Jalal Farahmand

Riot in Isfahan has turned out to be very critical; and I should ask your majesty what action should be done at this step... Believe me that the mullahs are the basis of this intrigue ... a few months ago ... I mentioned that the return of Agha Najafi to Isfahan would be dangerous.... As it is found out he has become the leader of bandits against the Europeans.

     The British minister to Iran, Sir Henry Durand

Four years after the tobacco uprising and nearly four months before the murder of Nasseraddin Shah in January 1896, there happened an event in Isfahan which indicated the incompetence and weakness of the Qajars against foreign powers more than ever and the growing public disgust with the influence of the foreigners.

This interesting story did not last more than a few days (in mid January). This post tries to rebuild the affair according to document available in the Institute of Iranian Contemporary historical studies.