Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
 Naser al-Din Shah Qajar |
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| Shahanshah of Persia | |
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| Reign | 1848–1896 |
| Full Name | Nasser al-Din Shah |
| Born | 16 July 1831 |
| Birthplace | Tabriz |
| Died | 1 May 1896 (aged 64) |
| Place of death | Tehran |
| Predecessor | Mohammad Shah Qajar |
| Successor | Mozzafar al-Din Shah |
| Dynasty | Qajar Dynasty |
| Religious beliefs | Shia Islam |
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar [1] (July 16, 1831 – May 1, 1896) (Persian: ناصرالدین شاه قاجار Nāṣira’d-Dīn Shāh Qājār) was the King and Shah of Persia from September 17, 1848 to May 1, 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and the third longest reigning monarch king in Persian history after Shapur II of the Sassanid Dynasty and Tahmasp I of the Safavid Dynasty. He had sovereign power for close to 50 years and was also the first Persian monarch to ever write and publish his diaries.
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[edit] Biography
He was in Tabriz when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the Peacock Throne with the help of Amir Kabir.
Though Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, he was dictatorial in his style of government. Unprovoked, he persecuted countless Bábís and Bahá'ís. Under his sanction, tens of thousands of innocent Báb´í's and Bahá'í's, including women and children, were brutally murdered. This persecution increased when a deranged Bábí, seeking revenge for his martyred friend, attempted to assassinate him in 1852.[2] This treatment continued under his Prime Minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of the The Báb - regarded as a Messenger of God to Báb'í's and Bahá'í's, and as the Messenger-Founder of the Báb'í faith.
He was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw there. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Persian monarch to be so honoured. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in Persian, German and Dutch.
During his visit, Naser al-Din met with British Jewish leaders, including Sir Moses Montefiore. At that time, the Persian king suggested that the Jews buy land and establish a state for the Jewish people.[3]
In 1890 he met British Gerald Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of Iranian Tobacco Industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a Fatwa that made farming, trading and consuming tobacco as Haram (forbidden). It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.
This was not the end of his attempts to give advantages to Europe because he later gave the ownership of Iranian Customs Incomes to Paul Julius Reuter.
Naser al-Din introduced a number of Western innovations to Persia, including a modern postal system, train transport, a banking system and newspaper publishing. He was the first Iranian to be photographed and was a patron of photography who had himself photographed hundreds of times.
Naser al-Din was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, when he was visiting and praying in the shrine of Shah-Abdol-Azim. It is said that the revolver used to assassinate him was old and rusty, and had he worn a thicker overcoat, or been shot from a longer range, he would have survived the attempt on his life.[4] Shortly before his death he is reported to have said "I will rule you differently if I survive!" Naser al-Din Shah's assassin was prosecuted by the Defence Minister Nazm ol Doleh.
He was buried in the Shah-Abdol-Azim Cemetery, in Rayy near Tehran, where he was assassinated. His one-piece marble tombstone, bearing his full effigy, is now kept in the Golestan Palace Museum in Tehran and is renowned as a masterpiece of Qajar-era sculpture.
[edit] Artistic and literary interests
Naser al-Din Shah was very interested in painting and photography. He was a talented painter, and even though he had not been trained, was an expert in pen and ink drawing. Several of his pen and ink drawings survive. He was one of the first photographers in Persia and was a patron of that art. He established a photography studio in Golestan Palace.[5]
Naser al-Din was also a poet. 200 couplets of his were recorded in the preface of Majma'ul Fusahā, a work by Reza Quli Khan Hedayat about poets of the Qajar period. He was interested in history and geography and had many books on these topics in his library. He also knew French and English, but was not fluent in either tongue.[6]
Hekāyāt Pir Va Javān ("The Tale of the Old and the Young") was attributed to him by many; it was one of the first Persian stories written in modern European style.[7]
[edit] Honours
- Knight of the Order of the White Eagle of Russia-1838
- Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur of France-1855
- Grand Cross of the Order of St Stephen of Hungary-1859
- Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus of Italy-1862
- Knight of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation of Italy-1862
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion-1868
- Knight of the Order of St. Andrew of Russia-1873
- Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky of Russia-1873
- Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class of Russia-1873
- Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class of Russia-1873
- Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG)-1873
- Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle of Prussia-1873
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia-1873
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold of Belgium-1873
- Exalted Order of Honour of Turkey-1880
[edit] Offspring
Sons
- Prince Soltan Mahmoud Mirza (1847–1849) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1849
- Prince Soltan Moin al-Din Mirza (1849 – 6 November 1856) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1849–56
- Prince Soltan Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan (5 January 1850–2 July 1918)
- Prince Mohammad Qassem Mirza (1850 – 29 June 1858) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1856-8
- Prince Soltan Hossein Mirza Jalal ed-Dowleh (1852–1868) [8]
- Prince Mozaffar al-Din Shah (25 March 1853–7 January 1907)
- Prince Kamran Mirza Nayeb es-Saltaneh (22 July 1856 – 1927)
- Prince Nosrat al-Din Mirza Salar es-Saltaneh (2 May 1882 – 1954)
- Prince Mohammad Reza Mirza Rokn es-Saltaneh (30 January 1884 – 8 July 1951)
- Prince Hussein Ali Mirza Yamin ed-Dowleh (1890–1952)
- Prince Ahmad Mirza Azd es-Saltaneh (1891–1939)
Daughters
- Princess Afsar ed-Dowleh
- Princess Fakhr-ol-Moluk (1847 - 9 April 1878)
- Princess Esmat ed-Dowleh (1855 – 3 September 1905)
- Princess Zi'a es-Saltaneh (1856 - 11 April 1898) [9]
- Princess Fakhr ed-Dowleh (1859–1891)
- Princess Forugh ed-Dowleh (1862–1916)
- Princess Eftekhar es-Saltaneh (1880–1941)
- Princess Farah es-Saltaneh (1882 - 17 April 1899)
- Princess Tadj es-Saltaneh (1883 – 25 January 1936)
- Princess Ezz es-Saltaneh (1888–1982)[10]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Nasser al-Din is pronounced as Nāser-ad'din, and less formally as Nāser-ed'din.
- ^ Abbas Amanat. Pivot of the universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, p. 204-218.
- ^ World Jewish Congress
- ^ Mo'ayeri p.105
- ^ Tahmasbpoor, Mohammad-Reza (2008). Nāser-od-din, the Photographer King. Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran. ISBN 964-6082-16-5
- ^ Mo'ayeri p.30
- ^ Mansuri, Kurosh(2006). Hekāyāt Pir Va Javān. Tehran: Motale'at Tarikh. ISBN 964-6357-69-5
- ^ Children of Naser al-Din Shah
- ^ Zi'a es-Saltaneh married Seyed Zeyn-ol-Abedin Emam Jome'eh. Her daughter, Zia Ashraf Emami married Mohammad Mosaddegh
- ^ Mo'ayeri pp.16-17
[edit] See also
- Qajar dynasty
- Order of Aftab
- Qajar art
- Persian Tobacco Revolution
- Persian Cossack Brigade
- Samad Khan Momtaz os-Saltaneh
- Marjane Satrapi
[edit] References
- Amanat, Abbas (2004). Pivot of the universe. Tehran: Karnameh. ISBN 964-431-049-7.
- Clay, Catrine (2006). King, Kaiser, Tsar. London: John Murray. ISBN 13-978-0-7195-6536-7.
- Mo'ayeri, Dustali (1982). Some notes from private life of Nasser al-Din Shah. Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nasser-ed-Din Shah |
- Nasser-al-Din Shah's Portrait
- His visit to England(select from list)
- Side view of Nasser-al-Din Shah's marble tombstone
- Window on an Era: A Qajar Royal Album. Selected photographs from a private album of Nasser al-Din Shah, with an introduction by Kaveh Golestan, Kargah
- Mohammad-Reza Tahmasbpoor, History of Iranian Photography: Early Photography in Iran, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah
- History of Iranian Photography. Postcards in Qajar Period, photographs provided by Bahman Jalali, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah.
- History of Iranian Photography. Women as Photography Model: Qajar Period, photographs provided by Bahman Jalali, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah.
- Sir James William Redhouse, The Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during His Tour through Europe in A.D. 1873, A Verbatim Translation (John Murray, London, 1874), Internet Archive (Digitized by Robarts at University of Toronto).
- Sir Albert Houtum Schidler and Baron Louis de Norman, A Diary Kept by His Majesty the Shah of Persia during His Journey to Europe in 1878, in English (Richard Bentley & Son, London, 1879), Internet Archive (Digitized by Google).
- Photos of qajar kings
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Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Born: July 16 1831 Died: May 1 1896 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Mohammad Shah Qajar |
Shah of Persia 1848–1896 |
Succeeded by Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar |
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