 | | | |
Learn more about "Qajar"
|
|
|
Qajar dynasty
The '''Qajar dynasty''' ) ( - or '''دودمان قاجار''', also anglicized as Ghajar or Kadjar) was an Iranian royal family of Turko-Persian tradition|Turco-Persian people|Persian origin who ruled Persia (the country now known as Iran) from 1794 to 1925.[Abbas Amanat, The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896, I.B.Tauris, pp 2-3; "''In the 126 years between the fall of the Safavid state in 1722 and the accession of Nasir al-Din Shah, the Qajars evolved from a shepherd-warrior tribe with strongholds in northern Iran into a Persian dynasty..''"][Rice, Edward, ''Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton'', (Da Capo Press, 1990), 114.]
The Qajar family took full control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and re-asserted Persian sovereignty over parts of the Caucasus.
In 1796 Mohammad Khan Qajar was formally crowned as shah.[Qajar Dynasty on Encyclopædia Britannica]
Origins
The Qajar or ghajar rulers were members of the Gharaghouz of the Kajars|Qajars, originally themselves members of the Gharaghalpaghs of the larger Turkmen peoples[Genealogy and History of Qajar (Kadjar) Rulers and Heads of the Imperial Kadjar House].[Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power'', I.B. Tauris, 2000, ISBN 1860646298, p. 1][William Bayne Fisher. ''Cambridge History of Iran'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 344, ISBN 0521200946] Qajars first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Armenia and were among the seven Qizilbash tribes that supported the Safavid dynasty|Safavids.[Encyclopedia Iranica. The Qajar Dynasty. Online Edition] The Safavid dynasty|Safavids "left Arran (Azerbaijan)|Arran (present-day Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan) to local Oghuz Turks|Turkic speaking khans",[K. M. Röhrborn, Provinzen und Zentralgewalt Persiens im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Berlin, 1966, p. 4] and, "in 1554 Ganja (city)|Ganja was governed by Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, whose family came to govern Karabakh in southern Arran".[Encyclopedia Iranica. Ganja. Online Edition]
Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16-17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by Shah Abbas I throughout Persia. The great number of them also settled in Astarabad (present-day Gorgan, Iran) near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea, Rise to power
"Like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of Turkic peoples|Turkic tribal forces, while using educated Persians in their bureaucracy".[Nikki R. Keddie. "The Iranian Power Structure and Social Change 1800-1969: An Overview", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol. 2, No. 1. (Jan., 1971), p. 4] In 1779, after brutally murdering Karim Khan|Mohammad Karim Khan Zand, the Zand dynasty ruler of southern Persia, Agha Mohammad Khan, the leader of the Qajar tribe, set out to reunify Iran. Agha Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the 18th century Iranian standards.[Ira Marvin Lapidus. ''A History of Islamic Societies'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521779332, p. 469.] By 1794, Agha Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. He reestablished Persian control over the territories in the Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ruins of the ancient city of Rayy. In 1796 he was formally crowned as shah. In 1797 Agha Mohammad was assassinated in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh khanate, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath Ali Shah Qajar.
War with Russia
In 1803, under Fath Ali Shah, Qajars set out to fight against the Russian Empire, in what was known as Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813, due to concerns about the Russian expansion into Caucasus which was an Iranian domain, although some of the Khanates of the Caucasus were considered independent or semi-independent by the time of Russian expansion in 19th century Development and decline
[[File:Molla2.jpg|thumb|left|Mullahs in the royal presence. The painting style is markedly Qajari.]]
During Nasser-al-Din Shah|Nasser-e-Din Shah's reign, Western science, technology, and educational methods were introduced into Persia and the country's modernization was begun. Nasser ed-Din Shah tried to exploit the mutual distrust between Great Britain and Russia to preserve Persia's independence, but foreign interference and territorial encroachment increased under his rule. He contracted foreign loans to finance expensive trips to Europe. These trips were part of a strategy to put Persia on the map as an independent, ancient but civilized state . Although the trips in this field were rather successful, he was not able to prevent United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain and Russia from encroaching into regions of traditional Persian influence. In 1856, during the Anglo-Persian War, Britain prevented Persia from reasserting control over Herat. The city had been part of Persia in Safavid times, but Herat had been under non-Persian rule since the mid-18th century. Britain also extended its control to other areas of the Persian Gulf during the 19th century. Meanwhile, by 1881, Russia had completed its conquest of present-day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, bringing Russia's frontier to Persia's northeastern borders and severing historic Persian ties to the cities of Bukhara and Samarqand. Several trade concessions by the Persian government put economic affairs largely under Great Britain|British control. By the late 19th century, many Persians believed that their rulers were beholden to foreign interests.
[[File:A Zoroastrian Family Teheran 1910.JPG|thumb|left|A Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian family in Qajar Iran]]
Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, was the young prince Nasser-e-Din's advisor and constable. With the death of Mohammad Shah in 1848, Mirza Taqi was largely responsible for ensuring the crown prince's succession to the throne. When Nasser ed-Din succeeded to the throne, Amir Nezam was awarded the position of prime minister and the title of Amir Kabir, the Great Ruler.
At that time, Persia was nearly bankrupt. During the next two and a half years Amir Kabir initiated important reforms in virtually all sectors of society. Government expenditure was slashed, and a distinction was made between the private and public purses. The instruments of central administration were overhauled, and Amir Kabir assumed responsibility for all areas of the bureaucracy. Foreign interference in Persia's domestic affairs was curtailed, and foreign trade was encouraged. Public works such as the bazaar in Tehran were undertaken. Amir Kabir issued an edict banning ornate and excessively formal writing in government documents; the beginning of a modern Persian prose style dates from this time.
[[File:1800 19th Street NW.JPG|thumb|A former Persian Legation in Washington, D.C.]]
One of the greatest achievements of Amir Kabir was the building of Dar ol Fonoon, the first modern university in Persia and the Middle East. Dar-ol-Fonoon was established for training a new cadre of administrators and acquainting them with Western techniques. Amir Kabir ordered the school to be built on the edge of the city so it could be expanded as needed. He hired French and Russian instructors as well as Persians to teach subjects as different as Language, Medicine, Law, Geography, History, Economics, and Engineering. Unfortunately, Amir Kabir did not live long enough to see his greatest monument completed, but it still stands in Tehran as a sign of a great man's ideas for the future of his country.
These reforms antagonized various notables who had been excluded from the government. They regarded the Amir Kabir as a social upstart and a threat to their interests, and they formed a coalition against him, in which the queen mother was active. She convinced the young shah that Amir Kabir wanted to usurp the throne. In October 1851 the shah dismissed him and exiled him to Kashan, where he was murdered on the shah's orders. Through his marriage to Ezzat od-Doleh, Amir Kabir had been the brother-in-law of the shah.
Constitutional Revolution
File:Map Iran 1900-en.png|left|250px|thumb|Persia in 19th and 20th centuries.
[[File:Yek toman qajar.jpg|thumb|280px|right|Qajar-era currency bill featuring a depiction of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar.]]
When Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani in 1896, the crown passed to his son Mozzafar-al-Din Shah|Mozaffar-e-din. Mozaffar-e-din Shah was a moderate and kind, but also not a very effective ruler. Royal extravagance and the absence of incoming revenues exacerbated financial problems. The shah quickly spent two large loans from Russia, partly on trips to Europe. Public anger fed on the shah's propensity for granting concessions to Europeans in return for generous payments to him and his officials. People began to demand a curb on royal authority and the establishment of the rule of law as their concern over foreign, and especially Russian, influence grew.
The shah's failure to respond to protests by the religious establishment, the merchants, and other classes led the merchants and clerical leaders in January 1906 to take sanctuary from probable arrest in mosques in Tehran and outside the capital. When the shah reneged on a promise to permit the establishment of a "house of justice", or consultative assembly, 10,000 people, led by the merchants, took sanctuary in June in the compound of the British legation in Tehran. In August the shah, through the issue of a decree promised a constitution. In October an elected assembly convened and drew up a constitution that provided for strict limitations on royal power, an elected parliament, or Majles, with wide powers to represent the people, and a government with a cabinet subject to confirmation by the Majles. The shah signed the constitution on December 30, 1906, but refusing to forfeit all of his power to the Majles, attached a caveat that made his signature on all laws required for their enactment. He died five days later. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws approved in 1907 provided, within limits, for freedom of press, speech, and association, and for security of life and property. The hopes for constitutional rule were not realized, however.
Mozaffar-e-din Shah's son Mohammad Ali Shah (reigned 1907-09), who, through his mother, was also the grandson of Prime-Minister Amir Kabir (see before), with the aid of Russia, attempted to rescind the constitution and abolish parliamentary government. After several disputes with the members of the Majlis, in June 1908 he used his Russian-officered Persian Cossack Brigade|Persian Cossacks Brigade to bomb the Majlis building, arrest many of the deputies, and close down the assembly. Resistance to the shah, however, coalesced in Tabriz, Isfahan (city)|Isfahan, Rasht, and elsewhere. In July 1909, constitutional forces marched from Rasht to Tehran lead by Mohammad Vali Khan Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni, deposed the Shah, and re-established the constitution. The ex-shah went into exile in Russia. Mohammad Ali Shah died in San Remo, Italy in April 1925 . As fate would have it, every future Shah of Iran would also die in exile.
On July 16, 1909, the Majles voted to place Mohammad Ali Shah's 11 year old son, Ahmad Shah Qajar|Ahmad Shah on the throne. Although the constitutional forces had triumphed, they faced serious difficulties. The upheavals of the Constitutional Revolution and civil war had undermined stability and trade. In addition, the ex-shah, with Russian support, attempted to regain his throne, landing troops in July 1910. Most serious of all, the hope that the Constitutional Revolution would inaugurate a new era of independence from the great powers ended when, under the Anglo-Russian Entente|Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907, Britain and Russia agreed to divide Persia into spheres of influence. The Russians were to enjoy exclusive right to pursue their interests in the northern sphere, the British in the south and east; both powers would be free to compete for economic and political advantage in a neutral sphere in the center. Matters came to a head when Morgan Shuster(also spelled Schuster), a United States administrator hired as treasurer general by the Persian government to reform its finances, sought to collect taxes from powerful officials who were Russian protégés and to send members of the treasury gendarmerie, a tax department police force, into the Russian zone. When in December 1911 the Majlis unanimously refused a Russian ultimatum demanding Shuster's dismissal, Russian troops, already in the country, moved to occupy the capital. To prevent this, on December 20 Bakhtiari chiefs and their troops surrounded the Majles building, forced acceptance of the Russian ultimatum, and shut down the assembly, once again suspending the constitution.
Fall of the dynasty
Ahmad Shah Qajar|Soltan Ahmad Shah was born 21 January 1898 in Tabriz, and succeeded to the throne at age 11. However, the occupation of Persia during World War I by Russian Empire|Russian, British, and Ottoman Empire|Ottoman troops was a blow from which Ahmad Shah never effectively recovered.
In February 1921, Reza Shah|Reza Khan, commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, staged a coup d'état, becoming the effective ruler of Iran. In 1923, Ahmad Shah went into exile in Europe. Reza Khan induced the Majles to depose Ahmad Shah in October 1925, and to exclude the Qajar dynasty permanently. Reza Khan was subsequently proclaimed Shah as ''Reza Shah Pahlavi'', reigning from 1925 to 1941,
Ahmad Shah died on 21 February 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Shahs of Persia, 1794-1925
Qajar Royal Family
The Qajar Imperial Family in exile is currently headed by the eldest descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah, Ali Mirza Qajar|Soltan Ali Mirza Qajar, while the Heir Presumptive to the Qajar throne is Mohammad Hassan Mirza II, the grandson of Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Soltan Ahmad Shah's brother and heir. Mohammad Hassan Mirza died in England in 1943, having proclaimed himself shah in exile in 1930 after the death of his brother in France.
Today, the descendants of the Qajars often identify themselves as such and hold reunions to stay socially acquainted through the ''Kadjar Family Association''.[http://www.kadjarfamily.org/]
Qajar dynasty since 1925 Heads of the Qajar Imperial Family
The headship of the Imperial Family is inherited by the eldest male descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah.
- Ahmad Shah Qajar|Soltan Ahmad Shah Qajar (1925-1930)
- Fereydoun Mirza (1930-1975)
- Hamid Mirza|Soltan Hamid Mirza (1975-1988)
- Mahmoud Mirza|Soltan Mahmoud Mirza (1988)
- Ali Mirza Qajar|Soltan Ali Mirza Qajar (1988-present)
Heirs Presumptive of the Qajar dynasty
The Heir Presumptive is the Qajar heir to the Persian throne.
- Ahmad Shah Qajar|Soltan Ahmad Shah Qajar (1925-1930)
- Mohammad Hassan Mirza (1930-1943)
- Fereydoun Mirza (1943-1975)
- Hamid Mirza|Soltan Hamid Mirza (1975-1988)
- Mohammad Hassan Mirza II (1988-present)
Notable members of Qajar family Politics
- Prince Abbas Mirza, Fath Ali Shah's crown prince and military leader.
- Prince Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan, Governor of Isfahan Province|Isfahan province, son of Nasser al-Din Shah.
- Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma, Persian prime minister, grandson of Abbas Mirza.
- Mohammed Mosaddeq, Persian Prime Minister, great-grandson of Abbas Mirza.
- Prince Firouz Mirza Nosrat-ed-Dowleh Farman Farmaian III, renowned politician and diplomat, great-grandson of Abbas Mirza.
- Prince Soleyman Mirza Eskandari, founder of the Socialist Party of Persia and founding member of the Tudeh Party of Iran, great-grandson of Abbas Mirza.
- Prince Iradj Eskandari,founding member, and secretary-general of the Tudeh Party of Iran, descendant of Abbas Mirza
- Prince Mohammad Ali Mirza Eskandari, founding member of the Adamyat Society, great-grandson of Abbas Mirza.
- Ali Amini, Persian Prime Minister, grandson of Mozzafar al-Din Shah.
Business
- Princess Fakhr ol dowleh, one of the most prominent daughters of Mozzafar al-Din Shah.
Women rights
- Princess Mohtaram Eskandari, first leader of feminist Nesvan e vatankhah association.
- Princess Zahra Khanom Tadj es-Saltaneh|Tadj es-Saltaneh, founding member of the Anjoman Horriyyat Nsevan daughter of Nasser al-Din Shah.
Literature'''
- Prince Iraj Mirza, Iranian poet, great grandson of Fath Ali Shah.
- Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian novelist, great great-grandchild of Abbas Mirza.
- Nader Naderpour, Iranian poet, descendant of Dowlatshahi|Mohammad Ali Mirza Dolatshah.
Music
- Gholam-Hossein Banan, Iranian musician and singer, great grandchild of Mohammad Shah Qajar.
Painting
- Abbas Moayeri, Iranian painter great great-grandchild of Nasser al-Din Shah
Popular culture
- Marjane Satrapi, Iranian graphic novelist, great grandchild of Nasser al-Din Shah
- Sarah Shahi, American actress and cheerleader; descendant of Fath Ali Shah
- Shireen Fathi, Iranian-American actress; descendant of Iranian Qajar.
See also
- Iran
- History of Iran
- List of kings of Persia
- Mirza Kouchek Khan
- Abdolhossein Teymourtash
- Qajar art
- List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties
References
External links
- The Qajar (Kadjar) Pages
- Qajars Dynasty Turkoman dynasty of the Shahs of Persia
- Qajar Family Website
- Royal Ark-Qajar Website by Christopher Buyers
- Royal Ark-Qajar Website by Christopher Buyers
- Some Photos of Qajar Family Members
- A slide show of the Qajar Era, 1781-1925: YouTube
- Mohammad-Reza Tahmasbpoor, ''History of Iranian Photography: Early Photography in Iran'', Iranian Artists' site, ''Kargah''
Category:States and territories established in 1794
Category:Qajar dynasty|
Category:1925 disestablishments
Category:Muslim dynasties
Category:Shi'a Muslim dynasties
Category:Islamic history
Category:Oghuz Turks
Category:Turkic dynasties
Category:Turkish words and phrases
simple:Qajar dynasty
Related Images
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
 |
Welcome to Start Learning Now.
Explore to your heart's content, and we hope you enjoy reading the material we
have assembled for you here! |
 |
| | | | |
Related News
|
|
Further Resources
|
|
Related Resources
search
|
|
