Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar

For other people named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation).

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.^[1]

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	(1872-06-21)21 June 1872 Tabriz, Azerbaijan, Iran
Died	5 April 1925(1925-04-05) (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.^[2] In 1907, Mohammad Ali dissolved the National Consultative Assembly and declared the Constitution abolished because it was contrary to Islamic law.^[3] He bombarded the Majles (Iranian parliament) with the military and political support of Russia and Britain.^[4]

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.^[3] 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.^[5]

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)

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar with Mirza Mohammad Ebrahim Khan, the Mo'avin al-Dowleh, and Company, c. 1907

A 2000 Dinar/2 Qiran coin of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar era

Marriages and children

Wives

Mohammad Ali Shah had two wives:

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

Children

Mohammad Ali Shah had six sons and two daughters:

Sons

1. Hossein Ali Mirza "E'tezad Saltaneh"
2. Gholam Hossein Mirza (died in infancy)
3. Sultan Ahmad Mirza (later Ahmad Shah Qajar)
4. Mohammad Hassan Mirza
5. Sultan Mahmoud Mirza
6. Sultan Majid Mirza

Daughters

1. Khadijeh Khanum "Hazrat-e Ghodsieh"
2. Assieh Khanum

List of prime ministers

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar after deposal, c. 1912–1915

• 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)

See also

• Qajar dynasty
• Qajar family tree
• Attempts at Constitutionalization in Iran
• Persian Constitutional Revolution
• Persian Cossack Brigade
• Anglo-Russian Entente
• 1908 bombardment of the Majlis
• History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution