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; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907), was the fifth shah of Qajar Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906, which he approved of as one of his final actions as Shah.

Biography

The son of the Qajar ruler Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Mozaffar al-Din was named crown prince and sent as governor to the northern province of Azerbaijan in 1861. He spent his 35 years as crown prince in the pursuit of pleasure; his relations with his father were frequently strained, and he was not consulted in important matters of state. Thus, when he ascended the throne in May 1896, he was unprepared for the burdens of office.

A stereoscopic portrait of Mozaffar al-Din Shah. Brooklyn Museum.

Full-length portrait of Mozaffar al-Din Shah by Antoin Sevruguin. Brooklyn Museum.

At Mozaffar al-Din's accession Persia faced a financial crisis, with annual governmental expenditures far in excess of revenues as a result of the policies of his father. During his reign, Mozzafar ad-Din attempted some reforms of the central treasury; however, the previous debt incurred by the Qajar court, owed to both England and Russia, significantly undermined this effort. He furthered this debt by borrowing even more funds from Britain, France, and Russia. The income from these later loans was used to pay earlier loans rather than create new economic developments. In 1908, oil was discovered in Persia but Mozzaffar ad-Din had already awarded William Knox D'Arcy, a British subject, the rights to oil in most of the country in 1901.

The Shah and his retinue taking the waters at a French spa

Like his father he visited Europe three times. During these periods, on the encouragements of his chancellor Amin-os-Soltan, he borrowed money from Nicholas II of Russia to pay for his extravagant traveling expenses. During his first visit he was introduced to the "cinematographe" in Paris, France. Immediately falling in love with the silver screen the Shah ordered his personal photographer to acquire all the equipment and knowledge needed to bring the moving picture to Persia, thus starting Persian cinema. The following is a translated excerpt from the Shah's diary:

Caricature of Shah Muzaffer-Ed-Din, by "Spy". Vanity Fair, 1903. Original caption: 'Persia'.

Additionally, in order to manage the costs of the state and his extravagant personal lifestyle Mozzafar ad-din Shah decided to sign many concessions, providing foreigners with monopolistic control of various Persian industries and markets. One example was the D'Arcy Oil Concession.

Widespread fears amongst the aristocracy, educated elites, and religious leaders about the concessions and foreign control resulted in some protests in 1906. These resulted in the Shah accepting a suggestion to create a Majles (National Consultative Assembly) in October 1906, by which the monarch's power was curtailed as he granted a constitution and parliament to the people. He died of a heart attack 40 days after granting this constitution and was buried in Imam Husayn Shrine in Kerbala.

Carte de Visite with Portrait of Mozaffar al-Din Shah

Children

Sons

• Prince Mohammad-Ali Mirza E’tezad es-Saltaneh, later 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) 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)

List of premiers

• Mirza Ali-Asghar Khan Amin os-Soltan (till November 1896) (1st time)
• Post vacant (November 1896 – February 1897)
• Ali Khan Amin od-Dowleh (February 1897 – June 1898)
• Mirza Ali-Asghar Khan Amin os-Soltan (June 1898 – 24 January 1904) (2nd time)
• Prince Abdol-Majid Mirza Eyn od-Dowleh (24 January 1904 – 5 August 1906)
• Mirza Nasrollah Khan Ashtiani Moshir od-Dowleh (1906 – 18 February 1907)

Historical anecdotes

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

The Shah visited the United Kingdom in August 1902 with the anticipation of also receiving the Order of the Garter as it had been previously given to his father, Nasser-ed-Din Shah. King Edward VII refused to give this high honor to a non-Christian. Lord Lansdowne, the Foreign Secretary, had designs drawn up for a new version of the Order, without the Cross of St. George. The King was so enraged by the sight of the design, though, that he threw it out of his yacht's porthole. However, in 1903, the King had to back down and the Shah was appointed a member of the Order.

A nephew of his wife was Mohammed Mossadeq, the Prime Minister of Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty. Mossadeq was overthrown by a coup d'état staged by the United Kingdom and the United States in 1953.

Honours

See also

In Spanish: Mozaffareddín Shah Qayar para niños

• Qajar dynasty
• Qajar family tree
• D'Arcy Concession
• Persian Constitutional Revolution
• Persian Constitution of 1906
• Anglo-Russian Entente
• Kamal ol-Molk
• Baghe Mozaffar, an Iranian TV show about a modern-day Qajar Khan
• Fakhr ol dowleh
• Samad Khan Momtaz os-Saltaneh, ambassador of Persia to Paris