AHC Qajars don't get carved up like a turkey

  • Thread starter Deleted member 14881
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Deleted member 14881

IOTL the Qajars lost a bunch of land to Russia in the various Russo Persian wars,and then got divided into spheres of inflcues by Russia,and Britian. How can we get the Qajars to Modernized themselves?
 
Even starting at the very beginning of their dynasty, this would be a tough one. The problem is that the Qajars, like every previous dynasty came to power thanks to the military prowess of their Quizabashi nomads allies. The Quizalbashi, as nomads, were quite opposed to any attempts to centralize the Persian state, and would have strongly opposed any efforts to fundamentally reform the Persian state.

I think the Qajars best chance to modernize in was during the Persian-Russian war of 1801-1813. If Britain had been hostile to Russia for a longer time during that period, they could have sent a more substantial number of military advisers. This could have helped the Persians fend off the Russians, but no number of advisers could change their military culture. Hundreds of European mercenaries and advisers had little success in reforming similar backward Maratha dynasties in India.

Getting back to the question, Nasser-e-din had plenty of time, and a favorable international climate to reform his country, if he had been more ruthless he might have pulled it off. He was in power for nearly 50 years, and was never invaded by a foreign power in his own country, and faced no major domestic opposition, except for his oppression against religious nonconformists like the Bahais. But he was not able to enact substantial military reforms or industrialize his country beyond some superficial improvements like a few railroads and a university. Socially and politically Persia was still a feudal country entering the 19th century, and it entered the 20th largely the same way.

The only way Persia could have reformed itself (and avoided irrelevance at the world stage) would have been to westernize, and bring in thousands of European experts and settled them in Persia like Peter the Great did with Germans. Because of Persia's political culture, that would have simply been impossible for a Shia ruler to bring Christians to settle his land. Maybe if Nasser-e-din was violently opposed to the Shia clergy, and willing to slaughter any who opposed his schemes, then such reforms would have been possible. In short, I think you would need a Shah of Abbass's ruthlessness, minus his later insanity.
 
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