Abstract
The famine resulting from World War I in 1915-1919AD/1294-1298 AH covered almost all of Iran, which was later known as the Great Famine. In recent years, several articles and research works have been written on this subject, each of which has dealt with aspects of the Great Famine and the reasons and contexts of its causes in the geography of Iran. However, what has been less addressed so far is the disruption of the transportation network by the Russians, British, and Ottomans. With the entry of foreign military forces into each state and region, first food resources faced an increase in price, then draft animals and means of transportation were seized and confiscated and put into the service of foreigners, and communication with other places was cut off. The next stage of the famine was relentless, without the possibility of receiving help from neighbors, because they did not have carts, four-wheeled vehicles, horses, and mules. In explaining the causes of the famine, the confiscation of mule, camel, and horse caravans, which were the only means of transporting food, has been neglected as a factor affecting the famine and mortality.
This research seeks to represent, based on documents and evidence, the role of Russia, England, and the Ottomans in disrupting the transportation network and draw the reader's attention to the importance of this issue in causing the great famine.
Keywords: World War I, Famine, Mortality, Food, Transportation.
 
Introduction
The period between 1915 and 1919 AD (1294-1298 AH) witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Iran, known as the "Great Famine," which decimated populations across nearly all regions of the country. While Iran had officially declared its neutrality at the onset of World War I, this declaration was largely disregarded by the warring powers, leading to widespread crises within its borders. Subsequent academic discourse has largely attributed the famine to factors such as severe drought, the Iranian government’s administrative inefficiencies, and the opportunistic hoarding practices of local merchants. However, this research highlights a critical, yet under-explored, dimension: the systematic disruption of Iran’s nascent and already fragile transportation network by the invading forces of Russia, Great Britain, and the Ottoman Empire.
Evidence from historical documents consistently reveals a distressing pattern. Upon the ingress of foreign military units into any given province or region, an immediate economic shock ensued, characterized by a sharp escalation in food prices. This initial destabilization was quickly followed by the widespread requisition and confiscation of draft animals—horses, mules, camels, and donkeys—and even rudimentary means of transport like carts and carriages. These vital assets were then diverted to serve the logistical demands of the foreign armies, effectively crippling the local and inter-provincial transportation infrastructure. The cessation of communication and movement between regions was a direct and devastating consequence. The subsequent stage saw the relentless spread of famine, exacerbated by the impossibility of transferring vital aid, food supplies, or even small quantities of produce from surplus areas to famine-stricken ones. The absence of basic transport vehicles—carts, four-wheeled wagons, horses, and mules—meant that affected populations were isolated, left to face starvation without external assistance. The seizure of animal caravans, which formed the sole backbone of food distribution in an era predating modern infrastructure, has been critically overlooked in explanations of the famine’s causes and its staggering mortality rates. This study aims to redress this oversight by foregrounding the coercive actions of the belligerent powers as a primary driver of the humanitarian crisis.
 
Materials & Methods
The main objective of this research is to meticulously document and analyze, based on verifiable historical documents and compelling evidence, the specific and pervasive role played by the Russian, British, and Ottoman governments in systematically disrupting the Iranian transportation network during World War I (1915-1919). By doing so, this study seeks to draw the reader's attention to the immense importance of this issue as a fundamental cause and accelerant of the Great Famine. Specifically, it intends to clarify how the deliberate paralysis and ultimate failure of the transportation network—a subject largely neglected in existing scholarship—contributed directly to the catastrophic humanitarian outcome. The focus is exclusively on this critical logistical aspect, offering a unique perspective on the famine’s complex etiology.
This research employs a rigorous historical and interpretive analytical methodology. The empirical data were meticulously gathered and synthesized from an extensive collection of both primary and previously unpublished archival documents. Key sources include invaluable records from the National Archives of Iran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Documents Center, and the comprehensive Library and Documentation Center of Astan Quds. Complementary evidence was drawn from contemporaneous consulate reports, newspapers from the Qajar era, personal diaries and memoirs of prominent Iranian figures (Rijal), and various other credible historical accounts. To visually and quantitatively substantiate the correlation between military occupation, resource confiscation, and famine outbreaks, an appended table and a custom-designed map have been integrated. These visual aids, derived directly from archival documents, demonstrate the precise spatial and temporal overlap of occupied territories and regions afflicted by confiscation and subsequent famine, thereby unequivocally clarifying the direct link between the belligerents’ actions and the humanitarian disaster.
 
Discussion and Results
The systematic analysis of primary sources has yielded several critical findings that underscore the direct causal link between foreign military presence, transportation disruption, and the ensuing famine:
Widespread Confiscation of Transportation Means: Immediately upon their incursion into Iranian territory, Russian, British, and Ottoman forces initiated widespread and indiscriminate confiscation of essential draft animals (horses, mules, camels, and donkeys), along with carts, carriages, and even more basic conveyances like farghons (wheelbarrows), across numerous provinces. This pattern of confiscation was overwhelmingly documented in the northern regions (Azerbaijan, Qazvin, Zanjan, Karaj), central areas (Qom), and southern provinces (Bushehr, Isfahan, Fars, Kermanshahan). These seizures were not isolated incidents but rather a systematic policy to bolster the logistical capabilities of the foreign armies, irrespective of the civilian population's dire need.
Severance of Communication and Obstruction of Food Transfer: The mass confiscation of transportation assets led to the complete breakdown of communication and supply lines between cities and provinces. This effectively eliminated any possibility of transferring crucial food supplies from regions with agricultural surpluses to those grappling with severe famine. In several documented instances, foreign military personnel actively and directly prevented the movement of vital provisions and essential goods, such as cotton, further isolating starving populations and exacerbating local shortages into widespread famine.
Unprecedented Price Inflation and Hoarding: The presence of foreign forces and the ensuing chaos caused by transportation disruption triggered pervasive public panic. This atmosphere of fear, combined with rampant speculation, led to an unprecedented surge in food prices. Simultaneously, profit-driven merchants exploited the crisis by engaging in extensive stockpiling and hoarding of foodstuffs. This dual effect of price inflation and artificial scarcity profoundly deepened the famine crisis, making even the limited available food unaffordable for the majority of the population.
Concurrency of Occupation and Famine: The meticulous examination of documentary data and the integrated historical map conclusively reveal a stark and undeniable synchronicity and co-location between the occupation of Iranian regions by foreign forces, the confiscation of their transportation infrastructure, and the subsequent outbreak of widespread famine and hunger. This powerful correlation directly confirms that the deliberate actions of the foreign powers were a primary catalyst for the famine, demonstrating a direct causal relationship rather than mere coincidence.
This research unequivocally demonstrates that the inherent weakness of Iran's transportation infrastructure prior to the war, compounded by its deliberate and complete paralysis at the hands of the occupying forces, constituted an exceptionally critical factor in the outbreak and rapid proliferation of the Great Famine. In contrast to typical famine scenarios, where a functioning government might intervene to stabilize markets by facilitating the transfer of food from surplus regions, the confiscation and subsequent breakdown of Iran's transportation network utterly eliminated this essential possibility. Consequently, the populace in affected regions was effectively trapped, left to face starvation within their isolated localities. These novel findings significantly enrich and complement previous scholarship that has explored other causes of the famine. By focusing on the less-observed yet profoundly impactful factor of "disruption in transportation," this study offers a more comprehensive understanding of the famine's severity and its widespread devastating effects. Indeed, the inhabitants of cities and villages situated directly in the path of foreign military operations found themselves virtually imprisoned, without provisions, unable to escape, or acquire essential foodstuffs.
 
Conclusion
The Great Famine of Iran cannot be simplistically attributed solely to natural disasters like drought or deficiencies in domestic governance. This research conclusively demonstrates that the deliberate and systematic confiscation of the transportation network and the impediment of food movement by the Russian, British, and Ottoman forces constituted a profound and determining factor in the escalation of this immense human catastrophe. These actions effectively isolated populations in occupied or influenced territories, depriving them of any means to receive aid and leaving them acutely vulnerable to mass mortality. The study further argues that analyzing this tragedy without due consideration for the belligerents' role in crippling transportation, instigating insecurity, and inadvertently fostering infectious disease outbreaks, risks diminishing the true scale of the casualties and the immense suffering endured by the Iranian people. It is strongly recommended that historical researchers collaborate on large-scale, comprehensive projects to systematically extract precise statistics on casualties and the profound economic pressures imposed on the populace from newly accessible archival documents. Such endeavors are crucial to fully illuminate this bitter and tragic chapter in history and to honor the memory of those whose plight was largely unacknowledged by the weak central government and subsequent administrations.