A Qajar ruler of Iran. When he was enthroned in 1896, Mozaffar Din Shah was forced to capitulate to popular demands for a constitution and a parliament. Iran's constitutional revolution of 1905-11 was a national struggle for democratic government, the rule of law and a limit on the monarchy's powers. It was the first political reform movement of its kind in the Middle East and was waged against the corrupt and indolent Qajar dynasty, which had sold Iranian assets on the cheap to Britain and Russia in the form of foreign concessions. He took loans to finance his European trips in 1900, 1902 and 1905. The revolution ushered in a free press and led to the downfall of the Qajar dynasty, rulers of Iran since 1797. But its democratic roots were stamped upon by Reza Pahlavi, a soldier backed by the British, who were increasingly alarmed at the threat posed to their interests by the popular movement.