Eskandar Khan Davidkhanian was an Iranian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

, the Deputy Commander of the

Persian Cossack Brigade , image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg , caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909 , dates = 1879–1921 , disbanded = 6 December 1921 , count ...

, and a member of the Davidkhanian family.

Family

A member of the Davidkhanian family through his father, Eskandar shares blood with Markar Khan Davidkhanian, the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Fath Ali Shah Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, فتحعلى‌شاه قاجار, Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irr ...

. He married Karolina Hoeltzer, the daughter of photographer Ernst Hoeltzer.

Career

The son of General

Martiros Khan Davidkhanian Martiros Khan Davidkhanian (1843-1905) was an Iranian general, philanthropist, professor, the Chief of Staff of the Persian Cossack Brigade, and the Commander of the Royal Guard of the Qajar Court. He taught Russian to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, ...

, Eskandar Khan Davidkhanian followed in his father's footsteps, teaching French and Russian at Dar ul-Funun—the oldest university in Iran—as well as serving as a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the Persian military. Davidkhanian served as the Deputy Commander of the

Persian Cossack Brigade , image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg , caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909 , dates = 1879–1921 , disbanded = 6 December 1921 , count ...

, ranking higher than the future Shah, Reza Pahlavi.

Dispute with Fyodor Chernozubov

In 1906, a committee was chosen to investigate the Brigade's finances under

Fyodor Chernozubov Fyodor Grigoryevich Chernozubov (14 September 1863 – 14 November 1919; sometimes seen as Theodore G. Chernozubov) was a Russian Imperial Army officer who became lieutenant general on 20 February 1915. He was trained at Page Corps and later Imp ...

, determining that Chernozubov had been stealing the soldier's pay, an act confirmed by Russian officers. Chernozubov had mishandled the pension distribution of

and given a portion of the pension to

Alexander Khan Setkhanian Alexander Khan Setkhanian (1865-1953) was an Iranian general, the Chief of Staff of the Cossack Brigade, a Commander in the Iranian Imperial Army, and a member of the Davidkhanian family. Early life Alexander was born to General Tsatur Khan and ...

, Eskandar's brother-in-law. Chernozubov was dismissed after the results of the investigation were announced, leading to the appointment of a new Commander.{{Cite book , last=Yaghoubian , first=David , title=Ethnicity, Identity, and the Development of Nationalism in Iran , publisher=Syracuse University Press , year=2014

References

Iranian generals Persian Armenians Iranian military commanders People of Qajar Iran Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown