The Azerbaijan province, and especially Tabriz, the capital of east Azerbaijan, is considered to be the birthplace of the constitutional revolution. Publishing newspapers in this province had a dramatic effect on the improvement of Iran’s constitution. Aligholi Safarof author, poet, comedian, and critic, whom Mohammad Ali Mirza held in high regard, started his political activities by publishing tracts from 1310 AH. In 1316 AH he published the newspaper “Ehtiaj”. After this publication was closed down, he continued publishing it under the title “Eghbal”. In 1325 AH he published the “Azerbaijan” newspaper. The Azerbaijan newspaper consisted of four pages of cartoon pictures and four pages of Persian and Turkish text. After its closure, Mirza Agha Boloori instituted the “Hasharatolarz” newspaper, which dealt with similar themes. These newspapers contained pictures and critical text similarly to the “Kashkool” and “Mollanasreddin” newspapers from Tiflis and Baku and it is obvious that publishing them in that era was no easy task.
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