Economic Roles of Zoroastrian Tradesmen and Trade Centers in the Qajar Period

From a political and social point of view, the Qajar period is considered to be one of the important periods in the history of Iran because of the occurrence of the Constitutional Revolution and the development of the National consultative Assembly during this time. In the first years of this government, Zoroastrians did not live in desirable financial conditions; however, from the mid Qajar period, because of establishing a relationship with the Parsis Community of India, their role in the economic and social activities of society became more eye-catching. This incident finally led to their playing a significant role in the events related to the Constitutional Revolution. Relying on first hand sources and following a descriptive-analytic method, this study was conducted to investigate Zoroastrians’ commercial activities and trade centers during the Qajar period and examine their political and social ventures at that time. The findings of this study indicate that Zoroastrian tradesmen and trade centers gradually improved their commercial status from the middle of the Qajar era onwards and, in addition to trade, expanded their activities in relation to money exchange and land ownership over time. The collection of these elements resulted in the gradual growth of their political and social status.