Bagher Khān ( fa, باقرخان; 1870 – November 1916) honorarily titled Sālār-e Melli ( "National Chieftain") or Baqir Khān, was one of the key figures in the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...

Biography

Early life

Bagher Khan was born in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in the 1870s and was the son of Haj Reza Bana. Bagher Khan was a bricklayer by profession. Soon he emerged in the streets of Tabriz as a lūṭī of the east end of the city. He came from an orthodox background. But with an inclination to the pro-Constitution leaders, he joined the ranks of the revolutionary militia by 1907. He was of

Iranian Azeri Iranian Azerbaijanis (; az, ایران آذربایجانلیلاری, italics=no ), also known as Iranian Azeris, Iranian Turks, Persian Turks or Persian Azerbaijanis, are Iranians of Azerbaijani ethnicity who may speak the Azerbaijani lan ...

origin.Iran and Its Place Among Nations, by Alidad Mafinezam, Aria Mehrabi, 2008, p.57

Revolutionary

Bagher Khan played a key role in the

. He joined the Revolutionary Militia in 1907 and was active in several clashes in

. After the

1908 bombardment of the Majlis The 1908 bombardment of the Majlis of Iran took place on 23 June 1908 in Tehran, during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, when the Persian Cossack forces, commanded by Vladimir Liakhov and other Russian officers, bombarded and suppressed t ...

, Bagher Khan along with

Sattar Khan Sattar Khan ( fa, ستارخان, , October 20, 1866 – November 17, 1914), honorarily titled Sardār-e Melli ( fa, سردار ملی meaning ''National Commander'') was a pivotal figure in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and is considered ...

marched towards

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, however he returned to Tabriz shortly after upon hearing that the city was under attack. On 22 March 1909, Bagher Khan led the Revolutionary Militia to victory in the Battle of Saridag in which the supply routes to Tabriz were opened. In 1910, Bagher Khan was effectively exiled to

. In 1915, he joined the ''Committee for National Defence '' and participated in skirmishes with Russian forces before being forced to retreat to

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

Death

In November 1916, while wandering near

Qasr-e Shirin Qasr-e Shirin ( fa, قصرشيرين; also Romanized as Qaşr-e Shīrīn and Qasr-ī-Shīrīn; also known as Ghasr-ī-shīrīn and Ghasr-shīrīn, Kurdish: قەسری شیرین) is a city and capital of Qasr-e Shirin County, Kermanshah Province, ...

, he was offered accommodation by Mohammad Amin Talebani. On the same night, Talebani murdered Bagher Khan and his companions, and threw their bodies away nearby.

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