Ph.D. Graduate in the History of Iran after Islam, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
Abstract
In the administrative structure of the Khamsa Province historically corresponding to the area of modern Zanjan during the Qajar era, several influential households exercised substantial political and administrative authority through military appointments and close ties to the royal court, reinforced by land grants and formal decrees. Among these, the Muzaffari household held a decisive position by commanding provincial forces and expanding its influence across political and administrative offices. However, by the late Qajar period, this traditional, patronage‑based authority gradually deteriorated. Seeking to explain this decline, the present study examines how shifts in provincial power structures and the emergence of new elites contributed to the erosion of Muzaffari authority and the redefinition of power indicators in Khamsa Province. Using a descriptive‑analytical method and drawing on Vilfredo Pareto’s theory of elite circulation, along with historical documents and primary sources, the study analyzes the transition from traditional authority to newly emerging elites. The central argument posits that the decline of the Muzaffari household stemmed from structural incapacity to adapt to evolving political and economic conditions. Their inability to reproduce authority according to new criteria facilitated elite circulation and replacement by rival households. This decline reflects a causal chain involving the exhaustion of traditional mechanisms, reduced military effectiveness, agrarian economic crises, and failure to shift from a dominant elite to an adaptive one.
rostami, H. (2026). Structural Inefficiency and the Decline of the Muzaffari Household’s Authority in Qajar‑Era Zanjan: An Analysis Grounded in Elite Circulation Theory. Historical Researches, (), -. doi: 10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
MLA
rostami, H. . "Structural Inefficiency and the Decline of the Muzaffari Household’s Authority in Qajar‑Era Zanjan: An Analysis Grounded in Elite Circulation Theory", Historical Researches, , , 2026, -. doi: 10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
HARVARD
rostami, H. (2026). 'Structural Inefficiency and the Decline of the Muzaffari Household’s Authority in Qajar‑Era Zanjan: An Analysis Grounded in Elite Circulation Theory', Historical Researches, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
CHICAGO
H. rostami, "Structural Inefficiency and the Decline of the Muzaffari Household’s Authority in Qajar‑Era Zanjan: An Analysis Grounded in Elite Circulation Theory," Historical Researches, (2026): -, doi: 10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
VANCOUVER
rostami, H. Structural Inefficiency and the Decline of the Muzaffari Household’s Authority in Qajar‑Era Zanjan: An Analysis Grounded in Elite Circulation Theory. Historical Researches, 2026; (): -. doi: 10.22108/jhr.2026.148663.2932
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