1908 Tabriz Uprising through French Writings

Abstract

As one of the crucial moments of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, the siege of Tabriz is logically one of the most commented episodes of the period both in Iranian and foreign historiographies. Among these, the French perception of this episode of the late Qajar era is less known than the British and Russian ones, and of course than Iranian sources. This article puts in comparison two testimonies: one from the French Consul in Tabriz, Alphonse Nicolas, and the other one from a French military officer in travel through Central Asia, Fernand Anginieur. Although Nicolas had a great experience of Iran that Anginieur did not have, their visions are quite similar when it comes to close the roots of the revolution in Tabriz. However, because of the gap between their experiences of the region and their own personalities, their writings about Tabriz in 1908–1909 diverge greatly about the appreciation of the events. Nonetheless, the main value of their writings, for us, remains the factual information they gave.