/E8057/8057/34.
85. Cronin, The Army.
86. Meshed I. S. No.30, 16 July 1921, FO371/6420/E12077/88/34.
87. Meshed I. S. No.24, 11 June 1921, FO 248/1332.
88. Meshed I. S. No.28, 9 July 1921, FO 248/1332.
89. Meshed I. S. No.30, 16 July 1921, FO371/6420/E12077/88/34.
90. Consul-General, Meshed, to Norman, 29 July 1921, FO371/6406/E10145/2/34.
91. Meshed I. S. No.31, 23 July 1921, FO371/6420/E12077/88/34.
92. Consul-General, Meshed, to Norman, 3 Aug. 1921, FO371/6406/E10145/2/34.
93. Telegram from Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan to Samsam al-Saltanah Bakhtiyari, 16 Asad, 1300; telegram from Samsam al-Saltanah to Pasyan,18 Asad, 1300, in Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.146-8.
94. The extant correspondence between Pasyan and Samsam is reproduced in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, docs. Nos.5-8, 10-14, pp.54-64.
95. Afsar, Tarikh-i Zhandarmiri, p.234.
96. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, p.149.
97. Pasyan had earlier offered an explanation of his action in Khurasan to General Hamzah Khan, see Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan bih Zhanral Hamzah Khan Pasyan, 3 Tir, 1300, in Bayat, Tarikh-i Inqilab, doc. No.4, p.53.
98. Colonel Gleerup, for example, had formed this opinion during his mission to Sharifabad. Meshed Diary No.35, 27 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E11627/88/34.
99. Meshed I. S. No.34, 20 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34; see also A'lamiyyah-i Jam'i Az Tarafdaran-i Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan, in Bayat, Tarikh-i Inqilab, doc. No.38, pp.94-6. Pasyan's opponents also engaged in the propaganda war, see, for example, A'lamiyyahay bar zid-i Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan, in Bayat, Tarikh-i Inqilab, doc. No.98, pp.161-2.
100. Meshed I. S. No.32, 6 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34.
101. For the telegrams from Qavam al-Saltanah to Shuja al-Mulk Hazarah see Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, docs. No.28-30, pp.82-4.
102. Meshed Diary No.34, 20 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E11276/88/34.
103. Meshed I. S. No.34, 20 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34.
104. Meshed I. S. No.35, 27 Aug. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34.
105. This telegram is reproduced in Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.151-2.
106. These telegraphic exchanges are reproduced in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, passim.
107. These negotiations were still proceeding at time of the Kurd revolt.
108. Bahar, pp.148-52.
109. J.M. Balfour, Recent Happenings in Persia (Edinburgh and London, 1922), pp.275-6.
110. A return showing the total strength and distribution of the Khurasan Gendarmerie may be found in Meshed I. S. No.36, 3 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34.
111. Farajallah Bahrami was an important official of the Riza Shah period and was secretary to Riza before and immediately after his accession to the throne.
112. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.159-60.
113. Norman to Curzon, 11 Sept. 1921, FO371/6407/E12292/2/34.
114. Balfour, Recent Happenings, pp.275-6.
115. Meshed I. S. No.37, 10 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E13787/88/34. Arif Qazvini was one of the most important poets of early twentieth century Iran and had, during the Great War, identified himself with the left-wing of the nationalist movement. For Qazvini see Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature (Reidel, 1968), p.372.
116. Meshed Diary no 15, 9 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6384/88/34
117. Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature (1968), p.372. Ibid.
118. See, for sample, his letter to the Na'ib al-Hukumah of Herat to whom Shuja al-Mulk had appealed for help. Meshed I. S. No.41, 8 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E13787/88/34.
119. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.144-5.
120. Telegram from Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan to Samsam al-Saltanah, 10 Asad, 1300, in Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.142-4.
121. Translation in Meshed Diary No.15, 9 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6384/88/34.
122. Pasyan, 'Risalah-i Difa'iyyah, p.40.
123. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah, Ibid., p.40.
124. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah, Ibid., p.26.
125. Pasyan, Risalah-i Difa'iyyah, Ibid., p.45.
126. Meshed Diary No.15, 9 April 1921, FO371/6420/E6384/88/34.
127. Bayaniyyah-i Intibahiyyah-i Jam'iyyat-i Milliyun-i Khurasan, in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, doc. No.126, pp.190-2.
128. Consul-General, Meshed, to Mr Bridgeman, 18 Nov. 1921, FO371/7802/E530/6/34.
129. Meshed Diary No.43, 22 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E14153/88/34.
130. Ittihad-i Islam was a trend, rather than an organization proper, Islamic and nationalist in orientation. See Majid Tafrishi, 'Shaykh al-Ra'is Qajar va Andishah-i Ittihad-i Islam', in Tarikh-i Mu'asir-i Iran (Tehran, 1372), Vol.1, pp.65-78.
131. Bayaniyyah-i Intibahiyyah-i Jam'iyyat-i Milliyun-i Khurasan, in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, doc. No.126, pp.190-2.
132. Meshed I. S. no 36, 3 Sept. 1921, FO 371/6420/E12452/88/34.
133. Tehran I. S. no 20, 17 Sept. 1921, FO371/6435/E11701/2004/34.
134. Meshed I. S. No.39, 24 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E14151/88/34.
135. Meshed I. S. No.36, 3 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E12452/88/34.
136. Meshed I. S. No.40, 1 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E14151/88/34.
137. Official communiqués about the fighting on the eastern front in this period were frequently issued by the Mashhad military authorities, see Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, passim.
138. The fighting on the eastern front was mainly undertaken by the Kavih detachment commanded by Captain Taqi Khan Kavusi and the Shamshir detachment of Captain Ali Riza Khan Shamshir. Orders and reports passing between the Mashhad military authorities and these detachments are reproduced in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, passim.
139. Meshed I. S. No.37, 10 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E13787/88/34. Literally 'freedom-wishers', the azadikhahan were religious and generally constitutionalist/nationalist.
140. Norman to Curzon, 11 Sept. 1921, FO371/6407/E12292/2/34.
141. Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, Ibid.
142. Meshed I. S. No.41, 8 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E13787/88/34. Both Tehran and Mashhad persistently accused the other of receiving British support. The Tehran newspaper Ittihad was typical, on 4 Sept. for example, alleging that the British were giving money, arms and munitions to Pasyan and intended to send disbanded units of the South Persia rifles to Khurasan to fight for him. FO371/6407/E12041/2/34.
143. Meshed Diary No.38, 17 Sept. 1921, FO371/6420/E13651/88/34.
144. Annual Report, 1922, Loraine to Curzon, 16 July 1923, FO371/9051/E8057/8057/34
145. For the composition of the Kurd forces see Meshed I. S. No.42, 15 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E14151/88/34.
146. For an account of this episode see Ramzan 'Ali Shakari, Atraknamah: Tarikh-i Jam'-i Quchan (Tehran, 1345), pp.122-6; Meshed I. S. No.41, 8 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E13787/ 88/34.
147. The telegrams exchanged between Qavam and Aqazadah were published in the Bahar of 5 October and are reproduced in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, pp.224-5, doc. No.165.
148. The central government refused to acknowledge promotions made by Pasyan without their sanction.
149. Meshed Diary No.41, 8 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E13651/88/34.
150. The conditions put forward by Nawzari were published in the newspaper Bahar of 6 October and may be found in full in Meshed Diary No.41, 8 Oct. 1921, FO371/6420/E13651/88/34.
151. Pasyan's tomb immediately became a focus for nationalist activity and religious/political ceremonies were held there almost daily. In order to remove this focus Riza Khan later ordered a party of cossacks to transfer Pasyan's remains to a common cemetary outside the town.
152. See for example, their response to Pasyan's death: A'lamiyyah-i Havadaran-i Kulunil, in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, doc. 181, pp.241-3.
153. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, pp.157-8.
154. An extract from Bahar describing this episode may be found in Bayat, Inqilab-i Khurasan, doc. No.182, pp.244-7.
155. Bahar, Tarikh-i Mukhtasar, p.157.
156. Only after the amalgamation of the Gendarmerie and the Cossack Division in December were some officers arrested by a military court convened to adjudicate on claims preferred against the gendarmerie.
157. On the whole the Tehran authorities, once they had established their control in Mashhad, refrained from reprisals, treating even the closest colleagues of Pasyan with some leniency. Mahmud Khan Nawzari, for example, resumed his career by transferring to the police where he reached the rank of colonel and chief of police at Qazvin, while Mu'tasim al-Saltanah was pardoned by the cabinet of Mushir al-Dawlah in 1922. Amanallah Ardalan, Khatirat-i Haj 'Izz al-Mamalik Ardalan, ed. Baqir Aqali (Tehran, 1372), p.114
158. For a discussion of this phenomenon see the introduction to Mihrdad Bahar, Dar Barah-i Qiyam-i Zhandarmiri-yi Khurasan bih Rahbari-yi Kulunil Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan (Tehran, 1369).
159. Pasyan himself always wrote in Persian, never in Turkish.
160. For a discussion of the disagreements within the Democrat party over attitudes to the central government see M. Reza Ghods, Iran in the Twentieth Century (Boulder, Colorado, 1989)
161. For an attempt to place Pasyan and Riza Khan in comparative perspective, and to discusss both in relation to Mustafa Kemal in Turkey, see Cronin, The Army, pp.10-12.