Search

(b. Dawlatābād. near Isfahan, 8 January 1863, d. Tehran, 26 October 1939), educator, political activist, and memoirist of the constitutional and postconstitutional periods. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 2, pp. 143-146 DAWLATĀBĀDĪ, SAYYED YAḤYĀ (b. Daw-latābād near Isfahan, 17 Rajab 1279/8 January 1863, d. Tehran, 4 Ābān 1318 Š./26 October 1939), celebrated educator, political activist, and memoirist of the constitutional and postconstitutional periods. Yaḥyā was the second of the five sons of an affluent family of landowning ʿolamāʾ. His f…

hero of The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan by James Justinian Morier (3 vols., London, 1824), the most popular Oriental novel in the English language and a highly influential stereotype of the so-called “Persian national character” in modern times. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 561-568 HAJJI BABA OF ISPAHAN, hero of The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan by James Justinian Morier (3 vols., London, 1824), the most popular Oriental novel in the English language and a highly influential stereotype of the so-called…

(1867-98), a high-ranking official towards the end of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah’s reign. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 948-949 AMĪN-AL- MOLK, MĪRZĀ ESMĀʿĪL (1284-1316/1867-98), a high-ranking official towards the end of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah’s reign. Born in Tehran, he was the third son of Āqā Ebrāhīm Khan Amīn-al-solṭān. While still a clerical novice ( ṭalaba), he helped with the financial affairs of the shrine of ʿAbd-al-ʿAẓīm, which was under his father’s trusteeship; soon he was transferred to the royal treasury ( ḵezāna-ye mobāraka), which was a…

one of the popular heroes of the Constitutional Revolution during the defense of Tabrīz in the period of the Lesser Autocracy (June, 1908-July, 1909). A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 7, pp. 726-728 BĀQER KHAN SĀLĀR-e MELLĪ, one of the popular heroes of the Constitutional Revolution during the defense of Tabrīz in the period of the Lesser Autocracy ( estebdād-e ṣaḡīr, Jomādā I 1326-Rabīʿ II, 1327/June 1908-July 1909). Son of Ḥājī Reżā, he was born in Tabrīz in the 1870s and was a bricklayer by profession before emerging as the chief lūṭī of the Ḵīābān qua…

(1807-1865), MĪRZĀ, prime minister ( ṣadr-e aʿẓam) of Persia under Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah Qajar; though relatively young when he took office, he represented the old school of Qajar statecraft. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 6, pp. 658-662 EʿTEMĀD-AL- DAWLA, ĀQĀ KHAN (originally Naṣr-Allāh) NŪRĪ, MĪRZĀ (1222-81/1807-65; Figure 1), prime minister ( ṣadr-e aʿẓam) of Persia under Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah Qajar (1268-75/1851-58). Āqā Khan Nūṟī was the second son of Mīrzā Asad-Allāh Nūrī, the chief army accountant ( laškarnevīs-bāšī) under Āqā Moḥammad Kh…

or ṢANĪʿ-AL-DAWLA (1843-1896), Qajar statesman, scholar, and author. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 6, pp. 662-666 EʿTEMĀD-AL-SALṬANA, MOḤAMMAD-ḤASAN KHAN MOQADDAM MARĀḠAʾĪ, also known by his earlier title, ṢANĪʿ-AL-DAWLA, Qajar statesman, scholar, and author (1259-1313/1843-96). Moḥammad-Ḥasan Khan Eʿtemād-al-Salṭana’s father, ʿAlī Khan Ḥājeb-al-Dawla (Sanīʿ-al-Dawla I), was from the Moqaddam tribe of Marāḡa which had served the Qajars in their early campaigns (Hedāyat, Rawżat al-ṣafā X, pp. 279-80; Ḵān-Malek Sāsānī, I, pp…

(1879-1940), better known as Malījak(-e) Ṯānī [II], the boy favorite of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah Qājār. A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 3, pp. 263-265 ʿAZĪZ-AL- SOLṬĀN, ḠOLĀM-ʿALĪ KHAN (1297-1359/1879-1940) better known as Malījak(-e) Ṯānī [II], the boy favorite of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah Qājār. He was the son of Mīrzā Moḥammad Khan Malījak Awwal [I] (later Amīn Ḵāqān)—himself a favored page of the private quarters ( ḵalwat)—and grand-son of a Kurdish shepherd from the small village of Ḥalwāʾī in the Garrūs region. It is said that Nāṣer-al…

ḤĀJJĪ MĪRZĀ ABBĀS ĪRAVĀNĪ (ca. 1198-1265/1783-1848), grand vizier of Moḥammad Shah Qāǰār (r. 1834-48), 1835-48. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 2, pp. 183-188 ĀQĀSĪ, ḤĀJJĪ MĪRZĀ ABBĀS ĪRAVĀNĪ (ca. 1198-1265/1783-1848), grand vizier of Moḥammad Shah Qāǰār (r. 1250-64/1834-48) between 1251-64/1835-48. Son of Moslem b. ʿAbbās, a petty Mulla-landowner of Īravān (Yerevan) from the Bayāt clan; when still a youth he accompanied his father to the Shiʿite holy cities of Iraq where he studied for a …

(AMĪR-E NEẒĀM), the holder of the military and administrative office of emārat-e neẓām in the Qajar period. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 965-966 AMĪR(-E) NEẒĀM, the holder of the military and administrative office of emārat-e neẓām in the Qajar period. In the absence of any reference to this post in Safavid, Afsharid, and Zand sources, there is little doubt as to its Qajar origin. It first appears as a top ranking military post—perhaps equivalent to generalissimo—in the Azerbaijan army sometime…

(b. ca. 1150/1735-36), khan of the Qelīča, a minor Turkish tribe in northern Khorasan, and ruler of Sabzevār at the turn of the 19th century. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 892-893 ALLĀHYĀR KHAN QELĪČĪ (b. ca. 1150/1735-36), khan of the Qelīča, a minor Turkish tribe in northern Khorasan, and ruler of Sabzevār at the turn of the 19th century. He rose to power in the late 12th/18th century when supremacy over Khorasan was disputed by the Zands, the Qajars, and the remnants of the Afsharids. Arou…

known also as Sālār-e Laškar (1236-1317/1820-1900), officer, diplomat, statesman, and literary figure of the Qajar period. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 966-969 AMĪR(-E) NEẒĀM GARRŪSĪ, ḤASAN-ʿALĪ KHAN, known also as Sālār-e Laškar (1236-1317/1820-1900), officer, diplomat, statesman, and literary figure of the Qajar period. He was born in Bīǰār to a family of Kurdish Kabūdvand chiefs with a long history of official service (for the family lineage and service under previous dynasties se…

(1244-1310/1828-92), a middle rank Qajar official during the rule of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 947-948 AMĪN(-E) LAŠKAR, MĪRZĀ QAHRAMĀN QOMŠAʾĪ EṢFAHĀNĪ (1244-1310/1828-92), a middle rank Qajar official during the rule of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah. Born in Isfahan, where his father, Mīrzā Yūsof, was in the service of the Qajar notables, he was trained as a scribe ( mīrzā) and became a minor accountant to ʿAzīz Khan Mokrī about 1268/1851-52. After ʿAzīz Khan was appointed commander in chief ( sardār-e koll) of the Azerbaijan ar…

Qajar notable (ca. 1236-1309/1820-1892). A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 888-889 ALLĀH-QOLĪ KHAN ĪLḴĀNĪ (sometimes Allāh-qolī Mīrzā), Qajar notable (ca. 1236-1309/1820-1892). Son of Mūsā Khan and grandson of Ḥosayn-qolī Khan, he was both Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah’s fraternal nephew and grandson by his daughter ʿEzzat Nesāʾ. He was brought up in the shah’s household ( andarūn). Because of his grandmother’s influence, the shah looked upon him as his own son (ʿAżod-al-dawla, Tārīḵ-eʿAżodī, pp. 29-30). He is known for his unusual indulgence in …

(d. 1240/1824-25), the youngest of nine sons of Moḥammad Ḥasan Khan Qāǰār and half brother of Āḡā (more correctly Āqā) Moḥammad Khan. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 874-875 ʿALĪ-QOLĪ KHAN (d. 1240/1824-25), the youngest of nine sons of Moḥammad Ḥasan Khan Qāǰār and half brother of Āḡā (more correctly Āqā) Moḥammad Khan. Born in 1169/1755-56 in Astarābād ( Nāseḵ-al-tawārīḵ I, p. 28), he was brought to Qazvīn by order of Karīm Khan after the defeat and death of his father (1172/1758-59). His childhood and early youth wer…

(1769-1834), second ruler of the Qajar dynasty. He transformed a largely Turkic tribal khanship into a centralized and stable monarchy on the old imperial model which brought to the Guarded Domains of Persia ( mamālek-e maḥrūsa-ye Īrān) a period of relative calm and prosperity, secured a state-religious symbiosis, and fostered a period of cultural and artistic revival. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 4, pp. 407-421 FATḤ-ʿALĪ SHAH QĀJĀR, the second ruler of the Qajar dynasty (b. Moḥarram 1183/May 1769; d. 19 Jomādā II 1250/ 24 October 1834; Plate I). Earl…

ṢADR EṢFAHĀNĪ (1779-1847), chief revenue accountant and later prime minister under Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah (1797-1834). A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 939-941 AMĪN-AL- DAWLA, ʿABDALLĀH KHAN ṢADR EṢFAHĀNĪ (1193-1263/1779-1847), chief revenue accountant ( mostawfī-al-mamālek) and later prime minister ( ṣadr) under Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah (r. 1212-50/1797-1834). He was the eldest son of Ḥāǰǰī Moḥammad-Ḥosayn Khan Ṣadr Eṣfahānī (see Ṣadr al-tawārīḵ, p. 69, for his paternal ancestry); his mother seems to have been the daughter of a minor B…

(1822-1880), first minister of sciences (ʿolūm, meaning education) of the Qajar period and a scholar.A version of this article is available in printVolume VIII, Fascicle 6, pp. 669-672 EʿTEŻĀD-AL-SALṬANA, ʿALĪQOLĪ MĪRZĀ, first minister of sciences ( ʿolūm, meaning education) of the Qajar period and a scholar (b. 23 Rabīʿ I 1238/7 December 1822; d. 10 Moharram 1298/14 December 1880). He was the forty-seventh son of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah by Gol-pīrahan Ḵānom, an Armenian kanīz from Tbilisi (Eʿteżād-al-Salṭāna, Eksīr, p. 228). After receiving the customary princely education (and…

(d. 1300/1882-83), influential court minister of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah and father of ʿAlī-Aṣḡar Khan Amīn-al-solṭān. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 949-951 AMĪN-AL- SOLṬĀN, ĀQĀ (MOḤAMMAD) EBRĀHĪM (d. 1300/1882-83), influential court minister of Nāṣer-al-dīn Shah and father of ʿAlī-Aṣḡar Khan Amīn-al-solṭān. His father Zāl Khan, a Christian convert, is said to have been either the son of a Georgian captured during Āqā Moḥammad Khan’s campaign of 1795 (Amīn-al-dawla, Ḵāṭerāt-e sīāsī, ed. Ḥ. Farmānfarmāʾīān, Tehran, 1341 Š./1962, p. 3…

(1789-1821), eldest son of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah and powerful prince-governor of western provinces of Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 2, pp. 147-149 DAWLATŠĀH, MOḤAMMAD-ʿALĪ MĪRZĀ (1203-37/1789-1821), eldest son of Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah (1212-50/1797-1834) and powerful prince-governor of western provinces of Persia. He was born in the resort village of Navā in Māzandarān to Zībā-čehr Ḵānom, a Georgian (Čūš) slave girl of the Tzicara Chwili family owned by Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah, and was senior by seven …

(b. 1745, d. 1800/1801), lord mayor (kalāntar) of Shiraz during the late Zand era, the first grand vizier ( ṣadr-e aʿẓam), and a major political figure of the Qajar period. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 1, pp. 66-71 EBRĀHĪM KALĀNTAR ŠĪRĀZĪ, Ḥājī Mīrzā MOḤAMMAD Kalāntar and Eʿtemād-al-Dawla (b. 1158/1745, d. 1215/1800 or 1216/1801), lord mayor ( kalāntar) of Shiraz during the late Zand era, the first grand vizier ( ṣadr-e aʿẓam), and a major political figure of the Qajar period. Background and early career. He was the third son of Moḥammad-Hāšem…