Browne E.A. The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909

Cambridge, 1910. — 470 р.Edward Granville Browne (1862-1926), the eminent British orientalist and holder of the chair of Arabic at Cambridge for some thirty years, was also celebrated for his scholarship on Persian literature and history. His four volume A Literary History of Persia, as well as his works on The Press and Poetry of Modern Persia, and The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 constitute major contributions to the field of Persian studies. However, what distinguished Browne from his fellow orientalists was that he did not always remain the detached scholar, but at times became passionate and even 'a participant in political debates concerning British policy in Iran'.
In fact, Browne's interest in the East was aroused by the Turkish-Russian war in 1877-8. The appeal of the East, at least at its inception, was not merely a romanticized view that he had of a far-away land, but it was rather a result of his disposition towards being on the side of the oppressed and the downtrodden. As he noted in his introduction to A Year amongst the Persians, 'At first my proclivities were by no means for the Turks, but the losing side, more especially when it continues to struggle gallantly against defeat... always has a claim on our sympathy.' Evidence of such a temperament was still there when he took on the cause of the Iranian constitutionalists as manifested in his chronicling of The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909. The correspondence that he enjoyed with a range of personalities, both Iranian and non-Iranian, much of which was used as a source of information for his book and is now bequeathed to the Cambridge University Library, further corroborates this quality of character.It would not be too imprudent to say that Browne's aim in writing The Persian Revolution was not merely academic, but, as he says in his preface, it was also 'to arouse in the hearts of my countrymen some sympathy for a people who have, in my opinion, hitherto received less than they deserve' (xx). In fact, throughout his book, he reiterates time and time again his endeavour in dispelling the false impressions that had been propagated by the British press of the time, in particular by the correspondent of The Times newspaper, David Fraser. This in itself is a contributing factor to the reason why The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 has become a 'classic'. For while it is one of the most comprehensive accounts of the constitutional movement, it also contains much more than a mere account; it is an appeal for the right to the self-determination of a nation, an endorsement of the constitutional movement as it unfolds by an informed contemporary observer in defiance of the general British policy of the time.In view of the significance of The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909, the decision by Mage Publishers to have it republished as the first of a reprint series with the title 'Persia Observed' is to be welcomed. This series, according to the editor's preface, has the aim of making available some of the 'most useful but out-of-print western accounts about Iran from the early modern times to the twentieth century'. In addition to the text, which is a facsimile reprint of the 1910 edition, the book also contains a general introduction by Abbas Amanat, the editor of the series and an authority on nineteenth-century Iran, as well as a brief section on selected correspondence of E. G. Browne by Mansour Bonakdarian, the author of several articles on Browne. In this second part, excerpts from Browne's correspondence with a variety of personalities are given. They range from British officials, both in the British Legation in Iran and the Foreign Office in London, to Persian constitutionalists like Sayyid Hasan Taqizadah, as well as members of the Persia Committee. There is also a section on the sort of reviews that the book received at the time of its publication in 1910.Both articles are lucid and intelligently written. Each in its own way provides the necessary background for the reader to appreciate the significance of the book. The brief section on the kind of reviews that the book received is particularly informative as it highlights its controversial aspect at a time when imperialism was what defined British foreign policy. If there is one point, however, that may give the reader the wrong impression, it is the choice made by Bonakdarian of the correspondence with Iranians. The collection of Browne papers held at Cambridge University Library is evidence of the diverse nature of correspondence that Browne enjoyed. It is not only the 'important' players in the constitutional movement that Browne corresponded with; one also finds a number of letters written by a range of Iranian characters, not necessarily known to Browne or of the eminence of Taqizadah, but who nevertheless relay their own experiences of the injustices suffered during the upheavals of the constitutional movement, because they had heard of Browne as one interested in their cause. Surely such material needs to be mentioned, if not underlined, as it illustrates the extent of Browne's reputation in Iran of the time as an unequivocal friend of the country and its people.Nevertheless, the 'long-term project' of the publishers can only be commended. Whether specialist or non-specialist, those interested in the history of Iran can only applaud an endeavour which will make important works on Iran more widely available to all.