Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar

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 the maternal side.

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
محمدعلی شاه قاجار

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, c. 1907–1909

Shah of Iran

Reign

3 January 1907 – 16 July 1909

Predecessor

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar

Successor

Ahmad Shah Qajar

Prime Ministers

See list

Mirza Nasrullah Khan
Ali-Asghar Khan Atabak
Ahmad Moshir al-Saltaneh
Abolqasem Naser al-Molk
Nezam al-Saltaneh Mafi
Ahmad Moshir al-Saltaneh
Kamran Mirza
Javad Sa'd al-Dowleh

Born

21 June 1872
Tabriz, Iran

Died

5 April 1925 (aged 52)
San Remo, Italy

Burial

Imam Hussein Shrine

Spouse

Malekeh Jahan

Issue

See below

Names
Mohmmad Ali Shah

Dynasty

Qajar

Father

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar

Mother

Taj ol-Molouk (Umm al-Khakan)

Religion

Shia Islam

Tughra

Biography

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. In 1907, Mohammad Ali dissolved the National Consultative Assembly and declared the Constitution abolished because it was contrary to Islamic law. He bombarded the Majles (Iranian parliament) with the military and political support of Russia and Britain.

In July 1909, pro-Constitution forces marched from Iran'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, Iran, but his forces were defeated. 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 Iran since Mohammad Ali has died in exile.

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

Honours

Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (1900)
French Third Republic: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (1907)
Ottoman Empire: Exalted Order of the House of Osman (1905)
Russian Empire:
- Knight of the Order of St. Andrew (1905)
- Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1905)
- Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (1905)
- Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class (1905)
- Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class (1905)

Marriages and children

Wives

Mohammad Ali Shah had two wives:

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

Children

Mohammad Ali Shah had six sons and two daughters:

Sons

Hossein Ali Mirza "E'tezad Saltaneh"
Gholam Hossein Mirza (died in infancy)
Sultan Ahmad Mirza (later Ahmad Shah Qajar)
Mohammad Hassan Mirza
Sultan Mahmoud Mirza
Sultan Majid Mirza

Daughters

Khadijeh Khanum "Hazrat-e Ghodsieh"
Assieh Khanum

List of prime ministers

Mirza Nasrollah Khan Moshir od-Dowleh (till 17 March 1907)
Mirza Ali-Asghar Khan Amin os-Soltan (1 May 1907 – 31 August 1907)
Mohammad-Vali Khan Tonekaboni (1st Term) (13 September 1907 – 21 December 1907)
Hossein Khan Nezam os-Saltaneh Mafi (21 December 1907 – 21 May 1908)
Morteza-Qoli Khan Hedayat Sani od-Dowleh (21 May 1908 – 7 June 1908)
Prince Kamran Mirza Nayeb os-Saltaneh (7 June 1908 – 29 April 1909)