| June 23, 1908 in Iran, the day of the bombardment of the majles and the arrest, torture and execution of many constitutionalists, marks the beginning of the reign of terror for those who sought reform and progress, within a modernist context. As a result of the politically precarious and perilous situation inside Iran, most revolutionary efforts to overthrow the Shah, whom the constitutionalists blamed for the suppression, and to restore constitutional rule, which had been aborted in June 1908, originated from outside Iran. Following these events, Istanbul, London, Paris, Baku, Tiflis, Najaf and Karbala became the locus of revolutionary resistance for Iranians who yearned to change the dominant despotic political system in Iran.;In this dissertation, I expound on and analyze the activities of the Iranians beyond the borders of Iran whose involvement, both ideological and financial, from the periphery, but within a global context of change, caused a major political, social and cultural transformation inside the center. I argue that the ideological transformation introduced by these groups promoted a modernist discourse that sought to infuse new ideas, starkly undermining "traditional" structures.;Furthermore, I examine four specific concepts, namely, freedom, monarchy, Islam and homeland, within the historical context of the Constitutional Revolution of 1909, which succeeded in deposing Mohammad 'Ali Shah Qajar and in restoring constitutional rule. It is my argument that the emergence and development of the concepts mentioned during the period of the lesser despotism (estebdad-e saghir), from June 1908-July 1909, by Iranians beyond the border of Iran, clarified and solidified the intellectual basis of constitutionalism in Iran. |
