Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar

For other people named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation).

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, c. 1907-09
Shah of Iran
Reign3 January 1907  – 16 July 1909
PredecessorMozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
SuccessorAhmad Shah Qajar
Prime Ministers
See list
Born(1872-06-21)21 June 1872
Tabriz, Azerbaijan, Persia
Died5 April 1925(1925-04-05) (aged 52)
San Remo, Italy
Burial
Imam Hussein Shrine
SpouseMalekeh Jahan
IssueSee below
Names
Mohmmad Ali Shah
DynastyQajar
FatherMozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Mother Taj ol-Molouk (Umm al-Khakan)
ReligionShia Islam
TughraMohammad Ali Shah Qajar's signature

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (Persian: محمدعلی شاه قاجار‎; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925) was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty and remained the Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 until being deposed on 16 July 1909. He was furthermore the grandson of Iran’s early moderniser Amir Kabir, through maternal side.[1]

Biography

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Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar was opposed to the Persian Constitution of 1906, which had been ratified during the reign of his father, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. Therefore, he was frequently criticized by the publications of the period, including a weekly newspaper Musavat.[2] In 1907, Mohammad Ali dissolved the National Consultative Assembly and declared the Constitution abolished because it was contrary to Islamic law.[3] He bombarded the Majles (Persian parliament) with the military and political support of Russia and Britain.[4]

In July 1909, pro-Constitution forces marched from Persia's provinces to Tehran led by Sardar As'ad, Sepehdar A'zam, Sattar Khan, Bagher Khan and Yeprem Khan, deposed the Shah, and re-established the constitution. On 16 July 1909, the parliament voted to place Mohammad Ali Shah's 11-year-old son, Ahmad Shah on the throne. Mohammad Ali Shah abdicated following the new Constitutional Revolution and he has since been remembered as a symbol of dictatorship.

Having fled to Odesa, Russia (currently Ukraine), Mohammad Ali plotted his return to power. In 1911 he landed at Astarabad, Persia, but his forces were defeated.[3] Mohammad Ali Shah returned to Russia, then in 1920 to Constantinople (present day Istanbul) and later to San Remo, Italy, where he died on 5 April 1925. He was buried at the Shrine of Imam Husain in Karbala, Iraq. Every Shah of Persia since Mohammad Ali has died in exile.

His son and successor, Ahmad Shah Qajar was the last sovereign of the Qajar dynasty.[5]

Honours

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Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar with Mirza Mohammad Ebrahim Khan, the Mo'avin al-Dowleh, and Company, c. 1907
A 2000 Dinar/2 Qiran coin of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar era

Marriages and children

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Wives

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Mohammad Ali Shah had two wives:

  1. Robabeh Khanum "Malih-os-Saltaneh"
  2. Princess Zahra Qajar "Malekeh Jahan", daughter of Kamran Mirza "Nayeb-os-Saltaneh"

Children

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Mohammad Ali Shah had six sons and two daughters:

Sons
  1. Hossein Ali Mirza "E'tezad Saltaneh"
  2. Gholam Hossein Mirza (died in infancy)
  3. Sultan Ahmad Mirza (later Ahmad Shah Qajar)
  4. Mohammad Hassan Mirza
  5. Sultan Mahmoud Mirza
  6. Sultan Majid Mirza
Daughters
  1. Khadijeh Khanum "Hazrat-e Ghodsieh"
  2. Assieh Khanum

List of prime ministers

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Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar after deposal, c. 1912–1915

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cleveland, William L.; Bunton, Martin (1 November 2012), "America's Troubled Moment in the Middle East", The Contemporary Middle East, Routledge, pp. 218–233, ISBN 978-0-429-49290-7, retrieved 27 October 2024
  2. ^ Iago Gocheleishvili (February 2007). "Georgian Sources on the Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911): Sergo Gamdlishvili's Memoirs of the Gilan Resistance". Iranian Studies. 40 (1): 60. doi:10.1080/00210860601138632. JSTOR 4311875. S2CID 153631653.
  3. ^ a b Donzel, Emeri "van" (1994). Islamic Desk Reference. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-09738-4. p. 285-286
  4. ^ "گزارشی از سمینار 'سده انقلاب مشروطیت ایران' در لندن". BBC Persian. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ Soltan Ali Mirza Kadjar, 'Mohammad Ali Shah: The Man and the King', in: Qajar Studies. Travellers and Diplomats in the Qajar Era. Journal of the International Qajar Studies Association, volume VII, 2007.

Further reading

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  • Shablovskaia, Alisa (2019). "Treacherous friends or disenchanted masters? Russian diplomacy and Muhammad 'Ali (Shah) Qajar, 1911-1912". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 48 (4): 1–18. doi:10.1080/13530194.2019.1683717. S2CID 210459869.
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Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
Born: 21 June 1872 Died: 5 April 1925
Iranian royalty
Preceded by Shah of Persia
1907–1909 		Succeeded by
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