Public and State Approaches to Safavid Exemption Decrees in the Qajar Period (Case Study: Naser al-Din Shah's Era and Exemption Inscriptions)

Safavid and Qajar rulers, following an enduring tradition, inscribed royal decrees on stone monuments concerning issues such as tax exemptions and reductions. These inscriptions served to preserve the king’s direct voice as an authoritative document, aiming to safeguard a just fiscal system, prevent corruption among officials, avert potential uprisings caused by rising taxation, and reinforce the image of a legitimate and benevolent monarchy opposed to innovation and injustice. This study examines the extent to which Safavid decrees retained their authority and effectiveness during the reign of Nāṣer al-Dīn Shāh Qajar, particularly in the context of the interaction between the state and society. The research is based on primary documents and sources, applying a historical-comparative method and content analysis. The findings reveal that Safavid decrees on exemptions and tax reductions, though inscribed as “perpetual,” did not remain effective in practice. With the dynastic shift, and despite the people’s efforts to preserve documents and demand their enforcement, these decrees rarely yielded favorable outcomes, except in cases where the Qajar state itself benefited from their implementation.