Ali-Qoli Khan Qajar
Ali-Qoli Khan Qajar | |
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Governor of Qajar woman |
Ali-Qoli Khan Qajar (c. 1756–1824) was a son of Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar (d. 1759) and half-brother of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797), the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran. Unlike Agha Mohammad Khan's full brothers, Ali-Qoli Khan served loyally from the outset and supported, for around twenty years (with brief intervals), Agha Mohammad Khan's conquest for control over all of Iran. Following Agha Mohammad Khan's assassination in 1797, he unsuccessfully tried to claim himself as his brother's rightful successor. Ali-Qoli Khan was eventually blinded and exiled by his nephew Baba Khan, who would ascend the Iranian throne as Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834).
Biography
Early life
Ali-Qoli Khan Qajar was born c. 1756
Ali-Qoli Khan rarely matched the military prowess of his older brothers and was never able to obtain an independent position in the Qajar tribe. He was reportedly nicknamed Agha Baji by Agha Mohammad Khan, a derogatory term meaning "effeminate master", which, as the modern historian Abbas Amanat explains, may refer to certain feminine traits in his behavior or his lack of cruelty. Nevertheless, Ali-Qoli Khan's support of Agha Mohammad Khan did help the latter in 1779–1782 during early conflicts with his brothers over power.[2][3]
Campaigns
In 1781, Ali-Qoli Khan and Agha Mohammad Khan were successful in ousting the
In 1783, as a result of the continued struggle between the Zands and the Qajars, Ali-Qoli Khan decided to make a bid for power. Having abandoned Agha Mohammad Khan, he made peace with the Zand chiefs, which, as the modern historian
Returning from Fars, Ali-Qoli Khan was appointed governor of
Ali-Qoli Khan took part in Agha Mohammad Khan's attack on
Succession claim and downfall
In 1797, during Agha Mohammad Khan's final campaign in the Caucasus, Ali-Qoli Khan was ordered to hold Erivan. At this point, Ali-Qoli Khan had become the only surviving brother of Agha Mohammad Khan who had not been exiled or physically disabled. Following Agha Mohammad Khan's assassination in June 1797 in
Simultaneously, however, his young nephew, Baba Khan, soon to be Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834), the second shah of the Qajar dynasty, entered Tehran through the acquiescence of Mirza Mohammad Khan. On the advice of Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi, Baba Khan sent his brother Hosayn-Qoli Khan II to invite Ali-Qoli Khan to the palace in Tehran, under the feigned pretext of discussing succession. When Ali-Qoli Khan arrived, he was not allowed to enter the palace accompanied by his armed attendants. Ali-Qoli Khan was physically obliged to bow to Baba Khan and, cursing him all the while, was led to a room where he was blinded. Ali-Qoli Khan was then sent to Barforush (now Babol) in Mazandaran, where he remained until his death in 1824.[2][1]
Ali-Qoli Khan based his claim to succession on his loyalty to Agha Mohammad Khan, having accompanied him throughout the conquest of Iran, and as the sole surviving son of Mohammad Hasan Khan.[1][2] Based on these arguments, he considered it his right to ascend the throne. The claim, however, was void from the start because, in the contemporaneous Qajar system of power, concepts of kinship and "purity" of blood were major focal points in the transmission of right and dignity. As Ali-Qoli Khan had been born to a non-Qajar mother, he was ineligible for such right. In addition, under the earlier Qajars, a "legitimate" claim to the Iranian throne had to be imposed by military and political power—qualities that Ali-Qoli Khan did not possess.[1] Furthermore, Baba Khan had long been prepared by Agha Mohammad Khan for succession.[2]
References
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-71009-097-3.
- Ebrahimnejad, Hormoz (2007). "ʿAlī Qulī Khān". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
- Hambly, Gavin R.G. (1991). "Āghā Muḥammad Khān and the establishment of the Qājār dynasty". In ISBN 0-521-20095-4.
- ISBN 978-9004492028.