The Reasons of Farhad Mirza Motamed al-Dolah’s Governing in Kurdistan and its Outcomes (1867– 1874)

When the Ardalan Dynasty came to power, the Kurdistan Province of Iran came under the sovereignty of Bani Ardalan. The rulers there regulated their relations with the central government in a way to maintain their independence in the form of a local government. The dynasty managed to continue its government in Kurdistan up to the time of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. Naser al-Din Shah wielded a centralized policy towards the ‘Qajarization’ of provincial governments, and he appointed Farhad Mirza Motamed al-Dolah as the governor of Kurdistan, ending the political life of the Ardalans. Motamed al-Dolah managed to suppress different riots and to end disorder in Kurdistan, which had resulted from the inefficiency of the last Ardalan ruler, the wayward behavior of Auraman elders, and the assaults of the Jaf tribes. During his government, therefore, he established peace and order in Kurdistan and started reforms and development projects in the province. In a library method, the present study deals with the Motamed al-Dolah governing period in Kurdistan after the collapse of the Ardalan’s local government, and it analytically reviews his efforts to stabilize the Qajarian authority in the province. Findings show that the Qajarian change of policy against the Ardalan Dynasty was in line with the policy of centralization adopted by the Qajar royal court, and that Motamed al-Dolah played a key role in the stability of Qajarian authority in Kurdistan by curbing the centers of crises and through the establishment of peace and order in the region