Qajar dynasty: Difference between revisions

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The ”’Qajar dynasty”’ ({{langx|fa|دودمان قاجار|translit=Dudemâne Ǧâjâr}}){{efn|Also romanized as ”Ghajar”, ”Kadjar”, ”Qachar” etc.}} is a formerly aristocratic (and from 1789-1925, royal) [[Iran|Iranian]]<ref>{{harvnb|Amanat|1997|p=2}}: “In the 126 years between the fall of the Safavid state in 1722 and the accession of Nasir al-Din Shah, the Qajars evolved from a shepherd-warrior tribe with strongholds in northern Iran into a Persian dynasty with all the trappings of a Perso-Islamic monarchy.”</ref> [[dynasty]] that gained prominence with the rise of [[Shahverdi Sultan|Shahverdi Qajar]] in the early 16th century<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Harold Walter |title=The Cambridge history of Iran |last2=Avery |first2=Peter |last3=Hambly |first3=Gavin |last4=Melville |first4=Charles Peter |last5=Bailey |first5=Harold Walter |last6=Gray |first6=Basil |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-0-521-20095-0 |location=Cambridge (GB)}}</ref> as heads of the [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] [[Qajar (tribe)|Qajar tribe]] of the [[Qizilbash]] confederacy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Harold Walter |title=The Cambridge history of Iran |last2=Avery |first2=Peter |last3=Hambly |first3=Gavin |last4=Melville |first4=Charles Peter |last5=Bailey |first5=Harold Walter |last6=Gray |first6=Basil |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-0-521-20095-0 |location=Cambridge (GB)}}</ref> The dynasty ruled [[Qajar Iran|Iran]] from 1789 until 1925, upon the [[Unification of Iran (1779–1796)]] by [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar|Mohammad Khan Qajar]] ({{reign|1789|1797}}).

The ”’Qajar dynasty”’ ({{langx|fa|دودمان قاجار|translit=Dudemâne Ǧâjâr}}){{efn|Also romanized as ”Ghajar”, ”Kadjar”, ”Qachar” etc.}} is a formerly aristocratic (and from 1789-1925, royal) [[Iran|Iranian]]<ref>{{harvnb|Amanat|1997|p=2}}: “In the 126 years between the fall of the Safavid state in 1722 and the accession of Nasir al-Din Shah, the Qajars evolved from a shepherd-warrior tribe with strongholds in northern Iran into a Persian dynasty with all the trappings of a Perso-Islamic monarchy.”</ref> [[dynasty]] that gained prominence with the rise of [[Shahverdi Sultan|Shahverdi Qajar]] in the early 16th century<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Harold Walter |title=The Cambridge history of Iran |last2=Avery |first2=Peter |last3=Hambly |first3=Gavin |last4=Melville |first4=Charles Peter |last5=Bailey |first5=Harold Walter |last6=Gray |first6=Basil |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-0-521-20095-0 |location=Cambridge (GB)}}</ref> as heads of the [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] [[Qajar (tribe)|Qajar tribe]] of the [[Qizilbash]] confederacy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Harold Walter |title=The Cambridge history of Iran |last2=Avery |first2=Peter |last3=Hambly |first3=Gavin |last4=Melville |first4=Charles Peter |last5=Bailey |first5=Harold Walter |last6=Gray |first6=Basil |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-0-521-20095-0 |location=Cambridge (GB)}}</ref> The dynasty ruled [[Qajar Iran|Iran]] from 1789 until 1925, upon the [[Unification of Iran (1779–1796)]] by [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar|Mohammad Khan Qajar]] ({{reign|1789|1797}}).

The [[Russian Empire|Russian]] branch of the Qajar dynasty belonged to the [[Russian nobility|Russian Nobility]] and were given the titles [[List of Russian princely families|”Prince Persidskii” and ”Princess Persidskaya”]] by the Tsar in the 19th century,<ref>{{Citation |last=Coupet |first=Guy |title=Bonaparte, Elisa [Maria-Anna], Grand Duchess of Tuscany |date=2003 |work=Oxford Art Online |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oao/9781884446054.013.90000372986 |access-date=2025-11-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-884446-05-4}}</ref> of which many members have hold high functions in the [[Imperial Russian Army]], such as [[Aleksander Reza Qoli Mirza Qajar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Давыдов |first=И.В. |date=2017 |title=Исторический очерк образования Казанского военного пехотного училища |url=https://doi.org/10.18411/lj-30-11-2017-38 |journal=Тенденции развития науки и образования. |publisher=«Л-Журнал» |doi=10.18411/lj-30-11-2017-38}}</ref>

The dynasty’s effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran’s ”[[National Consultative Assembly|Majlis]]”, convening as a constituent assembly on 12 December 1925, declared [[Reza Shah]], a former brigadier-general of the [[Persian Cossack Brigade]], as the new ”[[shah]]” of [[Pahlavi Iran]].

The dynasty’s effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran’s ”[[National Consultative Assembly|Majlis]]”, convening as a constituent assembly on 12 December 1925, declared [[Reza Shah]], a former brigadier-general of the [[Persian Cossack Brigade]], as the new ”[[shah]]” of [[Pahlavi Iran]].

Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin (1789–1925)

This article is about the Iranian royal dynasty. For the country under its rule, see Qajar Iran.

The Qajar dynasty (Persian: دودمان قاجار, romanized: Dudemâne Ǧâjâr)[a] is a formerly aristocratic (and from 1789-1925, royal) Iranian[1] dynasty that gained prominence with the rise of Shahverdi Qajar in the early 16th century[2] as heads of the Turkoman Qajar tribe of the Qizilbash confederacy.[3] The dynasty ruled Iran from 1789 until 1925, upon the Unification of Iran (1779–1796) by Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797).

The Russian branch of the Qajar dynasty belonged to the Russian Nobility and were given the titles Prince Persidskii and Princess Persidskaya by the Tsar in the 19th century,[4] of which many members have hold high functions in the Imperial Russian Army, such as Aleksander Reza Qoli Mirza Qajar.[5]

The dynasty’s effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran’s Majlis, convening as a constituent assembly on 12 December 1925, declared Reza Shah, a former brigadier-general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, as the new shah of Pahlavi Iran.

Head of the Qajar tribe

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The last Ilkhan (head) of the Qajar tribe, Anoushirvan Khan Qajar (d.1866)[6]

The Qajar dynasty, as the ruling lineage, held prominent positions as tribal heads long before establishing imperial rule, leveraging their military prowess and tribal alliances to unify the country amid post-Safavid chaos.[7]

During the establishment of the Safavids. When Ismail led the 7,000 tribal soldiers on his successful expedition from Erzincan to Shirvan in 1500/1501, a contingent of Qajars was among them. After this, they emerged as a prominent group within the Qizilbash confederacy,[8] who were made up of Turkoman warriors and served as the main force of the Safavid military.[9] Despite being smaller than other tribes, the Qajars continued to play a major role in important events during the 16th century.[10]

The immediate ancestor of the Qajar monarchs, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja, married into the Quvanlu Qajars of Astarabad. His son, Fath Ali Khan (born c. 1685–1693) was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II.[11] He was killed in 1726. Fath Ali Khan’s son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar (1722–1758) was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan (Jahansouz Shah), father of “Baba Khan,” the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty.[12]

List of Qajar monarchs

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Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (1896-1907), the first constitutional monarch of Iran

Qajar imperial family

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The Qajar Imperial Family in exile is currently headed by the eldest descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah, Sultan Mohammad Ali Mirza Qajar, while the Heir Presumptive to the Qajar throne is Mohammad Hassan Mirza II, the grandson of Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Sultan Ahmad Shah’s brother and heir. Mohammad Hassan Mirza died in England in 1943, having proclaimed himself shah in exile in 1930 after the death of his brother in France.

Today, the descendants of the Qajars often identify themselves as such and hold reunions to stay socially acquainted through the Kadjar (Qajar) Family Association,[14] often coinciding with the annual conferences and meetings of the
International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA). The Kadjar (Qajar) Family Association was founded for a third time in 2000. Two earlier family associations were stopped because of political pressure. The offices and archives of IQSA are housed at the International Museum for Family History in Eijsden.

Qajar dynasty since 1925

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Heads of the Qajar Imperial Family

The headship of the Imperial Family is inherited by the eldest male descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah.

Heirs Presumptive of the Qajar dynasty

The Heir Presumptive is the Qajar heir to the Persian throne.

Extended Family

Naser al-Din Shah, the fourth Qajar shah, notably used the title “Pivot of the Universe” (Qebleh-ye Alam)[18]

The shah and his consort were styled Imperial Majesty. Their children were addressed as Imperial Highness, while male-line grandchildren were entitled to the lower style of Highness; all of them bore the title of Shahzadeh or Shahzadeh Khanoum.[19]

The Qajar Shahs also adopted grandiose titles that reflected their perceived divine authority and centrality in the Persian monarchy.[page needed] These titles were not merely honorific but served to legitimize their rule amidst internal and external challenges, blending pre-Islamic, Islamic-Shi’i, and nomadic elements of Persian governance.[21] Among these titles were;

Politics
Abdol Majid Mirza (1845–1927), 14th and 20th prime minister of Iran
Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma, prime minister of Iran prime minister of Iran from 25 December 1915 till 1 March 1916
Military

Religion

Aga Khan IV, The titles of Prince and Princess are used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.[23]
Women’s rights
  • Princess Taj-al-Saltaneh Qajar, daughter of Naser-din-Shah, co-founder of the first Iranian women’s rights movement Anjoman Naswan, author of a memoir, painter
  • Princess Mohtaram Eskandari, intellectual and pioneering figures in Iranian women’s movement.
  • Iran Teymourtash (Légion d’honneur), journalist, editor and publisher of the newspaper Rastakhiz, founder of an association for helping destitute women. Daughter of court minister Abdolhossein Teymourtash and through both her maternal grandparents a Qajar.[25]
Literature

Princess Taj-al-Saltaneh Qajar, daughter of Naser-din-Shah, First Iranian woman to write a memoir, co-founder of the first Iranian women’s rights movement Anjoman Naswan, author of a memoir, painter

  • Prince Iraj, Iranian poet and translator
  • Sadegh Hedayat, a Qajar descendant through the female line
  • Anvar Khamei, the Iranian economist, politician, and sociologist.
Entertainment

Mothers of Qajar Shahs

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  1. ^ Also romanized as Ghajar, Kadjar, Qachar etc.
  1. ^ Amanat 1997, p. 2: “In the 126 years between the fall of the Safavid state in 1722 and the accession of Nasir al-Din Shah, the Qajars evolved from a shepherd-warrior tribe with strongholds in northern Iran into a Persian dynasty with all the trappings of a Perso-Islamic monarchy.”
  2. ^ Bailey, Harold Walter; Avery, Peter; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles Peter; Bailey, Harold Walter; Gray, Basil (1991). The Cambridge history of Iran. Cambridge (GB): Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0.
  3. ^ Bailey, Harold Walter; Avery, Peter; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles Peter; Bailey, Harold Walter; Gray, Basil (1991). The Cambridge history of Iran. Cambridge (GB): Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0.
  4. ^ Coupet, Guy (2003), “Bonaparte, Elisa [Maria-Anna], Grand Duchess of Tuscany”, Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4, retrieved 3 November 2025
  5. ^ Давыдов, И.В. (2017). “Исторический очерк образования Казанского военного пехотного училища”. Тенденции развития науки и образования. «Л-Журнал». doi:10.18411/lj-30-11-2017-38.
  6. ^ Eskandari-Qajar, Manoutchehr M. (11 May 2020). “Eskandari-Qajar, 2014. Life at the Court of the Early Qajar Shahs”. Mage Publishers, Washington, D.C.
  7. ^ “Qājār dynasty | Iranian Royalty & History | Britannica”. www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  8. ^ Hambly, E C (25 July 1991). Bridge Deck Behaviour. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-17651-7.
  9. ^ Amanat, Abbas (24 October 2017). Iran. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-23146-5.
  10. ^ Hambly, E C (25 July 1991). Bridge Deck Behaviour. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-17651-7.
  11. ^ Ghani, Cyrus (2000). Iran and the rise of Reza Shah: from Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule. London New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.
  12. ^ Ghanī, Sīrūs (2000). Iran and the rise of Reza Shah: from Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule. London ; New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4.
  13. ^ Perry, J. R. (1984). “ĀḠĀ MOḤAMMAD KHAN QĀJĀR”. In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. I/6. pp. 602–605. in Ramażān, 1210/ March, 1796, he was officially crowned shah of Iran.
  14. ^ “Qajar People”. Qajars. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  15. ^ Awene Kurdish Article about Jwamer Agha Hamawand in Sorani by Awene
  16. ^ The Royal Harem of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848–96): The Literary Portrayal of Women’s Lives by Taj al-Saltana and Anonymous ‘Lady from Kerman’
  17. ^
    “Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity” by Taj al-Saltaneh
  18. ^ “Pivot of the Universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy 1831-1896, by Abbas Amanat: Review”. bahai-library.com. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  19. ^ “Qajar (Kadjar) Titles and Appellations”. www.qajarpages.org. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  20. ^ “Pivot of the Universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy 1831-1896, by Abbas Amanat: Review”. bahai-library.com. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  21. ^ برخورد جهان اسلام با مسئله افغانستان. University of Arizona Libraries. 1989. doi:10.2458/azu_acku_pk6820_ghain94_daal48_1368.
  22. ^ Edwards, Anne (1995). Throne of gold: the lives of the Aga Khans. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-215196-2.
  23. ^ L. A. Ferydoun Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn (Khosrovani) (ed.), “Qajar Studies”. Journal of the International Qaja Studies Association, vol. X–XI, Rotterdam, Gronsveld, Santa Barbara and Tehran 2011, p. 220.

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