The Shift from a Sultanistic (Confederative-Tribal) Legal Order to a Jurisprudential (Twelver Shi‘i) Legal Order

BARZIDEH, Ahmad Reza (semko); Karami, Mohammad Taghi; Mollaabbasi, Mohammad

doi:10.22054/qjss.2025.83074.2853

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ PhD Candidate in Political Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

² Professor, Department of Women's Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/qjss.2025.83074.2853

Abstract

This study examines the Shift in the legal order of Iran during the Safavid era- a period in which legal authority transitioned from a sovereign and bureaucratic structure toward a jurisprudent and jurisprudence-centered order. Contrary to descriptive or single-factor approaches that attribute this transformation solely to the alliance between the Safavid state and Shiite clerics, this research employs an integrated conceptual framework, encompassing Herbert Hart’s theory of secondary rules, Max Weber’s analysis of legitimacy, and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the legal field, to analyze this transformation as a reconfiguration of social forces, legal institutions, and mechanisms of legitimacy. Analyzing historical sources, royal decrees, and institutional structures of the Safavid period reveals that this shift resulted from the gradual transfer of symbolic capital and legal authority from the monarchy to jurisprudent fiqh, ultimately solidifying a model of legal order whose traces are discernible in contemporary Iran’s legal system. By framing the problem at the levels of rules, legitimacy, and field, this study offers a multifaceted explanation of this transformation and, thereby, contributes beyond prior studies to understanding the historical roots of the institution of fiqh in Iran’s official law.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Sociology

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The Shift from a Sultanistic (Confederative-Tribal) Legal Order to a Jurisprudential (Twelver Shi‘i) Legal Order

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References

Volume 31, Issue 106 - Serial Number 106October 2024Pages 1-44

Volume 31, Issue 106 - Serial Number 106
October 2024
Pages 1-44