ABSTRACT
Iran’s disastrous wars with Russia and the British Empire and the constant threats of colonial intrusion during the nineteenth century led to the emergence of several patterns of resistance against colonialism in nineteenth-century Iran. Being primarily formed around a linear idea of top-down development, these discourses encouraged a systematic emulation of European nation-states to transform Iran into a powerful country. They thus extended from sending Iranian students abroad to improve the military, administrative and educational institutions of the country to paving the city roads, improving the hygiene of public baths and publishing newspapers to enhance the image of the government. 1
