Martiros Khan Davidkhanian
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Martiros Khan Davidkhanian | |
|---|---|
 Martiros Davidkhanian, Nor Jugha, Iran | |
| Born | 1843 |
| Died | 1905 (aged 61–62) Tehran, Iran |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Imperial Iranian Army Imperial Russian Army |
| Service years | 1873 – 1905 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Commander of the Royal Guard of the Qajar Court Chief of Staff, Persian Cossack Brigade |
| Awards |  Order of Saint Anna |
| Alma mater | Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages |
| Relations | See Davidkhanian family |
Martiros Khan Davidkhanian (Armenian: Մարտիրոս խան Դավիթխանյան; Persian: مارتیروس خان داویدخانیان; 1843–1905) was an Iranian general, philanthropist, professor, the Chief of Staff of the Persian Cossack Brigade, Amir Touman and the Commander of the Royal Guard of the Qajar Court.[1] He taught Russian to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.[2]
Martiros was born in Isfahan in 1843. He studied at the Lazarev Institute in Moscow, graduating with honors. He then returned to Iran where he began teaching Russian and French at the Dar al-Fonun school, the first modern university of higher learning in Iran. He taught there for thirty-two years.[3]
Career
In 1873 Martiros began to work as a General in the Iranian army, while serving as a translator of French and Russian in the Ministry of Publications and Special Governmental Translation Office. In 1879, when the Russian officers took over the training of the Persian Cossack Brigade, Martiros began working for the Brigade as a translator. Martiros persistently rose through the ranks until attaining the rank of Raiss-e` Arkan-e Harb, which loosely means the Head of Battle Columns.[4] It was with this rank that he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Persian Cossack Brigade, a position he held for twenty-six years.[5] Towards the end of the Qajar era, Martiros became Commander of the Royal Guard of the Qajar Court.[6]
