Widespread protests against Qajar governance and foreign economic influence intensified in late 1905, helping coalesce clerical, bazaar, and reformist demands for limits on royal power and the creation of a representative assembly (Majles).
In July–August 1906, thousands of Tehranis took sanctuary (bast) in the British legation compound, a mass action that helped force Mozaffar al-Din Shah to accept the principle of a constitution and a national assembly.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah issued a royal decree (farmān) on 1906-08-05 calling for establishment of a National Consultative Assembly (Majles) and the drafting of a constitution—an institutional turning point for the movement.
The First Majles formally opened in Tehran, giving constitutionalists a national legislative forum and beginning the first parliamentary term of the revolution.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah granted the Fundamental Law (commonly called the 1906 Constitution), formally establishing constitutional government and a legislature with defined powers.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah died shortly after granting the constitution, leaving the constitutional order to be tested under his successor, Mohammad Ali Shah, who was hostile to constitutionalism.
Britain and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Convention (1907), recognizing spheres of influence in Persia; this agreement shaped foreign pressures on the constitutional regime and constrained political outcomes.
The Supplementary Fundamental Laws (constitutional amendment) further specified institutions and rights within Iran’s constitutional system, helping define the relationship between the Majles, the monarchy, and other state powers.
On 1908-06-23, forces associated with the Persian Cossack Brigade under Russian officer Vladimir Liakhov bombarded the parliament building in Tehran, violently ending the First Majles and inaugurating the period known as the “Minor Tyranny.”
After the coup in Tehran, constitutionalist fighters in Tabriz—associated with leaders including Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan—maintained armed resistance during the 1908–1909 siege, sustaining the revolution’s momentum when it was suppressed elsewhere.
Constitutionalist forces entered Tehran on 1909-07-13, ending the “Minor Tyranny” and shifting control of the capital away from Mohammad Ali Shah’s coup regime.
After constitutionalists seized the capital, Mohammad Ali Shah was deposed and his son Ahmad Shah was declared shah on 1909-07-16, enabling restoration of constitutional government under a regency.
The Second Majles began its term in late 1909, operating under a revised electoral framework and increasingly party-like blocs, while attempting administrative and fiscal reforms amid intense foreign pressure.
In 1911 the Majles appointed American financial administrator William Morgan Shuster as Treasurer-General to strengthen state finances and improve revenue collection—an effort that provoked Russian and British opposition.
Russian pressure escalated into an ultimatum demanding, among other terms, Shuster’s removal; the crisis highlighted the vulnerability of Iran’s constitutional order to military and diplomatic coercion by great powers.
With Russian and British forces occupying parts of Persia, the regent closed the Second Majles on 1911-12-24; the shutdown curtailed parliamentary rule and is commonly treated as the revolution’s endpoint.
Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)
