Qajar dynasty

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

Qajar
Coat of arms of the Qajar dynasty
Parent houseQajar tribe
CountryQajar Iran
Founded1789
FounderShahverdi Qajar, Agha Mohammad Shah
Current headPrince Mohammad Hassan Mirza II
Final rulerAhmad Shah
TitlesShah of Iran
Deposition1925
Cadet branchesAmirsoleimani, Bahmani/Bahmanov, Farmanfarmaian/Farman Farma

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, of which many members had held high functions in the Imperial Russian Army, such as Aleksander Reza Qoli Mirza Qajar.

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

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.

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, who were made up of Turkoman warriors and served as the main force of the Safavid military. Despite being smaller than other tribes, the Qajars continued to play a major role in important events during the 16th century.

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. 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.

List of Qajar monarchs

No. Shah Portrait Reigned from Reigned until Tughra
1 Mohammad Khan Qajar 1789 17 June 1797
2 Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar 17 June 1797 23 October 1834
3 Mohammad Shah Qajar 23 October 1834 5 September 1848
4 Naser al-Din Shah Qajar 5 September 1848 1 May 1896
5 Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar 1 May 1896 3 January 1907
6 Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar 3 January 1907 16 July 1909
7 Ahmad Shah Qajar 16 July 1909 31 October 1925

Qajar imperial family

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, 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

Heads of the Qajar Imperial Family

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

  • Sultan Ahmad Shah Qajar (1925–1930)
  • Fereydoun Mirza (1930–1975)
  • Sultan Hamid Mirza (1975–1988)
  • Sultan Mahmoud Mirza (1988)
  • Sultan Ali Mirza Qajar (1988–2011)
  • Sultan Mohammad Ali Mirza (2011–present)
Heirs Presumptive of the Qajar dynasty

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

  • Sultan Ahmad Shah Qajar (1925–1930)
  • Mohammad Hassan Mirza (1930–1943)
  • Fereydoun Mirza (1943–1975)
  • Sultan Hamid Mirza (1975–1988)
  • Mohammad Hassan Mirza II (1988–)

Extended Family

  • Qajar descendants of Jwamer Agha, Princesses of Qajar, great-great or great-great-great grandchildren of Naseruddin Shah Qajar.

Titles and styles


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.

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. Among these titles were;

  • Shahanshah of Iran
  • Zell'ollah (Shadow of God [on earth])
  • Qebleh-ye 'ālam (Pivot of the Universe)

Notable members

Politics
  • Princess Turan Amirsoleimani, she was the third wife of Reza Shah, with whom she had one son Gholam Reza Pahlavi
  • Prince Abdol-Hossein Farmanfarma
  • Mohammad Mosaddegh, prime minister of Iran and nephew of Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma.
  • Prince Firouz Nosrat-ed-Dowleh III, son of Prince Abdol-Hossein Farmanfarma, foreign minister of Iran
  • Hossein Khan Sardar, last ruler of the Erivan Khanate administrative division
  • Prince Majd ed-Dowleh Amirsoleimani, one of Iran's most influential politicians of his time. He was a key court figure throughout the reigns of several Qajar Shahs, including Nasser al-Din Shah, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, Mohammad Ali Shah, and Ahmad Shah.
  • Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Iranian economist and politician, prime minister of Iran from 1965 to 1977, a Qajar descendant on his maternal side
  • Ali Amini, prime minister of Iran
  • Prince Iraj Eskandari, Iranian communist politician
  • Princess Maryam Farman Farmaian, Iranian communist politician, founder of the women's section of the Tudeh Party of Iran
  • Ardeshir Zahedi, Iranian diplomat, Qajar descendant on his maternal side.
  • Prince Sabbar Farmanfarmaian, health minister in Mosaddeq cabinet
  • Abdol-Hossein Sardari, Consul General at the Iranian Embassy in Paris 1940–1945; helped and saved the lives of Jews in danger of deportation by issuing them with Iranian passports. A Qajar Qoyunlu and through his mother a grandson of Princess Malekzadeh Khanoum Ezzat od-Doleh, the sister of Nasser ed-Din Shah.
  • Aga Khan III, President of the League of Nations from 1937 to 1938, one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League and the 48th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims.
Military
  • Aleksander Petrovich Reza Qoli Mirza (1869-1941)
  • Feyzullah Mirza Qajar (1872-1920)
  • Amanullah Mirza Jahanbani(1869-1912)
  • Nader Jahanbani (1928-1979)
  • Prince Amanullah Mirza Qajar, Imperial Russian, Azerbaijani, and Iranian military commander
  • Prince Feyzulla Mirza Qajar, Imperial Russian and Azerbaijani (ADR) military commander
  • Prince Ali Qulu Mirza Qajar, Imperial Russian military commander, having the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
  • Prince Aleksander Reza Qoli Mirza Qajar, Imperial Russian military leader, commander of Yekaterinburg (1918)
  • Prince Amanullah Jahanbani, senior Iranian general
  • Nader Jahanbani, general and vice-deputy chief of the Imperial Iranian Air Force
  • Brig. General Changiz Voshmgir, deputy commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces of the Imperial Iranian Army, son of Hassan Khan Shoja Saltaneh & Bashir-ol-Moluk

Religion

  • Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of Nizari Ismailism, a denomination of Isma'ilism within Shia Islam.
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.
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
  • Sepand Amirsoleimani, Iranian actor.
  • Kamand Amirsoleimani, Iranian actress.
  • Gholam-Hossein Banan, Iranian musician and singer, Qajar descendant on his maternal side.

Former residences

The Qajar dynasty is particularly noted for its extensive construction of royal residences across Iran, which served as the principal seats of power, diplomatic reception, and court life. The most prominent of these were the Golestan and Niavaran Palace Complexes in Tehran.

  • Ruby Palace
  • Sahebgharaniyeh Palace
  • Ferdows Garden
  • Masoudieh Mansion

Family tree

Mothers of Qajar Shahs

See also

  • Abdolhossein Teymourtash
  • Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia
  • Bahmani family
  • History of Iran
  • History of the Caucasus
  • Khanates of the Caucasus
  • List of kings of Persia
  • List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties
  • Mirza Kouchek Khan
  • Qajar art
  • Qajar Iran

Notes

  1. Also romanized as Ghajar, Kadjar, Qachar etc.

Citations

  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, doi:10.1093/oao/9781884446054.013.90000372986, 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. "Qājār dynasty | Iranian Royalty & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  7. Hambly, E C (25 July 1991). Bridge Deck Behaviour. CRC Press. doi:10.1201/9781482267167. ISBN 978-0-429-17651-7.
  8. Amanat, Abbas (24 October 2017). Iran. Yale University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv19prrqm. ISBN 978-0-300-23146-5.
  9. Hambly, E C (25 July 1991). Bridge Deck Behaviour. CRC Press. doi:10.1201/9781482267167. ISBN 978-0-429-17651-7.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Interview / Industrienachricht". Allergologie. 31 (8): 357–358. 1 August 2008. doi:10.5414/alp31357. ISSN 0344-5062.
  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. Amanat 1997.
  21. "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.
  22. برخورد جهان اسلام با مسئله افغانستان. University of Arizona Libraries. 1989. doi:10.2458/azu_acku_pk6820_ghain94_daal48_1368.
  23. Edwards, Anne (1995). Throne of gold: the lives of the Aga Khans. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-215196-2.
  24. Paidar 1997, p. 95.
  25. 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.
  26. Caton 1988.
  27. Baines, J.T. (November 1987). "Resources, reserves and their economic potential or how scarce is scarce?". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 32 (3): 295–310. doi:10.1016/0040-1625(87)90031-x. ISSN 0040-1625.

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