Mohammad-Qoli Mirza Molk-Ara
| Mohammad-Qoli Mirza Molk-Ara | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Mohammad-Qoli Mirza Molk-Ara (detail). From a mural in the Negarestan Palace, made by Abdallah Khan in 1816–1820 | |
| Born | 16 June 1789 |
| Died | 1872 (aged 82–83) Tehran, Qajar Iran |
| Issue | Sam Mirza Shams ol-Sho'ara Badi-oz Zaman Mirza Abdol-Hossein Shams ol-Sho'ara |
| Dynasty | Qajar dynasty |
| Father | Fath-Ali Shah Qajar |
| Mother | Assieh Khanum Qovanlu |
| Religion | Twelver Shia Islam |
Mohammad-Qoli Mirza Molk-Ara (Persian: محمدقلی میرزا ملکآرا; 1789–1872) was a Qajar prince and poet who governed Mazandaran province from 1801/02 to 1834. He was the third son of Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834).
Biography
Born on 16 June 1789,[1] Molk-Ara was the third son of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834).[2] His mother was Assieh Khanum Qovanlu.[3] Molk-Ara had two full sisters and one maternal half-brother, Ebrahim Khan, who was born from Assieh Khanum's earlier marriage to Mehdi-Qoli Khan, the brother of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1794–1797).[4]
In 1801/02, Molk-Ara was appointed as the governor of Mazandaran province.[2] In 1813–1814, Astarabad was attacked by a 20,000-man Turkmen army under Yusuf Khoja Kashgari, who had earlier made a failed invasion of the Khorasan province, governed by Molk-Ara's brother Mohammad Vali Mirza. Yusuf Khoja Kashgari defeated Molk-Ara and his forces, but before he could advance further, was fatally shot in the chest by a member of the Gerayli tribe. His Turkmen forces subsequently scattered and withdrew. Mohammad Khan Qajar Ezz al-Din Lulu, the governor of Astarabad, rebelled soon afterwards, but was defeated and executed by government forces. The province of Astarabad was then incorporated into Mazandaran.[5]
Following Fath-Ali Shah's death in 1834, a dynastic struggle ensued between the Qajar princes. His grandson Mohammad Shah Qajar ultimately became the new shah. Meanwhile, Molk-Ara, who was Fath-Ali Shah's oldest surviving at that time, lost his governorship to Fazel Ali Khan Qarabaghi and was summoned to Tehran by Mohammad Shah.[6] During his time there, due to being the eldest son, Molk-Ara did not bow down to Mohammad Shah and would sit down without permission. As a result, Mohammad Shah eventually had him exiled to Hamadan.[4]
At the end of his life, Molk-Ara was taken back to Tehran, where he died[4] in 1872.[7] Molk-Ara attempted to imitate his father, such as having a long beard and writing poetry, which he did under the pen name Khosravi.[4]
Family
Molk-Ara was the father of Badi-oz Zaman Mirza, who had governed Astarabad on his behalf;[4] Sam Mirza Shams ol-Sho'ara, a court poet and ancestor of the Shams and Shams-e Molk Ara families;[8] and Abdol-Hossein Shams ol-Sho'ara, the father of the politician Asadollah Mirza Shahab-od-Dowleh.[9]
References
- ^ Eskandari-Qajar 2008, p. 26.
- ^ a b Bamdad 1971, p. 471.
- ^ Eskandari-Qajar 2008, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d e Bamdad 1971, p. 473.
- ^ Bamdad 1971, p. 472.
- ^ Bamdad 1971, pp. 472–473.
- ^ Eskandari-Qajar 2008, p. 24.
- ^ Katouzian 2013, p. 175.
- ^ Bamdad 1968, p. 114.
Sources
- Bamdad, Mehdi (1968). شرح حال رجال ایران در قرن ۱۲ و ۱۳ و ۱۴ هجری [Dictionary of National Biography of Iran, 1700-1960, vol. 1].
- Bamdad, Mehdi (1971). شرح حال رجال ایران در قرن ۱۲ و ۱۳ و ۱۴ هجری [Dictionary of National Biography of Iran, 1700-1960, vol. 3].
- Eskandari-Qajar, Manoutchehr M. (2008). "The Message of the Negarestan Mural of Fath Ali Shah and His Sons: Snapshot of Court Protocol or Determinant of Dynastic Succession". Qajar Studies: The Journal of the International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA). 8: 17–41.
- Katouzian, Homa (2013). Iran: Politics, History and Literature. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415636902.