This article aims to give an explanation of Sīstān’s historical developments during the Qajar period. Sīstān as an integral part of Iran’s geographic identity as well as its history and culture has ever been regarded as an important province whose developments were not out of consequence for other part of the country. Moreover, it seems the province experienced very consequential developments during 19th/13th century which affect the future of its life. In this article, a special attention paid to the problems of local economy of Sīstān during Qājār period. It attempts to provide the interested reader an explanation of this province’s local economic developments within a theoretical framework. The base of this theoretical framework is the theory of Asiatic Mode of Production. According to this theory, the pivotal cause of societies’ development or uneven development is the political and social forms of relation. The present article assumes the climatic changes and geographic situations central to the economic developments of Sīstān during the period in question. As it maintains, the geographic factor, while being out of human’s control, played a crucial role in Sīstān’s economic and cultural maldevelopment. But, at the same time it doesn’t exonerate political authorities of their contribution to this situation. So, the article has a special attention to the role of governmental policies and statesmen’s malfunctions in the lag of development in Sīstān.
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