European Lions: A Forgotten Legacy
The extinction of lions in Europe predates their disappearance from Persia by centuries. Fossil records confirm that lions, including the cave lion (Panthera spelaea), roamed Europe during the Pleistocene era but became extinct around 14,000 years ago. Later, modern lions (Panthera leo) colonized Southeast Europe during the Holocene, around 8,000–6,000 years ago, and persisted in regions like Greece, Bulgaria, and Transcaucasia until classical antiquity or the early Middle Ages. Their extinction was gradual, driven by hunting, habitat loss, and human expansion. By the 10th century CE, lions had vanished from all European territories.
The Persian Lion and Qajar-Era Hunting
In stark contrast, the Persian lion (Panthera leo persica), a subspecies of the Asiatic lion, survived in Iran until the early 20th century. Historical accounts and photographs from the Qajar era document ceremonial lion hunts, often conducted as displays of royal power. These hunts continued despite clear signs of population decline. The Persian lion, once widespread across Iran’s plains and mountains, was hunted extensively from the Ghaznavid period through the Qajar dynasty. By the 1940s, it had been completely extirpated from Iran, with the last remaining cousin population now confined to the Gir Forest in India.
European Involvement in Tiger Hunting in Northern Iran
The Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), native to northern Iran and surrounding regions, faced a similar fate. This subspecies, also known as the Hyrcanian or Mazandaran tiger, was hunted to extinction by the 1970s. While local hunting played a role, European involvement in tiger hunting during the 19th and early 20th centuries is well documented. Photographs and records from the Berlin Zoological Garden and other European institutions show specimens of tigers killed in the Caucasus and northern Iran. These hunts occurred despite growing awareness of the tiger’s endangered status and its extinction from European habitats centuries earlier.
Zill al-Sultan: The Governor of Isfahan and His Role in the Decline of Persian Wildlife
Masoud Mirza, known as Zill al-Sultan ("Shadow of the Sultan"), was the eldest son of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. Though he was denied succession to the throne due to his mother's non-Qajar lineage, he was appointed as the powerful governor of Isfahan during his father's reign. His rule extended over vast territories in central Iran, and he wielded significant autonomy, often acting with impunity.
Zill al-Sultan became infamous for his extravagant and destructive hunting practices. His memoirs recount large-scale expeditions involving thousands of armed men, where staggering numbers of animals were slaughtered. In one documented trip to Latheh Dar near Arak, nearly one hundred thousand rounds were fired, resulting in the deaths of over a thousand animals, including stags, goats, deer, wolves, and leopards. These hunts were not merely for sustenance or sport—they were spectacles of dominance and excess.
While specific quotes from Zill al-Sultan about lion hunting in Fars are scarce, historical accounts confirm that both he and his father, Naser al-Din Shah, participated in lion hunts during a period when the Persian lion (Panthera leo persica) was already endangered. Fars province, once a stronghold of the Asiatic lion, saw its population decimated by royal hunts and habitat encroachment. The Qajar elite viewed lion hunting as a symbol of valor and royal prestige, ignoring the ecological consequences.
Elite Hunting and Conservation Under the Pahlavi Dynasty: A Dual Legacy of Brutality and Control
The Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1925 to 1979, inherited and amplified the culture of elite hunting from their Qajar predecessors. Reza Shah and his son Mohammad Reza Shah were both avid hunters, and their expeditions were marked by excess and disregard for ecological balance. These hunts often targeted endangered species such as the Persian fallow deer, Caspian tiger, and Asiatic cheetah—animals already in decline due to habitat loss and overhunting.
Photographic and written records from the era show the Shah and his entourage posing with dozens of slain animals, including rare and majestic species. These events were not merely recreational—they were political performances of dominance, wealth, and modernity. The brutality of these hunts, often carried out with military precision and large entourages, contributed to the rapid disappearance of Iran’s native megafauna.
Ironically, the same regime that decimated wildlife also initiated Iran’s first formal conservation efforts. In the 1950s and 1960s, under Mohammad Reza Shah, Iran established several protected areas, including national parks and wildlife reserves such as Golestan National Park and Kavir National Park. However, access to these areas was tightly controlled. While they were officially designated for conservation, in practice they often served as exclusive hunting grounds for the royal family and foreign dignitaries.
Permits were rarely issued to ordinary citizens, and enforcement of conservation laws was selective. The creation of these zones reflected a dual motive: preserving Iran’s natural heritage while maintaining elite privilege. Conservation was not democratized—it was curated for spectacle and diplomacy.
A Legacy of Contradiction and a Call to Action
The actions of Qajar and Pahlavi elites contributed directly to the extinction of Iran’s lions, tigers, and other native species. Their disregard for conservation, coupled with foreign influence and domestic negligence, accelerated the loss of Iran’s ecological heritage. These events remain a painful chapter in Iran’s environmental history—one that Pan-Iranist progressives argue must be remembered and addressed through cultural reckoning and ecological restoration.
This legacy is not just about lost species—it’s about lost responsibility. The right to retaliate in a civilized manner, as some advocate, is rooted in truth-telling, historical accountability, and a renewed commitment to protecting what remains. It means honoring the species lost—not with silence or nostalgia—but with education, activism, and a vision for ecological justice that transcends privilege and restores dignity to Iran’s natural world.
This taps into a deep vein of historical injustice and environmental grief. When people feel that those in power—or their ancestors—have caused irreversible harm to the planet, the instinct for justice is understandable. But the key word Pan-Iranist progressive use—civilized—opens the door to thoughtful, constructive responses rather than destructive ones.
Here are some civilized forms of accountability and redress that have been proposed or practiced:
Environmental Justice Through Policy and Reform
Polluter Pays Principle: Enforce laws that require corporations and wealthy individuals to pay for environmental damage, even retroactively.
Climate Reparations: Advocate for financial contributions from wealthy nations and elites to fund restoration efforts in communities most affected by ecological harm.
Green Taxes: Implement progressive taxes on carbon emissions, luxury consumption, and resource exploitation.
Public Awareness and Cultural Shifts
Education Campaigns: Raise awareness of historical environmental harms through museums, documentaries, and school curricula.
Naming and Shaming: Use media and public discourse to hold powerful figures accountable through transparency and truth-telling.
Boycotts and Divestment: Refuse to support companies or individuals profiting from environmental degradation.
Systemic Change and Redistribution
Land Back and Indigenous Sovereignty: Support movements that return stewardship of land to Indigenous communities who have historically protected biodiversity.
Wealth Redistribution: Promote policies that reduce extreme wealth concentration and fund ecological restoration.
Corporate Reform: Encourage shareholder activism and ethical investing to reshape how companies operate.
Creative and Symbolic Acts
Art and Protest: Use performance, visual art, and literature to challenge power and inspire change.
Legal Action: File lawsuits against corporations or governments for environmental crimes; some countries now recognize "ecocide" as a punishable offense.
Citizen Assemblies: Create democratic forums where everyday people help shape climate policy, reducing elite control.
Civilized retaliation is not about revenge—it’s about restorative justice, truth, and transformation. It channels anger into action that heals rather than harms. If you'd like to turn these ideas into something practical, I can help you develop a plan or project around them.
Based on historical records, both the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties contributed to environmental degradation through deforestation, overuse of charcoal and firewood, and poorly regulated land concessions. While today's descendants are not personally responsible for those actions, they can play a meaningful role in restorative justice.
here at Pan-Iranist progressive, we talk about civilized accountability, then financial contribution is one of the most direct and impactful ways that survivors of Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties can participate in environmental justice. Here's how that could look:
1. Establishing Environmental Trusts and Foundations
They could create or fund independent organizations dedicated to ecological restoration, wildlife protection, and sustainable development in Iran. These trusts could focus on regions historically affected by deforestation, overgrazing, or industrial exploitation during their dynastic rule.
2. Funding Reparative Projects in Affected Communities
Direct financial support to rural and Indigenous communities—especially those whose ecosystems were damaged—can help rebuild local economies through sustainable agriculture, clean water access, and renewable energy.
3. Sponsoring Research and Education
They could endow university programs, scholarships, and research centers focused on environmental science, climate resilience, and historical accountability. This helps build long-term capacity for ecological stewardship.
4. Financing Cultural and Historical Transparency
Support for museums, archives, and public exhibitions that document environmental history—including the dynasties’ roles—can foster public dialogue and healing. This is a form of intellectual restitution.
5. Investing in Green Infrastructure and Innovation
They could back startups or public-private partnerships focused on clean energy, reforestation tech, and sustainable urban planning. This shifts wealth from legacy privilege to future-oriented solutions.
Note for the Current Government of Iran
If the government is serious about environmental justice, it should:
Create legal pathways for voluntary or mandated financial contributions from elite families tied to historical harm.
Ensure transparency and public oversight of how these funds are used.
Offer matching grants or incentives to encourage broader participation in ecological restoration.
Recognize that symbolic gestures are not enough—real money must flow toward real change.
This isn’t about punishment—it’s about legacy. If descendants of power use their inherited wealth to repair what was broken, they transform privilege into purpose.