Translation, Modernization and Enlightenment: The Qajar Translation Movement

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of translation in the socio-political changes in Iran under the Qajars ruling over the country from 1789 to 1925. It primarily covers the 1807–1906 time period—from the initiation of the translation movement around 1807 in the reign of Fath Ali Shah to the proclamation of the Iranian Constitution in 1906 in the reign of Mozaffar al-Din Shah. The paper, as a microhistorical research, argues that translation contributed to the launch of modernization projects through introducing Western sciences and technologies as well as expanding modern education. At the same time, it played a major role in raising Iranians’ awareness, inspiring political campaigns and promoting ethical values, which ultimately paved the way for the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1906.