essay

The changing status and composition of an Iranian provincial elite

Modern Iran : the dialectics of continuity and changeAlbanyPublished In 1981 • Pages: 269-288, 432-434

By: Good, Mary-Jo DelVecchio.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document examines the meaning and structure of elite status in provincial Iran and discusses the changes in the status of provincial elites that occurred during the period of 1920-1979 while the Pahlavis were in power. Social histories of two groups of traditional elite from Maragheh, a SHAHRESTAN (subprovince) capital in East Azerbaijan, are presented to illustrate these changes. The first group concerns the Moqaddam notables, wo were the town's ruling and military elite for over a century, from around 1800 to 1925, while the second group deals with several of the major families of landed gentry, the ARBABS, who resided in Maragheh. Prior to the implementation of land reform in the province, the major landed families were important members of the town's elite. Since land reform in 1963, their status has been less secure, although some were still considered members of the older, established elite by the townspeople in the 1970s (pp. 269-270).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Sociocultural trends
Status, role, and prestige
Social relationships and groups
Towns
Provinces
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Iran
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle East
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Middle East
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Sociologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2005
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1972-1974
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1800-1979
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Town of Maragheh, Iran
NotesAdditional notes
Mary-Jo Delvecchio Good
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
80019463
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Iranians