Naser al-Din Shah Qajar

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Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Shahanshah of Iran Zell'ollah (Shadow of God [on earth]) Premiers		See list Mirza Hosein Khan Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani Mirza Ali Asghar Khan
Born	(1831-07-17)17 July 1831 Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine
Spouse	85 women, among them: Galin Khanom Taj al-Dawlah Shokouh al-Saltaneh Jeyran ​ ​ (m. 1851; died 1860)​ Anis al-Dawla Amina Aqdas Khazen al-Dawlah Munir al-Saltaneh Fatemeh Sultan Baghbanbashi
Issue	See below
Names Naser al-Din Shah ناصرالدین‌شاه
Dynasty	Qajar
Father	Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mother	Malek Jahan Khanom
Religion	Shia Islam
Tughra

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar

He was the first modern Persian monarch who formally visited Europe and wrote of his travels in his memoirs. A modernist, he allowed the establishment of newspapers in the country and made use of modern forms of technology such as telegraphs, photography and also planned concessions for railways and irrigation works. Despite his modernizing reforms on education, his tax reforms were abused by people in power, and the government was viewed as corrupt and unable to protect commoners from abuse by the upper class which led to increasing antigovernmental sentiments. He ended up being assassinated when visiting a shrine.

Reign

Effectiveness of his early rule

The state under Naser al-Din was the recognized government of Iran but its authority was undermined by local tribal leaders. The religious and tribal chieftains held quite a bit of autonomy over their communities. Naser al-Din was not effective in implementing his sovereignty over his people. Local groups had their own militias and oftentimes did not obey laws passed by the monarchy since they did not have the power to enforce them. The people followed the ulama's fatwas instead of state issued law. When Naser al-Din took power, his army barely had 3,000 men which was significantly smaller than the armies under various tribal leaders. When the state needed a proper army, he would hire the local militias.^[4] Prior to his reforms, Naser's government had very little power over their subjects and even during the reforms, they faced more scrutiny over their ability to implement those reforms successfully.

Diplomacy and wars

Naser al-Din was in Tabriz when he heard of his father's death in 1848,^[5] and he ascended to the Sun Throne with the help of Amir Kabir. During his reign he would have to deal with the Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar, as well as insurrections by Babis.

Naser al-Din had early

Tehran Bazaar) and most importantly opened the first Iranian school for upper education called the Dar ul-Funun where many Iranian intellectuals received their education. However Naser al-Din Shah's reforms were unpopular with some people.^{[citation needed}

]

The shah gradually lost interest for reform. However, he took some important measures such as introducing

Mozaffar al-Din

.

Although he was successful in introducing these western based reforms, he was not successful in gaining complete sovereignty over his people or getting them to accept these reforms. The school he opened, Dar al-Funun, had very small enrollment numbers. The restrictions defined by Sh'ia Islam on the shah's collection of the zakat led to those funds going straight into the coffers of the ulama. Therefore, the financial autonomy given to the ulama enabled them to remain structurally independent, keeping madrasahs open and supporting the students therein.

tax farming to increase state revenue. Tax collectors routinely abused their power and the government was viewed as corrupt and unable to protect them from abuse by the upper class. This anti-government sentiment increased the ulama's power over the people because they were able to provide them security. Keddie states in her book, Roots of Revolution: An Interpretive History of Modern Iran, that at the time "it was still considered a sign of greater status to be admitted to the ranks of the ulama than it was to become a member of the civil service."^[11]

In 1852 Naser al-Din dismissed and executed Amir Kabir, the famous Persian reformer. With him, many believe, died the prospect of an independent Persia led by meritocracy rather than nepotism.

In the later years of his rule, however, Naser al-Din steadfastly refused to deal with the growing pressures for reforms. He also granted a series of concessionary rights to foreigners in return for large payments. In 1872, popular pressure forced him to withdraw one concession involving permission to construct such complexes as

railways and irrigation works throughout Persia. He visited Europe in 1873, 1878 and 1889. In 1890, he granted a 50-year concession on the purchase, sale, and processing of all tobacco in the country, which led to a national boycott of tobacco and the withdrawal of the concession. This last incident is considered by many authorities to be the origin of modern Iranian nationalism

.

Assassination

Tekyeh Dowlat

Naser al-Din was assassinated by

Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, when he was visiting and praying in the Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine on 1 May 1896. 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.^[12]

Shortly before his death, he is reported to have said "I will rule you differently if I survive!" The assassin was prosecuted by the defence minister, Nazm ol-Dowleh.

Nasser-al-Din Shah's assassination and the subsequent execution of Mirza Reza Kermani marked a turning point in Iranian political thought that would ultimately lead to the

Mozzafar-al-Din Shah's turbulent reign.^[13]

.

Naser al-Din was also a poet. 200 couplets of his were recorded in the preface of Majma'ul Fusahā, a work by Reza-Qoli 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 language.^[16]

Hekāyāt Pir o Javān (حکایت پیر و جوان; "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.^[17]

He also wrote the book Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873.

Issue

Sons

• Prince Soltan Mahmoud Mirza (1847–1849)
  Vali Ahad
  of Persia, 1849
• Prince Soltan Moin ed-Din Mirza (1849 – 6 November 1856)
  Vali Ahad
  of Persia, 1849–56
• Prince Soltan Massoud Mirza Zell os-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 od-Dowleh (1852–1868)^[18]
• Prince
  Mozaffar ed-Din Mirza
  (25 March 1853 – 7 January 1907)
• Prince Kamran Mirza Nayeb os-Saltaneh (22 July 1856 – 15 April 1929)
• Prince Nosrat ed-Din Mirza Salar os-Saltaneh (2 May 1882 – 1954)
• Prince Mohammad-Reza Mirza Rokn os-Saltaneh (30 January 1884 – 8 July 1951)
• Prince Hossein-Ali Mirza Yamin od-Dowleh (1890–1952)
• Prince Ahmad Mirza Azd os-Saltaneh (1891–1939)

Daughters

• Princess Afsar od-Dowleh
• Princess Fakhr ol-Moluk (1847 – 9 April 1878)
• Princess Ismat al-Doulah (1855 – 3 September 1905)
• Princess Zi'a os-Saltaneh (1856 – 11 April 1898)^[19]
• Princess Fakhr od-Dowleh (1859–1891)
• Princess Forugh od-Dowleh (1862–1916)
• Princess Eftekhar os-Saltaneh (1880–1941)
• Princess Farah os-Saltaneh (1882 – 17 April 1899)
• Princess Tadj os-Saltaneh (1883 – 25 January 1936)
• Princess Ezz os-Saltaneh (1888–1982)^[20]
• Princess Sharafsaltaneh

Honours

Persian

• Founder of the Imperial Order of the August Portrait, 1848^[21]
• Founder of the Decoration of the Commander of the Faithful, November 1856^[21]
• Founder of the Imperial Order of the Aqdas, 1870^[22]
• Founder of the Imperial Order of the Sun for Ladies, 1873^[21]

Foreign

• Austrian Empire: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, in Brilliants, 1859^[23]
• Grand Duchy of Baden:^[24]
  • Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1889
  • Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1889
• Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, 1889^[25]
• Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 4 August 1857^[26]
• Legion d'Honneur
  , 1855
• Kingdom of Italy:
  • Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, 13 April 1861^[27]
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1862
• Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 1868
• Ottoman Empire:
  • Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class, 1880
  • Order of Glory, 1880
• Kingdom of Prussia:^[28]
  • Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 12 January 1860; in Brilliants, 1873
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, in Brilliants, 9 June 1873
• Russian Empire:
  • Knight of the
    Imperial Order of the White Eagle
    , 1838
  • Knight of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-called, 1873
  • Knight of the
    Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
    , 1873
  • Knight of the
    Imperial Order of Saint Anna
    , 1st Class, 1873
  • Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class, 1873
• Royal Order of the Seraphim, 7 March 1890^[29]
• Most Noble Order of the Garter, 26 June 1873^[30]
• Kingdom of Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, 1889^[31]

List of premiers

• Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir
  (1848–1851)
• Mirza Aqa Khan-e Nuri
  (1851–1858)
• Post abolished (1858–1871)
• Mirza Hosein Khan Moshir od-Dowleh Sepahsalar
  (1871–1873)
• Mirza Yousof Khan Ashtiani (1873–1880) (1st time)
• Prince Kamran Mirza (1880–1885)
• Mirza Yousof Khan Ashtiani (1885–1887) (2nd time)
• Mirza Ali-Asghar Khan Amin os-Soltan
  (1887–1896) (1st time)

Fictional depictions

• Naser al-Din Shah is played by Bahram Radan in 2022 tv series Jeyran.
• Naser al-Din Shah is depicted in 1976 TV series Soltan-e Sahebgharan and also in 1984 TV series Amir Kabir.
• He is also depicted in 1992 movie Nassereddin Shah, Actor-e Cinema (Once Upon a Time, Cinema) written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf and 1984 Kamal ol-Molk directed by Ali Hatami.
• He was the inspiration for the main character of the short story De koning 2002 and the novel De koning 2011 by the Persian–Dutch writer Kader Abdolah.
• It can be inferred from the time period and historical references that Naser al-Din Shah is depicted in the 1990 novel Phantom by Susan Kay which explores the life of the titular character in Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.
• In animation form his life depicted by Beate Petersen in Nasseredin Shah and his 84 wives at 2011.
• Joseph Roth: The tale of the 1002nd night: a novel (1939).

• 
  Musicians and dancers at the Court of Naser-al-Din Shah.

See also

Notes

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 978-0-7195-6536-6
  .
• Mo'ayeri, Dustali (1982). Some notes from private life of Nasser al-Din Shah. Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran.

Further reading

• Charouz, Ladislav (2022). "Naser al-Din Shah's 1873 Visit to the World's Fair in Vienna". Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies. 60 (1): 135–147.
  doi:10.1080/05786967.2020.1762503
  .
• Grobien, Philip Henning (2023). "Modernity, Borders and Maps: Iran's Ability to Advocate for its Borders During the Reign of Naser al-Din Shah". Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies. 61 (2): 285–298.
  S2CID 233775219
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.

• Nasser-al-Din Shah's Portrait
• Nasseredin Shah and his 84 wives
• His visit to England(select from list)
• Statue of Nasseredin Shah in Golestan Palace
• Side view of Nasser-al-Din Shah's marble tombstone
• Coins, banknotes and medals of Qajar period Archived 26 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
• 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

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Qajar dynasty Born: 16 July 1831 Died: 1 May 1896
Iranian royalty
Preceded by Mohammad Shah Qajar	Shah of Iran 1848–1896	Succeeded by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar