Objectives and Consequences of the Government’s Development and Reconstruction Programs in the Mugan Plain during the Pahlavi Era

Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation

Authors
Reza Dehghani 1
Mazaher Solhi 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of West Asia and Africa Studies, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran.
2 Ph.D. Candidate in the History of Iran after Islam, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
10.22034/he.2025.559982.1166
Abstract
The nomadic tribes of the Mugan Plain have traditionally lived in tents, with animal husbandry as their main occupation. Consequently, this ethnic group was not accustomed to a settled lifestyle and constantly migrated to secure fodder for their livestock, lacking permanent residences. In the late Qajar period, when some Iranian cities came under Russian control, parts of the Mugan Plain were annexed by Russia, and the Shahsavan tribes were prohibited from crossing the border. Nevertheless, they frequently raided the newly occupied territories and engaged in acts of plunder, leading both Iranian and Russian governments to adopt policies aimed at curbing these incursions. This article seeks to analyze the impact of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies on the Shahsavan tribes’ way of life by examining the conditions in the Mugan Plain and the Shahsavan confederation. It concludes that the Iranian government’s policies during the late Qajar and Pahlavi eras—including disarmament of tribes, nationalization of rangelands, land reforms, sedentarization of nomads, and their employment in the agricultural and industrial sectors—led to profound changes in the lives of the Shahsavan tribes. They were compelled to abandon nomadism, settle permanently, and shift from animal husbandry to farming. Due to shortages of arable land and the consequences of land reform, some were ultimately forced to migrate to urban areas.

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Human Ecology
Volume 4, Issue 13
Winter 2026
Pages 1795-1804