Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
King of Persia Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar in 1906
Shah of Iran
Reign	1 May 1896 – 3 January 1907
Predecessor	Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Successor	Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
Prime Minister	Mirza Nasrullah Khan
Born	(1853-03-23)23 March 1853 Tabriz, Persia
Died	3 January 1907(1907-01-03) (aged 53) Tehran, Persia
Burial	Imam Hussein Shrine
Spouse	Taj ol-Molouk
Issue	See below
Full name Shahinshah al-Sultan Muzaffar al-Din Qajar Allah Khalad ul-Mulk
Dynasty	Qajar
Father	Naser al-Din Shah
Mother	Shokouh al-Saltaneh
Religion	Shia Islam
Tughra

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar depicted on a 10 toman gold coin dated AH1314 (c. 1896).

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (Persian: مظفرالدین شاه قاجار, romanized: Mozaffar ad-Din Ŝāh-e Qājār; born March 23, 1853 – died January 3, 1907) was the fifth shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He ruled from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is famous for creating the Persian Constitution of 1906. This was one of his last big actions as Shah.

About Mozaffar ad-Din Shah

Mozaffar ad-Din was the son of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, another Qajar ruler. In 1861, he became the crown prince. He was sent to govern the northern province of Azerbaijan.

He spent 35 years as crown prince. During this time, he enjoyed himself. His relationship with his father was often difficult. He was not asked for his opinion on important government matters. Because of this, he was not ready to be king when he took the throne in May 1896.

A special 3D-like portrait of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. From the Brooklyn Museum.

A full-length portrait of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah by Antoin Sevruguin. From the Brooklyn Museum.

When Mozaffar ad-Din became Shah, Persia was facing money problems. The government spent much more than it earned. This was due to his father's policies. During his rule, Mozaffar ad-Din tried to fix the country's finances. However, the Qajar court already owed a lot of money to England and Russia. This made his efforts very difficult.

He made the debt even worse by borrowing more money. He took loans from Britain, France, and Russia. This new money was used to pay off old loans. It was not used to help the country's economy grow. In 1908, oil was found in Persia. But Mozaffar ad-Din had already given William Knox D'Arcy, a British person, the rights to oil in most of the country in 1901.

The Shah and his group enjoying the water at a French spa.

Like his father, he visited Europe three times. His chancellor, Amin-os-Soltan, encouraged him to borrow money from Nicholas II of Russia. This money paid for his expensive trips. During his first visit, he saw the "cinematographe" in Paris, France. He loved movies right away. The Shah told his photographer to get all the equipment and knowledge needed to bring movies to Persia. This was the start of Persian cinema.

A funny drawing of Shah Muzaffer-Ed-Din by "Spy". From Vanity Fair, 1903.

To manage the country's costs and his own expensive lifestyle, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah signed many agreements. These agreements gave foreign companies special control over different Persian businesses. The D'Arcy Oil Concession was one example.

Many people were worried about these agreements. They feared foreign control. This included rich families, educated people, and religious leaders. They protested in 1906. Because of these protests, the Shah agreed to create a Majles. This was a National Consultative Assembly, like a parliament. He gave the people a constitution and a parliament in October 1906. This limited the king's power. He passed away from a heart attack 40 days after granting this constitution. He was buried in Imam Husayn Shrine in Kerbala.

A small photo card with a portrait of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah.

His Children

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah had many children.

Sons

• Prince Mohammad-Ali Mirza E’tezad es-Saltaneh, who later became Mohammad-Ali Shah (1872–1925)
• Prince Malek-Mansur Mirza Shoa os-Saltaneh (1880–1920)
• Prince Abolfath Mirza Salar od-Dowleh (1881–1961)
• Prince Abolfazl Mirza Azd os-Sultan (1882–1970)
• Prince Hossein-Ali Mirza Nosrat os-Saltaneh (1884–1945)
• Prince Nasser-od-Din Mirza Nasser os-Saltaneh (1897–1977)

Daughters

• Princess Fakhr os-Saltaneh (1870 – ?) married Abdol Majid Mirza Eyn od-Dowleh
• Princess Ehteram os-Saltaneh (1871 – ?) married Morteza-Qoli Khan Hedayat Sani od-Dowleh
• Princess Ezzat od-Dowleh (1872 – 1955) married Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma
• Princess Shokuh os-Saltaneh (1880 – ?)
• Princess Shokuh od-Dowleh (1883 – ?)
• Princess Fakhr-od-Dowleh (1883 – 1955), who was the mother of Ali Amini
• Princess Aghdas od-Dowleh (1891 – ?)
• Princess Anvar od-Dowleh (1896 – ?) married eghtedar es-Saltaneh, son of Kamran Mirza
• Princess Ameneh Bratz (1930-1940)

Interesting Facts

Picture of Shah Mozaffar al-Din on the front page of Le Petit Journal, 1900.

The Shah visited the United Kingdom in August 1902. He hoped to receive the Order of the Garter, a special award. His father, Nasser-ed-Din Shah, had received it before. However, King Edward VII did not want to give this high honor to someone who was not Christian.

Lord Lansdowne, the Foreign Secretary, tried to create a new version of the award without a Christian symbol. But the King was very angry when he saw the design. He threw it out of his yacht's window! However, in 1903, the King changed his mind. The Shah was then given the Order of the Garter.

A nephew of his wife was Mohammed Mossadeq. He later became a Prime Minister of Iran.

Awards and Honors

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah received many important awards from different countries:

See also

• Qajar dynasty
• Persian Constitutional Revolution
• Persian Constitution of 1906
• Anglo-Russian Entente
• Kamal ol-Molk
• Fakhr ol dowleh