Abstract

Political legitimacy, as one of the foundational pillars sustaining any governmental system, rests not merely on the exercise of coercive force but on the voluntary acceptance of power by members of society. This study examines the transformation of the foundations of monarchical legitimacy during the Qajar period, with particular focus on the reigns of the first four monarchs of this dynasty — Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar, Fath Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Naser al-Din Shah. The principal research questions are as follows: What were the primary bases of Qajar monarchical legitimacy across different periods? How did these foundations evolve over time? And what factors contributed to the gradual erosion and ultimate collapse of that legitimacy? Employing a historical method with a descriptive-analytical approach, and drawing upon both official historiographical sources of the Qajar era and contemporary scholarly literature, this study investigates the question of legitimacy in a systematic and rigorous manner. The findings indicate that Qajar legitimacy was constituted and transformed through a complex amalgam of tribal-confederal, military, religious, historical-symbolic, administrative, and international elements, with the historiographical sources of this period serving as the most significant repositories of evidence for this process. Aqa Mohammad Khan relied predominantly on military power and tribal-confederal unity; Fath Ali Shah constructed a cultural-religious framework by synthesizing Iranian imperial traditions with Shia doctrinal foundations; Mohammad Shah confronted multiple crises and profound dysfunctions that severely undermined the legitimacy of his rule; and Naser al-Din Shah endeavored to forge a renewed legitimacy order by supplementing traditional sources of authority with modern governmental instruments. Nevertheless, internal contradictions, military defeats, administrative corruption, and religious challenges precipitated the gradual attrition of his legitimacy, thereby laying the groundwork for subsequent legitimacy crises, most notably the Constitutional Revolution.