The life and work of a Grand Ayatollah in historical context: the contribution of Ayatollah Ḥājj Āqā Ḥusayn Burūjirdī (1875-1961) to Shiʻi theology and to the development of the religious institution in 20th century Iran 

<br/><br/> This thesis intends to explore the development of the Shiʻi religious institution in 20th century Iran through a case study of the life and work of Grand Ayatollah Burūjirdī (1875-1961), who was the head of the Qum Seminary for seventeen years (1944-1961) and was the pre-eminent marjaʻ al-taqlīd of Iran from 1947 until his death. No serious academic study has been undertaken on Burūjirdī in English. This thesis draws on a range of primary sources (both written and oral), most of which are as yet unpublished and are used in this thesis for the first time.