Nasser al-Din Shah
Learn more about Nasser al-Din Shah
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar (Persian: ناصرالدین شاه قاجار translit: Nāṣiri’d-Dīn Shāh Qājār) (July 16, 1831 - May 1, 1896) was the Shah of Persia from September 17, 1848 until his death on May 1, 1896. He was a son of Mohammad Shah Qajar.
He was in Tabriz when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the Peacock Throne with the help of Amir Kabir. He tried to recover the part of eastern Persia (especially Herat) that had come into the British sphere of control but after the British attack on Bushehr, he had to retreat. Herat is today a part of Afghanistan. Nasser-al-Din Shah was forced to sign the Declaration of Paris granting Afghanistan supremacy over the former Persian territories.
Though Nasser-al-Din had early reformist tendencies, he was dictatorial in his style of government. He persecuted Bábís and Bahá'ís, and this increased when a deranged Bábí attempted to assassinate him in 1852. He was the first Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1871 and then again in 1873 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw there. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Nasser-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 so honoured.
In 1890 he met British Gerald Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of Iranian Tobacco Industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Mirza Reza Shirazi issued a Fatwa that made farming, trading and consuming tobacco as Haram (forbidden). It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.
This was not the end of his attempts to give advantages to Europe because he later gave the ownership of Iranian Customs Incomes to Paul Julius Reuter.
He was a Patron of Photography and had himself photographed thousands of times.
Nasser-al-Din introduced a number of western innovations to Iran, including a modern postal system, train transport, a banking system and newspaper publishing.
He was the first Iranian to be photographed. He was also the first Iranian monarch ever to write his diaries.
Nasser-al-Din was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, when he was visiting and praying in the shrine of Shah-Abdol-Azim. It is said that the revolver used to assassinate him was old and rusty, and had he worn a thicker overcoat, or 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!"
He was buried in the Shah-Abdol-Azim Cemetery, in Rayy near Tehran, where he was assassinated. His one-piece marble tombstone, bearing his full effigy, is now kept in the Golestan Palace Museum in Tehran and is renowned as a master piece of Qajar era sculpture.
[edit] In fiction
The character of Nasser al-Din Shah has been the subject of many Iranian movies and TV series
He was portrayed by Ezzatollah Entezami in 1984 movie Kamalolmolk [1] and by the same actor in the 1991 movie Naser-ed-din Shah Actor-e Cinema.
He was also portrayed by Jamshid Mashayekhi in the TV series Soltan-e sahebgharan.
The young Nasser al-Din Shah was portrayed by Iraj Rad in TV series Amir Kabir.
[edit] See also
| Qajar Dynasty Born: July 16 1831; Died: May 1 1896 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regnal Titles | ||
| Preceded by: Mohammad Shah Qajar | Shah of Persia 1848-1896 | Succeeded by: Mozzafar-al-Din Shah Qajar |
