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The Autonomous Government of Khorasan was a short-lived military state set up in Iran. It was formally established on the April 2, 1921, and collapsed a few months later, on October 6, 1921. Their capital was Mashhad.
Total Armed Forces: 5,000 Gendarms in October, 1921
Government structure
Military Governor-General
President of the National Committee of Khorasan (NCK): Colonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian 2 April 1921 to 3 October 1921
Acting Governor-General Major Mahmoud Khan Nowzari 4 October 1921 to early November, 1921 (Khorasan under Nowzari was not autonomous fully, as Nowzari had surrendered to Persia and was simply acting Governor until arrival of Persia's appointed governor into Mashhad.
Selfimposed Governor-General Major Ismail Khan Bahador was second-in-command to Pesyan and after Pesyan's death he tried to maintain Khorasan's independence and continue Pesyan's path. He launched a coup against Nowzari on 16 October 1921 when he had him arrested and declared himself Governor-General of Khorasan which didn't last long as Nowzari received help and was rescued from prison.
On April 2, 1921, Colonel Pesyan, Chief of Gendarmerie of Khorasan, along with his cousin General Heydargholli Pesyan, a commander of the Iranian Cossack Brigade, had Ahmad Qavam, the Governor-general of Khorasan, removed in a military coup. He was arrested and sent to Tehran. Qavam and several other dominant figures in Khorasan were charged with tax evasion charges, the evidence for which were provided to Pesyan by a Belgian named Dubois who was Director of Revenue in Khorasan.
While Qavam was in prison in Tehran, Pesyan was declared Governor-general of Khorasan and ruled Khorasan autonomously even though he was a supporter of Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee, then the Prime Minister of Persia.
In May 1921, Qavam was freed from prison and Tabatabaee was no longer Prime Minister. Qavam became Prime Minister and planned to take revenge on Pesyan. As of May 30, 1921, Pesyan declared that Khorasan was fully Autonomous and he established the National Committee of Khorasan or Komitey-e Melli-e Khorasan in Persian. The committee started a program of plans and reforms, but faced some fierce opposition by some tribal and religious leaders.
Plans
Commenced between 2 April to 25 May
Reform the military organisation of Khorasan and proclamation of martial law. The nizam (infantry) and Gendarmerie were combined to form this new force. New soldiers were heavily recruited for the new force. In April there were only 200 Gendarms while in October there were approximately 5,000.
Setup of a finance commission to investigate and assess revenue claims. This had outraged wealthy tribal chiefs and merchants.
Reform of the shrine administration; this included steps to be taken against those shrine administrators who had consumed vast amounts of shrine revenues.
Subsidy of two local newspapers: Sharq-e-Iran (The East of Iran) and Mihr-e-Monir (The Shining Sun) to support the government of Seyed Zia Tabatabaei.
Commenced between 26 May to 6 Oct
Imposition of censorship in the telegraph office.
Series of arrests of persons believed to have been collaborating with Persia's Central Government of Ahmad Qavam.
Kumiteye Melli-e Khorasan (National Committee of Khorasan) issued a manifesto on 15 September 1921, and prepared a proclamation declaring Khorasan a republic which was postponed by Colonel Pesyan and never implemented.
Sold a large amount of grain to a Bolshevik Food Purchasing Commission.
Extracted forced loans from the wealthy and auctioned off the belongings of the defeated tribal chiefs.
Encouraged anti-British stance, pro-Soviet ideas and Persian Nationalist beliefs.
Imposed a poll tax on all travelers leaving Mashhad and 10% tax on all exports.
Encouraged export of goods to Afghanistan and Soviet Union.
Establishment of a local bank in September 1921.
Striking of its own coinage was also considered.
Steps for the inception of a Department of Education were taken; Colonel Pesyan himself gave money in the interests of female schooling.
Battles
Several tribal leaders who had lost most of their wealth and belongings due to Pesyan's reform programs were supported by Qavam's government. Therefore, on August 11, 1921, the first battle took place between a detachment of Gendarmes in a village near Kariz on Afghanistan border and forces of Hazara chief Shuja al-Mulk. Gendarmes defeated and fled to Mashhad. This defeat results in appointment of Shawkat al-Dowlah a rival of Shuja al-Mulk as Governor of Torbat-e-Jam with a task to deal with disturbances and a sending of strong numerous gendarme forces on August 20, 1921.
In September, 1921 Gendarme forces from Kariz, Torbat-e-Jam, Torbat-e Heydarieh defeated the strong tribal confederatory force of Hazara, Baluch, Barbari and Qarai Turks, whose leaders were Shuja al-Mulk, Seyed Heydar Barbari, Salar Khan Baluch, Mir Ali Ahmad Barbari, Ibrahim Khan Baluch and Jafar Khan Qaraei in a battle which took place in Bakharz. Shuja fled to Afghanistan and the tribal disturbances in the south-east were stopped.
On October 3, 1921, Pesyan himself took to battle, personally leading his 150 Gendarmes to fight a Kurdish coalition tribal force which had more than 1,000 men, led by Sardar of Bojnurd and Taj Mohammad Khan of Quchan, who were also financially and militarily aided by the British and the Persian government of Ahmad Qavam. Pesyan fought bravely with only 60 bullets, however he and his small force were circled by the Kurds and massacred. Pesyan's head was cut off as proof of his death and sent to Qavam.
Collapse
After Pesyan's death, the committee was no longer united. A new rivalry started between Nowzari and Ismail Khan Bahador, who were Pesyan's partisans. Nowzari managed to take charge of Khorasan and he surrendered to Persia's government. In November, 1921 a strong military force of Gendarmes and Cossacks arrived in Mashhad and handed the administrative duties to the newly appointed Governor-General of the province.
An Experiment in Revolutionary Nationalism: The Rebellion of Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan in Mashhad, April–October 1921, Stephanie Cronin, Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.33, No. 4 October 1997, pp. 693–750.
Further reading
Soldiers, Shahs and Subalterns in Iran: Opposition, Protest and Revolt, 1921–1941
External links
Institute of Iranian Contemporary History Studies
Tabriz-Info
May 04, 2023
autonomous, government, khorasan, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Autonomous Government of Khorasan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article is in list format but may read better as prose You can help by converting this article if appropriate Editing help is available July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Autonomous Government of Khorasan was a short lived military state set up in Iran It was formally established on the April 2 1921 and collapsed a few months later on October 6 1921 Their capital was Mashhad Autonomous State of Khorasan1921FlagStatusUnrecognized stateCapitalMashhadGovernmentMilitary occupationPresident 2 Apr 3 Oct 1921Mohammad Taqi PessianGovernor General 4 Oct Nov 1921 acting Mahmoud Khan Nowzari 16 Nov 1921Ismail Khan BahadorHistory EstablishedApril 1921 DisestablishedNovemberPreceded by Succeeded byQajar dynasty Qajar dynasty Contents 1 State information 2 Government structure 2 1 Military Governor General 2 2 Other senior government officials 2 3 Gendarmerie stations 2 4 Regional Administrators and Tribal Chieftains 3 Establishment 4 Plans 5 Battles 6 Collapse 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External linksState information EditEstablished 2 April 1921 Dissolved 6 October 1921 Capital Mashhad Khorasan Major Administrative Towns Nishapur Quchan Bojnourd Sabzevar Torbat e Heydarieh Torbat e Jam Ferdows Tabas Birjand Type of Government Military Government Secular Nationalist Area Consisted of current Iranian provinces Razavi Khorasan South Khorasan North Khorasan Golestan as well as region of Sistan Ethnic groups Persian Khorasani Turkish Kurdish Turkmen Tajik Hazara Baluch Arabic Aimak Barbari Qarai Turks Religions Shia Islam Sunni Islam Bahaʼi Faith Currency Persian Dinar Currency Photos Total Armed Forces 5 000 Gendarms in October 1921Government structure EditMilitary Governor General Edit President of the National Committee of Khorasan NCK Colonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian 2 April 1921 to 3 October 1921 Acting Governor General Major Mahmoud Khan Nowzari 4 October 1921 to early November 1921 Khorasan under Nowzari was not autonomous fully as Nowzari had surrendered to Persia and was simply acting Governor until arrival of Persia s appointed governor into Mashhad Selfimposed Governor General Major Ismail Khan Bahador was second in command to Pesyan and after Pesyan s death he tried to maintain Khorasan s independence and continue Pesyan s path He launched a coup against Nowzari on 16 October 1921 when he had him arrested and declared himself Governor General of Khorasan which didn t last long as Nowzari received help and was rescued from prison Other senior government officials Edit Official post Name Party affiliationCommander of Armed Forces Major Ismail Khan Bahador NCKSenior Gendarmerie Commander Major Mahmoud Khan Nowzari NCKDirector of Revenues Monsieur Leon Dubois noneRevenue Accountant and Chief of Policea Alam od dowleh NCKChief of Policeb Major Bronikovsky noneMutavallibashi of the Shrine Zahir ol Islam NCKKargozar Mutasim al Saltaneh Farrokh NCKOwner of Tus Press Mir Morteza NCKChief Editor of Bahar Newspaper Sheikh Ahmad Bahar NCKFounder of Democratic Party of Khorasan Mohammad Taghi Bahar DPK NCKPoet Aref Qazvini NCKMojtahed Mohammad Najafi Khorasanic noneMachine gun Instructor A German national noneChief of Excise Department NCKChief of Post Office NCKChief of Telegraph Office NCKDirector of Education NCKChief of Customs Department NCKChief of Justice Department NCKa From 24 August to 3 October b Until 24 August c Also known as Aghazadeh Gendarmerie stations Edit Chief Location NameColonel Mohammad Taqi Pessian Mashhad Ordu ye MashhadMajor Mahmoud Nowzari Quchan Ordu ye NaderiMajor Ismail Bahador Sabzevar Ordu ye QaderCaptain Mohammad Taqi Kavoussi Torbat e Heydarieh Ordu ye KavehCaptain Alireza Shamshir Torbat e Jam Ordu ye ShamshirCaptain Abdolrazaq Sepehri Gonabad Ordu ye Barq 1 Regional Administrators and Tribal Chieftains Edit Administrator Tribal Chief RegionCapital Tribe clanEthnicityIsmail Shawkat ol Molk II Qayenat Sistancapital Birjand Khozaima tribeArabSalar Khan Baluch Torbat e Heydarieh BaluchIbrahim Khan Baluch Torbat e Heydarieh BaluchJafar Khan Qaraei Torbat e Heydarieh Qaraei tribeQaraeiHeydar Shah Barbari tribeBarbariMir Ali Ahmad Barbari tribeBarbariShawkat od Dowleh capital Torbat e Jam Teymouri tribeAimakShoja ol Molk Hazara tribeHazaraTaj Mohammad Khan Quchancapital Quchan KurdishMohammad Ibrahim Khan Qaramanlu Quchancapital Quchan Qaramanlu clanKurdishEstablishment EditOn April 2 1921 Colonel Pesyan Chief of Gendarmerie of Khorasan along with his cousin General Heydargholli Pesyan a commander of the Iranian Cossack Brigade had Ahmad Qavam the Governor general of Khorasan removed in a military coup He was arrested and sent to Tehran Qavam and several other dominant figures in Khorasan were charged with tax evasion charges the evidence for which were provided to Pesyan by a Belgian named Dubois who was Director of Revenue in Khorasan While Qavam was in prison in Tehran Pesyan was declared Governor general of Khorasan and ruled Khorasan autonomously even though he was a supporter of Seyyed Zia eddin Tabatabaee then the Prime Minister of Persia In May 1921 Qavam was freed from prison and Tabatabaee was no longer Prime Minister Qavam became Prime Minister and planned to take revenge on Pesyan As of May 30 1921 Pesyan declared that Khorasan was fully Autonomous and he established the National Committee of Khorasan or Komitey e Melli e Khorasan in Persian The committee started a program of plans and reforms but faced some fierce opposition by some tribal and religious leaders Plans EditCommenced between 2 April to 25 May Reform the military organisation of Khorasan and proclamation of martial law The nizam infantry and Gendarmerie were combined to form this new force New soldiers were heavily recruited for the new force In April there were only 200 Gendarms while in October there were approximately 5 000 Setup of a finance commission to investigate and assess revenue claims This had outraged wealthy tribal chiefs and merchants Reform of the shrine administration this included steps to be taken against those shrine administrators who had consumed vast amounts of shrine revenues Subsidy of two local newspapers Sharq e Iran The East of Iran and Mihr e Monir The Shining Sun to support the government of Seyed Zia Tabatabaei Commenced between 26 May to 6 Oct Imposition of censorship in the telegraph office Series of arrests of persons believed to have been collaborating with Persia s Central Government of Ahmad Qavam Kumiteye Melli e Khorasan National Committee of Khorasan issued a manifesto on 15 September 1921 and prepared a proclamation declaring Khorasan a republic which was postponed by Colonel Pesyan and never implemented Sold a large amount of grain to a Bolshevik Food Purchasing Commission Extracted forced loans from the wealthy and auctioned off the belongings of the defeated tribal chiefs Encouraged anti British stance pro Soviet ideas and Persian Nationalist beliefs Imposed a poll tax on all travelers leaving Mashhad and 10 tax on all exports Encouraged export of goods to Afghanistan and Soviet Union Establishment of a local bank in September 1921 Striking of its own coinage was also considered Steps for the inception of a Department of Education were taken Colonel Pesyan himself gave money in the interests of female schooling Battles EditSeveral tribal leaders who had lost most of their wealth and belongings due to Pesyan s reform programs were supported by Qavam s government Therefore on August 11 1921 the first battle took place between a detachment of Gendarmes in a village near Kariz on Afghanistan border and forces of Hazara chief Shuja al Mulk Gendarmes defeated and fled to Mashhad This defeat results in appointment of Shawkat al Dowlah a rival of Shuja al Mulk as Governor of Torbat e Jam with a task to deal with disturbances and a sending of strong numerous gendarme forces on August 20 1921 In September 1921 Gendarme forces from Kariz Torbat e Jam Torbat e Heydarieh defeated the strong tribal confederatory force of Hazara Baluch Barbari and Qarai Turks whose leaders were Shuja al Mulk Seyed Heydar Barbari Salar Khan Baluch Mir Ali Ahmad Barbari Ibrahim Khan Baluch and Jafar Khan Qaraei in a battle which took place in Bakharz Shuja fled to Afghanistan and the tribal disturbances in the south east were stopped On October 3 1921 Pesyan himself took to battle personally leading his 150 Gendarmes to fight a Kurdish coalition tribal force which had more than 1 000 men led by Sardar of Bojnurd and Taj Mohammad Khan of Quchan who were also financially and militarily aided by the British and the Persian government of Ahmad Qavam Pesyan fought bravely with only 60 bullets however he and his small force were circled by the Kurds and massacred Pesyan s head was cut off as proof of his death and sent to Qavam Collapse EditAfter Pesyan s death the committee was no longer united A new rivalry started between Nowzari and Ismail Khan Bahador who were Pesyan s partisans Nowzari managed to take charge of Khorasan and he surrendered to Persia s government In November 1921 a strong military force of Gendarmes and Cossacks arrived in Mashhad and handed the administrative duties to the newly appointed Governor General of the province References Edit http khschool ir Article ViewArticle asp id 498 amp catname D8 AA D8 A7 D8 B1 DB 8C D8 AE amp ActiveStateCode 300 permanent dead link Bibliography EditAn Experiment in Revolutionary Nationalism The Rebellion of Colonel Muhammad Taqi Khan Pasyan in Mashhad April October 1921 Stephanie Cronin Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol 33 No 4 October 1997 pp 693 750 Further reading EditSoldiers Shahs and Subalterns in Iran Opposition Protest and Revolt 1921 1941External links EditInstitute of Iranian Contemporary History Studies Tabriz Info Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Autonomous Government of Khorasan amp oldid 1144633214, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
