In the early Qajar era and during the wars with Russia, the need for familiarity with the modern world and drawing inspiration from new sciences and technologies first became evident to Iranian progressives. This path was pursued by many reformists and intellectuals, reaching its peak during the reigns of Naser al-Din Shah and his son, Mozaffar al-Din Shah. A significant part of these intellectuals’ activities was dedicated to addressing the shortcomings of the political system and promoting the foundations of modern public law, one of the most important of which was the constitution.

The question, then, is how Iranian intellectuals of the Constitutional era introduced the modern constitution and what actions they took to implement it in Iran. To answer this question, the study will examine the works of intellectuals, analyze their performance and influence, and carefully review the perspectives of renowned historians and researchers. The research concludes that a group of constitutionalist intellectuals, such as Sepahsalar and Malkom Khan, sought to gain the Shah’s approval and have him enact a constitutional-like text. In this regard, they presented proposals to Naser al-Din Shah. However, these proposals differed significantly in terms of detail and precision. For instance, Sepahsalar’s constitution consisted of seven articles and was quite brief, whereas Malkom Khan’s proposal, known as Ketabche-ye Gheibi (The Secret Booklet), was highly detailed. In addition to these two, Yek Kalameh (One Word) by Mirza Yusef Khan Mostashar al-Dowleh is also noteworthy. While its main focus was on familiarizing people with their rights, some sections resembled constitutional laws in content, form, and structure. On the other hand, figures like Talebov aimed primarily to explain the concept of the constitution to the people and the elite. He wrote his works in the language of the nation and in accordance with their values and understanding. Similarly, Malkom Khan pursued the same goal by publishing Qanun (The Law) newspaper.