Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدینشاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of
Qajar Iran
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of
Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mohammad Shah (; born Mohammad Mirza; 5 January 1808 – 5 September 1848) was the third Qajar '' shah'' of Iran from 1834 to 1848, having succeeded his grandfather Fath-Ali Shah. From a young age, Mohammad Mirza was under the tutelage of Haji ...
and
Malek Jahan Khanom
Malek Jahan Khanom ( fa, ملک جهان خانم; 26 February 1805 – 2 April 1873) was the wife of Mohammad Shah Qajar of Persia and the mother of Naser al-Din Shah. She was the ''de facto'' regent of Persian Empire for one month, from 5 S ...
and the third longest reigning monarch in Iranian history after Shapur II of the
Sassanid dynasty
The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as ''Sasanian'' in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sasa ...
and
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...
of the Safavid dynasty. Nasser al-Din Shah had sovereign power for close to 51 years.
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. 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
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the
Sun Throne
The Sun Throne ( fa, تخت خورشید, Takht-e Khurshīd) is the imperial throne of Iran. It has its name after a radiant sun disk on the headboard. The throne has the shape of a platform, similar to the Marble Throne in Golestan Palace. Th ...
with the help of
Amir Kabir
Mirza Taghi Khan-e Farahani ( fa, میرزا تقیخان فراهانی), better known as Amir Kabir (Persian: , 9 January 1807 – 10 January 1852), also known by the title of ''Amir-e Nezam'' or ''Amir Nezam'' (), was chief minister t ...
. During his reign he would have to deal with the
Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar
The Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar was a revolt that occurred in Khorasan from 1846 to 1850. It began as a result of the power struggle in the Qajar court. One of the factions manifested itself in Khorasan by Hasan Khan Salar. Salar's revolt sought ...
reformist
Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement.
Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government. With his sanction, thousands of Bábis were killed, this was in reaction to an assassination attempt from a small group of Bábis. This treatment continued under his prime minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of the Báb – regarded as a manifestation of God to Bábí's and Baháʼís, and to historians as the founder of the Bábí religion.
Unable to regain the territory in the Caucasusirrevocably lost to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
in the early 19th century, Naser al-Din sought compensation by seizing Herat, in 1856. Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
and declared war on Persia, forcing the return of Herat as well as Persia's recognition of the kingdom of Afghanistan.
Naser al-Din was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Persian monarch to be honoured as such. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages, including Persian, German, French, and Dutch.
In 1890 Naser al-Din met British major
Gerald F. Talbot
Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Irish ...
and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of the Persian
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...
industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after
Ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from Arabic word pr ...
issued a fatwa that made farming, trading, and consuming tobacco
haram
''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...
(forbidden). Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized 'Talbet' company represented foreign exploitation, so for that reason it was deemed immoral. It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.
This was not the end of Naser al-Din's attempts to give concessions to Europeans; he later gave the ownership of Persian customs incomes to
Paul Julius Reuter
Paul Julius Reuter (born Israel Beer Josaphat; 21 July 1816 – 25 February 1899), later ennobled as Freiherr von Reuter (Baron von Reuter), was a German-born British entrepreneur who was a pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting. He defeated various rebels in the Iranian provinces, most notably in
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
, he balanced the budget by introducing reforms to the tax system, curbed the power of the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
in the judiciary, built several military factories, improved relations with other powers to curb British and Russian influence, opened the first newspaper called ''Vaghaye-Ettefaghieh'', embellished and modernized cities (for example by building the
Tehran Bazaar
The Grand Bazaar ( fa, بازار بزرگ ) is an old historical bazaar in Tehran, Iran. It is split into several corridors over in length, each specializing in different types of goods, and has several entrances, with Sabze-Meydan being the ...
) 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.
The shah gradually lost interest for reform. However, he took some important measures such as introducing telegraphy and postal services and building roads. He also increased the size of the state's military and created a new group called 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 ...
which was trained and armed by the Russians. He was the first Persian to be photographed and was a patron of photography who had himself photographed hundreds of times. His final prime minister was Ali Asghar Khan, who after the shah's assassination aided in securing the transfer of the throne to 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. The ulama also maintained their authority to challenge state law. To fund these new institutions and building projects, Naser repeatedly used
tax farming
Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contra ...
to increase state revenue. Unfortunately, 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."
In 1852 Naser al-Din dismissed and executed
Amir Kabir
Mirza Taghi Khan-e Farahani ( fa, میرزا تقیخان فراهانی), better known as Amir Kabir (Persian: , 9 January 1807 – 10 January 1852), also known by the title of ''Amir-e Nezam'' or ''Amir Nezam'' (), was chief minister t ...
, 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
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...
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
Naser al-Din was assassinated by
Mirza Reza Kermani
Mirza Reza Kermani (Persian: میرزا رضا کرمانی) ( Born in 1854 in Kerman, Persia (modern Iran) - 10 August 1896 in Tehran) was an adherent of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and an Iranian who assassinated King Nasser-al-Din.Dabashi, Hamid. ...
Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine
The Shāh Abdol-Azīm Shrine ( fa, شاه عبدالعظیم), also known as Shabdolazim, located in Rey, Iran, contains the tomb of ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Hasanī (aka Shah Abdol Azim). Shah Abdol Azim was a fifth generation de ...
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. 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
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 ...
during his successor
Mozzafar-al-Din Shah
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, مظفرالدین شاه قاجار, Mozaffar ad-Din Ŝāh-e Qājār; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907), was the fifth shah of Qajar Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with ...
's turbulent reign.Naser al-Din was buried in the Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine, in
Rayy
Shahr-e Ray ( fa, شهر ری, ) or simply Ray (Shar e Ray; ) is the capital of Ray County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of munici ...
near Tehran, where he was assassinated. His funeral took place six months after his death. A British diplomat who spoke with some who had been present,
Charles Hardinge
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916.
Background and education
Hardinge was the second ...
, commented "... the corpse was conveyed on a very high funeral car and was 'high' in more ways than one". His one-piece marble tombstone, bearing his full effigy, is now kept in the
Golestan Palace
The Golestan Palace ( fa, کاخ گلستان, ''Kākh-e Golestān''), also transliterated as the Gulistan Palace and sometimes translated as the Rose Garden Palace from Persian language, was built in the 16th century, renovated in the 18th cent ...
Museum in Tehran.
Artistic and literary interests
Naser al-Din Shah was very interested in painting and photography. He was a talented painter and, even though he had not been trained, was an expert in
pen and ink
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
drawing. Several of his pen and ink drawings survive. He was one of the first photographers in Persia and was a patron of the art. He established a photography studio in
Golestan Palace
The Golestan Palace ( fa, کاخ گلستان, ''Kākh-e Golestān''), also transliterated as the Gulistan Palace and sometimes translated as the Rose Garden Palace from Persian language, was built in the 16th century, renovated in the 18th cent ...
.
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.
''Hekāyāt Pir o Javān'' (; "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.
He also wrote the book ''
Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873
The ''Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873'' has been written by Naser al-Din Shah (1831–1896) while on his tour through the European continent in 1873, during the zenith of European imperialism. The boo ...
''.
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)
*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 Esmat od-Dowleh (1855 – 3 September 1905)
*Princess Zi'a os-Saltaneh (1856 – 11 April 1898)
*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)
*Princess Sharafsaltaneh
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
Order of Glory
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Order of the Black Eagle
The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King i ...
Sweden-Norway
Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate Monarchy, kingdoms ...
Order of the Württemberg Crown
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
, ''1889''
List of premiers
*
Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir
Mirza Taghi Khan-e Farahani ( fa, میرزا تقیخان فراهانی), better known as Amir Kabir (Persian: , 9 January 1807 – 10 January 1852), also known by the title of ''Amir-e Nezam'' or ''Amir Nezam'' (), was chief minister t ...
(1848 – 1851)
*
Mirza Aqa Khan-e Nuri
Mirza Aqa Khan Nuri ( fa, میرزا آقاخان نوری), otherwise known as Aqa Khan Nuri ('Nouri'), E'temad-ol Dowleh (born 1807 – died 1865) was a politician in Qajar Iran, who served as prime minister (Persian: , "ṣadr-e aʿẓam") betw ...
Bahram Radan
Bahram Radan ( fa, بهرام رادان , born April 28, 1979) is an Iranian actor, producer and singer. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorgh and a Hafez Award.
Career
While studying business management in colleg ...
in 2022 tv series Jeyran.
* Naser al-Din Shah is depicted in 1976 TV series ''
Soltan-e Sahebgharan
''Soltan-e Sahebgharan'' ( fa, سلطان صاحبقران; also Romanized as ''Soltān-e Sāhebgherān'') is an Iranian historical 1974 TV series directed by Ali Hatami. It stars Jamshid Mashayekhi, Naser Malek Motiee, Iren, Parviz Fanizadeh, ...
'' 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
''Once Upon a Time, Cinema'' ( fa, italic=yes, ناصرالدینشاه آکتور سینما, meaning ''Naser al-din Shah, Actor of Cinema'') is a 1992 Iranian comedy fantasy film written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
The film includes c ...
Ali Hatami
Ali Hatami ( fa, علی حاتمی , August 14, 1944 – December 7, 1996) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, art director, and costume designer. The ''Tehran Times'' dubbed him "the Hafez of Iranian cinema due to the poetic ambiance of ...
.
* 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
Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani ( fa, حسین سجادی قائممقامی فراهانی, better known by his pen name Kader Abdolah ( fa, قادر عبدالله, links=no) (Arak, 12 November 1954), is an Iranian-Dutch writer, poet ...
.
* It can be inferred from the time period and historical references that Naser al-Din Shah is depicted in the 1990 novel
Phantom
Phantom may refer to:
* Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things
** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living
Aircraft
* Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...
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).
Kaveh Golestan
Kāveh Golestān Taghavi Shirazi ( fa, کاوه گلستان; 8 July 1950 – 2 April 2003) was an Iranian photojournalist and artist. In 1988 he took the first pictures of the aftermath of the Halabja chemical attack during the Iran–Iraq War. ...