'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎18v] (41/610)

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Deposition of
Mahammad Ali
Shah, 1909.
Attitude of
Russia towards
the constitu
tional move
ment.
them to desist, and guaranteed the Constitutional behaviour
of the Shah in future. Their attempts at mediation were a
failure, and Sipahdar and the Bakhtiaris united 16 miles
West of Tehran. After 2 days’ indecisive fighting with Royalist
troops on 10th and 11th July Sipahdar and Yeprim with
300 men slipped through a gap in the Royalist line between
Shahabad and Yaftabad, and suddenly appeared in Tehran,
where they rallied round the Baharistan. Three days’ street
fighting, with a desultory bombardment of the city from the
Qasr-i-Kajar, resulted, until on 16th July the Shah and his
favourites left his summer palace of Sultanatabad and took
c bast (Per.) A Persian custom allowing an individual to seek asylum at a designated location. ’ at the Russian Legation in the village of Zargandeh.
Colonel Liakhoff went to the Baharistan and placed- the
services of the Cossack Division at the disposal of Sardar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
Asad and the Sipahdar. A council was held and voted the
deposition of Muhammad Ali Shah and the succession of Sultan
Ahmad his son, who was still a minor.
After a period of negotiations 1 between the ex-Shah and
the popular leaders, conducted throu-gh the Legations, he
finally left Tehran on 9th September for Kieff.
After the capture of the city Yeprim organized an able
police administration and no disorders resulted. It is note
worthy that although the origin of the revolution was to a
considerable extent anti-foreign, in order to check the growth
of foreign control in Persia, the lives and property of foreigners
had been in no 2 way molested. On the pretext of their pro
tection, however, Russia had introduced troops into Northern
Persia. Their entry into Tabriz in April was riot inop
portune, but in July a Russian force of one battalion infantry,
500 Cossacks, 4 guns and some sappers landed at Enzali-and
advanced to Kazvin to watch the Tehran situation. Having
seized this pretext, however, for a professedly temporary occu
pation, Russia never withdrew her troops despite the remons
trances of Great Britain, who advocated a policy of non
intervention in Persia in accordance with the spirit gf the
1907 Convention. The anti-Russian feeling engendered among
the Persian constitutionalists and the attitude they conse
quently assumed towards Russia, were productive of friction
and of the estrangement which led to the disastrous events
of 1911, and the crushing by Russian ultimatums of the only
hopeful reform tendency evolved during the period.
1 It was settled that he should relinquish his estates to the Persian Govern
ment, who in return took over his debts to the Russian Bank and promised him
an annual pension of 100,000 tumans.
2 It is impossible to judge to what extent this immunity was due, to fear of the
consequences owing to the peculiar position in which Persia found herself between
her two powerful neighbours, England and Russia.