Gowhar lived in Isfahan during the reigns of Mohammad Shah and Naser al-Din Shah and was knowledgeable in various sciences, including astronomy.[6][7] Her mother was Tayghun Khanum,[7] a daughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, and her father was Musa Khan Qavanlu.[6] Gowhar was bold and skilled in poetry, especially in composing odes, which was a remarkable feat in that male-dominated era.[8][9] She honed her poetic talents in the school of Qa’ani, adopting the Iraqi style in her odes, the Saadi style in her ghazals, and sometimes following the style of Hafez.[6][10]
The themes of her poems, which were compiled in a book titled Divan-e Gowhar or Gowhariyeh,[5] mostly revolved around the praise of Shia Imams, Naser al-Din Shah, and his mother, Malek Jahan Khanom.[9] Gowhariyeh contained 6,000 verses in various forms, including odes, ghazals, quatrains, qit'ahs, and mathnawis.[5][10] This book was published in Isfahan in 1941 (1320 AH) by order of Ahmad Khan Fateh and was penned by Esmaeil bin Ahmad Khansari.[11]
In the preface of her poetry collection, which was published in Isfahan in 1902 (1320 AH) with the support of Ahmad Fateh al-Molk,[11] it is mentioned that Malek Jahan Khanom, the mother of Naser al-Din Shah, requested her to compose a poem in praise of Fatimah and to recite it at a gathering held for that occasion.[12] Her success, described in the text as eloquence and fluency, led to her fame, and Naser al-Din Shah bestowed upon her the title "Shams al-Shu'ara" (Sun of the Poets).[12][5]
The text states that she no longer composed poetry after Malek Jahan Khanom.[11] It also mentions that she was alive until 1901 (1319 AH) when her collection of poems was handed over to the publisher.[12][11] Since in this preface, the author, Gowhar Qajar, is mentioned using the past tense, her death likely occurred a year before the book's publication and almost simultaneously with the submission of the work to Fateh al-Molk in 1901.[12][11]
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