Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 110 The Decline of the European Revolution

With the increased revenue, the government continued to promote national development. Naserdin also took the opportunity to tease his wife. His mother had already told them to have an heir as soon as possible, so he could only try harder.

Immediately after its establishment, the Iranian Railways announced plans to construct the Tehran-Mashhad-Ashgabad railway and a railway from Tehran through Isfahan and Shiraz to Bandar Abbas. The completion of these two railways will significantly boost the nation's rail transport capacity.

Funding for the railway is in place, and exploration has begun on the section from Bandar Abbas to Isfahan. In an era when railways were still a novelty, Iran and the United States were arguably the first two countries outside of Europe to implement them, one through market forces and the other through government.

The revolutions that began in Europe last year have now shrunk considerably, while Russia has been severely cracking down on them in Hungary and Poland.

As early as when the first news of the French February Revolution reached Russia, the Tsarist government ordered the Third Bureau to strengthen its surveillance of the people and report their sentiments, opinions and actions at any time.

In Poland and the Baltic provinces, the Tsarist government implemented even harsher measures. The government confiscated not only the residents' firearms but also their swords. Subsequently, the sale of gunpowder was banned. At the same time, on the Tsar's orders, the Extraordinary Laws of 1831 were reinstated in these provinces, and a harsh policy of suppression against liberals was implemented. Military intervention was also undertaken to assist Austria in suppressing the Hungarian Revolution, and incidentally, the revolutions in the two Danube principalities were also suppressed.

Russia's actions further solidified its position in the conservative stronghold, while also gaining the support of a number of other monarchs, particularly Austria.

The situation in Russia seriously affected British interests, especially Russia's aggressive stance against the Ottomans on the Jerusalem issue, which exacerbated their concerns.

Two years earlier, on April 10, 1846, Good Friday, 4 pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem. That year, Easter Sunday fell on the same day for both Catholics and Greek Orthodox Christians, and the two sects had long argued over who had priority on Good Friday, leading to conflict. Since Jerusalem was under Ottoman control at the time, the Ottoman Sultan deployed troops on Easter Sunday to prevent further clashes, but this did not prevent them. When the situation was brought under control, approximately forty pilgrims had died in the fighting.

To avoid a recurrence of conflict, securing priority pilgrimage rights became a coveted prize among nations. Consequently, countries like Britain, France, and Russia established consulates in Jerusalem. Tsarist Russia, in particular, began its infiltration of Jerusalem by subsidizing believers and churches to purchase land.

Last year, while the Fossati brothers were commissioned to restore Hagia Sophia, they discovered mosaics from the Byzantine era beneath the plasterwork of the church walls. Having previously worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Fossati brothers informed the Tsar of this discovery. Nicholas I was overjoyed. Recapturing Hagia Sophia became a goal for the Tsar. He dreamed of one day conquering Constantinople and even envisioned rebuilding it as the capital of the Russian Empire—"Tsargrad." The establishment of the Ottoman-Persian alliance increased pressure on southern Russia. To deter the Ottomans, the Tsar ordered the transfer of troops to the Danube River line, while simultaneously sending Russian troops from Tbilisi to Yerevan to intimidate Iran. Hopefully, these two troubled allies will back down.

In the Papal States of central Italy, with the Pope having fled to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the local people decided to hold elections to form a new government. Because the Pope prohibited Catholics from participating in the elections, the results favored the Republican Party; subsequently, the Constitutional Assembly proclaimed the formal establishment of the Roman Republic.

The congress declared a tripartite rule, consisting of Charles Amer, Mattia Montecchi, and Aurelius Saliban, led by Muzarjeli and organized by Aurelius Safi. Under the rule of the Roman Republic, the Pope lost his role as the ruler of the state, acting only as the leader of the Roman Church. The "tripartite rule" also included the abolition of heavy taxes and the creation of new jobs for the unemployed.

Such a major move naturally attracted the attention of Catholic countries, especially France and Austria. They began to launch attacks on the homeland of the newly formed nation.

The Kingdom of Prussia gradually suppressed the revolution, and Prussian nobles and generals regained power. They were not defeated by the revolution but chose to lay low. The conservative general Friedrich led troops into Berlin and prompted the Prussian king to immediately return to the side of the nobility.

In November, the Prussian King dissolved the new Prussian parliament and proposed his own constitution. This constitution was based on parliament but still upheld the supreme authority of the king. Shortly afterward, Austria and Prussia withdrew their representatives from parliament, turning it into a debate. Radical representatives were forced to go to Stuttgart, where they convened a scrambled parliament until it was dispersed by Württemberg troops. In Saxony, the Palatinate, and Baden, armed uprisings in support of the constitution lasted only a short time, as local armies, aided by Prussian troops, quickly crushed the insurgents. Leaders and participants faced long prison sentences if arrested.

The Frankfurt National Assembly had no power to raise taxes, relying solely on the wishes of benevolent monarchs; moreover, many representatives held concurrent positions in the governments of various states, making them reluctant to propose radical reforms lest they anger the monarchs; furthermore, they could neither raise funds for the insurgents nor enforce any laws they might consider passing. Over a hundred radicals, believing armed uprising was necessary, lost interest in the National Assembly's debates, choosing instead to leave the assembly and organize local armed forces to achieve a "real revolution." However, without bureaucratic support, they could not raise funds. Moderate liberals, fearing the loss of their opportunity to serve the monarchs, quickly concluded that only negotiation could lead to political progress; but the Prussian army ignored all reform demands and expelled all the radicals from the National Assembly.

After suppressing the uprising in Lombardy-Venezia, the Habsburg dynasty prepared to deal with the German states. Unable to muster an army and lacking popular support, the parliament was powerless to challenge Austrian power. Once the threat of armed uprising subsided, the monarchs of the states realized that German unification was impossible, as no monarch was willing to relinquish their pursuit of power. After quelling the uprisings, the rulers of the states followed the Prussian method, recalling their representatives to parliament one by one. The Frankfurt parliament was on the verge of dissolution.

(End of this chapter)