Injustice, Oppression Nothing New for Iran

On 1 May 1896, a commoner killed the king of Persia with a rusty Russian revolver bought from a fruit merchant. The assassin was untrained; his weapon barely functioned; but the target was so close that it did not matter. Nassereddin Shah Qajar, who had been king since 1848, was visiting a holy shrine south of his capital, Tehran, as part of the celebrations marking the 50th year of his reign. He was there, one might assume, to pray for many more years on the throne. As he entered the shrine, he was approached by one of his citizens carrying a letter, a petition of sorts, underneath which the revolver lay waiting.