CHALLENGES FROM WITHIN AND BELOW: Junior khans, nomads and peasants in Bakhtiyari

The great khans of the Bakhtiyari had been placed on the defensive by Riza Khan’s seizure of power and, from 1921 onwards, were clearly retreating politically. By the end of 1923 their defeat and the ascendancy of the new regime had been graphically demonstrated by the character of the final settlement of the Shalil incident and their capitulation following the shock of their confrontation with the ministry of finance.