Qajar dynasty

Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin (1789–1925) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Qajar dynasty (Persian: دودمان قاجار, romanized: Dudemân-e Ǧâjâr)[a] is a formerly aristocratic (and from 1789–1925, royal) Iranian[1] dynasty that gained prominence with the rise of Shahverdi Sultan in the early 16th century[2] as heads of the Turkoman Qajar tribe of the Qizilbash confederacy.[3] The dynasty ruled Iran from 1789 until 1925, beginning with the Unification of Iran (1779–1796) by Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797).

Parent houseQajar tribe
CountryQajar Iran
Place of originAstarabad, Iran
Founded1789
Quick facts Parent house, Country ...
Qajar dynasty
Coat of arms of the Qajar dynasty
Parent houseQajar tribe
CountryQajar Iran
Place of originAstarabad, Iran
Founded1789
FounderAgha Mohammad Khan Qajar
Current headPrince Mohammad Hassan Mirza II
Final rulerAhmad Shah Qajar
TitlesShah of Iran
TraditionsTwelver Shia Islam
Deposition1925
Cadet branchesAmirsoleimani, Bahmani/Bahmanov, Farmanfarmaian/Farman Farma
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The Russian branch of the Qajar dynasty belonged to the Russian Nobility and were given the titles Prince Persidskii and Princess Persidskaya by the Tsar in the 19th century,[4] of which many members had held high functions in the Imperial Russian Army, such as Alexander Petrovich Reza Qoli Mirza Qajar.[5]

The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's Majlis, convening as a constituent assembly on 12 December 1925, declared Reza Shah, a former brigadier-general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, as the new shah of Iran, beginning the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty.

Head of the Qajar tribe

The Qajar dynasty, as the ruling lineage, held prominent positions as tribal heads long before establishing imperial rule, leveraging their military prowess and tribal alliances to unify the country amid post-Safavid chaos.[6]

During the establishment of the Safavids. When Ismail led the 7,000 tribal soldiers on his successful expedition from Erzincan to Shirvan in 1500/1501, a contingent of Qajars was among them. After this, they emerged as a prominent group within the Qizilbash confederacy,[7] who were made up of Turkoman warriors and served as the main force of the Safavid military.[8] Despite being smaller than other tribes, the Qajars continued to play a major role in important events during the 16th century.[9]

The immediate ancestor of the Qajar monarchs, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja, married into the Quvanlu Qajars of Astarabad. His son, Fath Ali Khan (born c. 1685–1693) was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II.[10] He was killed in 1726. Fath Ali Khan's son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar (1722–1758) was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan (Jahansouz Shah), father of "Baba Khan," the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty.[11]

List of Qajar monarchs

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (1896-1907), the first constitutional monarch of Iran
More information No., Shah ...
No. Shah Portrait Reigned from Reigned until Reign duration[b] Tughra
1 Mohammad Khan Qajar 1789[12] 17 June 1797 8 years
2 Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar 17 June 1797 23 October 1834 37 years
3 Mohammad Shah Qajar 23 October 1834 5 September 1848 13 years
4 Naser al-Din Shah Qajar 5 September 1848 1 May 1896 47 years
5 Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar 1 May 1896 3 January 1907 10 years
6 Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar 3 January 1907 16 July 1909 2 years
7 Ahmad Shah Qajar 16 July 1909 31 October 1925 16 years
Qajar dynasty 1789 31 October 1925 136 years
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Lifespan and reign of Qajar monarchs

Ahmad Shah QajarMohammad Ali Shah QajarMozaffar ad-Din Shah QajarNaser al-Din Shah QajarMohammad Shah QajarFath-Ali Shah QajarAgha Mohammad Khan Qajar

Qajar imperial family

Hamid Mirza, heir presumptive and head of the Qajar dynasty from 1975 till 1988[13]

The Qajar Imperial Family in exile is currently headed by the eldest descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah, Sultan Mohammad Ali Mirza Qajar, while the Heir Presumptive to the Qajar throne is Mohammad Hassan Mirza II, the grandson of Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Sultan 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 (Qajar) Family Association,[14] often coinciding with the annual conferences and meetings of the International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA). The Kadjar (Qajar) Family Association was founded for a third time in 2000. Two earlier family associations were stopped because of political pressure. The offices and archives of IQSA are housed at the International Museum for Family History in Eijsden.

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.

Extended Family

Titles and styles

Naser al-Din Shah, the fourth Qajar shah, notably used the title "Pivot of the Universe" (Qebleh-ye Alam)[18]

The shah and his consort were styled Imperial Majesty. Their children were addressed as Imperial Highness, while male-line grandchildren were entitled to the lower style of Highness; all of them bore the title of Shahzadeh or Shahzadeh Khanoum.[19]

The Qajar Shahs also adopted grandiose titles that reflected their perceived divine authority and centrality in the Persian monarchy.[20][page needed] These titles were not merely honorific but served to legitimize their rule amidst internal and external challenges, blending pre-Islamic, Islamic-Shi’i, and nomadic elements of Persian governance.[21] Among these titles were;

Notable members

Politics
Abdol Majid Mirza (1845–1927), 14th and 20th prime minister of Iran
Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma, prime minister of Iran prime minister of Iran from 25 December 1915 till 1 March 1916
Military

Religion

Aga Khan IV, The titles of Prince and Princess are used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.[23]
Women's rights
  • Princess Taj-al-Saltaneh Qajar, daughter of Naser-din-Shah, co-founder of the first Iranian women's rights movement Anjoman Naswan, author of a memoir, painter
  • Princess Mohtaram Eskandari, intellectual and pioneering figures in Iranian women's movement.[24]
  • Iran Teymourtash (Légion d'honneur), journalist, editor and publisher of the newspaper Rastakhiz, founder of an association for helping destitute women. Daughter of court minister Abdolhossein Teymourtash and through both her maternal grandparents a Qajar.[25]
Literature

Princess Taj-al-Saltaneh Qajar, daughter of Naser-din-Shah, First Iranian woman to write a memoir, co-founder of the first Iranian women's rights movement Anjoman Naswan, author of a memoir, painter

  • Prince Iraj, Iranian poet and translator
  • Sadegh Hedayat, a Qajar descendant through the female line
  • Anvar Khamei, the Iranian economist, politician, and sociologist.
Entertainment

Former residences

The last Qajar monarch's Pavilion in the Niavaran Complex, Tehran.

The Qajar dynasty is particularly noted for its extensive construction of royal residences across Iran, which served as the principal seats of power, diplomatic reception, and court life.[27] The most prominent of these were the Golestan and Niavaran Palace Complexes in Tehran.

Family tree

Main article: Qajar family tree

Mothers of the Qajar shahs

Main article: List of mothers of the Qajar shahs

See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Also romanized as Ghajar, Kadjar, Qachar etc.
  2. [b]
    Full years reigned

Citations

Sources

External links

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