Nasreddin Shah’s Private Album

Keddie states in her book, Roots of Revolution: An Interpretive History of Modern Iran, that at the time "it was still considered a sign of greater status to be admitted to the ranks of the ulama than it was to become a member of the civil service.In 1852 Naser al-Din dismissed and executed Amir Kabir , the famous Persian reformer. With him, many believe, died the prospect of an independent Persia led by meritocracy rather than nepotism.