The Great Game

My other module I’m taking this semester covers modern Iran form 1800 to the present day. Last week we covered the Great Game, which refers to the imperial competition in Central Asia between the juggernaut empires of Russia and Britain. Specifically this largely concerns imperial interest in Iran and Afghanistan as Russia pushed to claim a warm sea port whilst Britain sought to protect their interests in India. Whilst this would suggest a topic and period dominated by high politics, the cultural exchange and transnationalism are startling eclectic and broad. Classically, much imperial history is written in a binary fashion, focusing on the conflict between dominion and resistance. However it becomes very apparent that there were far more complex issues in the imperial struggle at play, with the great game a clear example of this.
On a high diplomatic level, too few historians allocate Iran a foreign policy, merely seeing the Kingdom as a subject of great power politics. However in reality this is far form the case, as the Shah fully understood his precarious position, and the necessity of using his state’s geo-strategic location to his political advantage. Iran was of vital importance to the British policy as buffer state, and the Shah used entreaties to the French during the Napoleonic conflict as a foil to extract concessions and guarantees from the British. In fact he ensured that British policy became so invested in Iran that the London sponsored the stationing of a regular detachment in Tehran, the opening of a cannon foundry and the establishment of an Imperial Bank. At Curzon’s insistence Iran was perpetually at the forefront of discussion in Whitehall. This was an enormous success for the Shah, despite several historians portrayal of it as classic imperial intrusion and domination.
Not only did the Great Game involve a large amount of top level diplomatic entanglement, but it also saw an enormous degree of cultural exchange. Iranian diplomats, such as Abdol Hassan Kahn travelled throughout Europe to Russia, France and Britain. When, accompanied by much anticipation, he arrived in London, Hassan Kahn was welcomed into the upper echelons of society. He became close friends with Sir Gore Ouseley, hobnobbed with the aristocracy and became a freemason. Iranian guests were impressed with the Thames tunnel, the Forth rail bridge and British concepts of democracy. Even Iranian minority leaders such as Afghani were invited to speak at academic gatherings. This was not a one way cultural exchange however, the British maintained a permanent diplomatic presence in Tehran. Perhaps, most notably led by John Malcolm, who was key in promoting cultural exchange between Britain and Russia, authoring one of the first complete histories of Iran after spending much of his life in subcontinental Asia. On occasion Malcom had even led the Shahs armies and remained a proponent for engagement with Afghanistan and Iran until his death.
This all serves to demonstrate both the complex issues surrounding the transnational studies of empire and how multidimensional both the transfer of culture and political relations were. On a more personal level however, it is very exciting to see and get an opportunity to witness and practice transnational history beyond the boundaries of this module.