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The Military of Qajar Iran: The Features of an Irregular Army from the Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Uzi Rabi  and
Nugzar Ter-Oganov
Uzi Rabi
Affiliation:
Tel Aviv University
Nugzar Ter-Oganov
Affiliation:
Tel Aviv University
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Abstract

The article examines the parameters of the irregular army in Qajar Iran, including its assembly, numbers, and provisions, as well as the army's organizational structure: its administration and the divisions of the ad hoc forces (provincial militia and tribal cavalry) and of the standing forces (the shah's bodyguard and artillery corps). Until the creation of the so-called regular army units in Iran at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the irregular army was regarded as the only military force in the service of the Qajar dynasty. Despite the existence of a “regular army,” irregular forces, particularly tribal cavalry, continued to play a significant role in Iran's military system throughout the nineteenth century. By understanding the features of the irregular army—its role in Qajar society, its organizational and social structures, its ethnic composition, and other characteristics—we can better understand the character of the state itself.

Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 333 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Iranian Studies 2012

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Footnotes

The authors would like to express their deepest gratitude to Ms Anne Tracy and Ms Teresa Harings for their invaluable editorial assistance in preparing this article.

References

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74 Waring, A Tour to Sheeraz, 84.

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