An Investigation of the Concept and Extensions of Wealth according to the Intellectuals of Qajar Nasir al-Din Shah Era
Elnaz Abeshloo*
Citation : Elnaz Abeshloo, An Investigation of the Concept and Extensions of Wealth according to the Intellectuals of Qajar Nasir al-Din Shah EraInternational Journal of History and Cultural Studies 2019, 5(1) : 10-24.
Iranian society was a poor and powerless society under Nasir al-Din Shah. The people of this era had their particular vision of wealth. Their definition of wealth was a variation of the traditional definition based on the traditional and underdeveloped conditions of Qajar era. But in the west there was another view of wealth and wealth accumulation and massive volume of wealth and the development that existed in western societies in nineteenth century caused a number of Iranian intellectuals offer a new and more updated definition of this category. Such figures as Kermani, Talbov, Maraghei, Mirza Malkom Khan and the like, struggled to define real wealth and encourage the Shah and people to spend on education and expansion of industries and mines instead of purposeless accumulation of gold and jewelries and adding to the number of profitless lands and farms. Their definitions of the concept of wealth and their solutions for unprecedented increase of wealth in the sense that is prevalent in the west will be assayed in the current essay.