The Qajar dynasty (Persian: دودمان قاجار, romanizedDudemâne Ǧâjâr; 1789–1925)[a] was an Iranian[1] royal dynasty founded by Mohammad Khan (r. 1789–1797) of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman[2] Qajar tribe.

Qajar
Coat of arms of Qajar Iran (1907–1925)
Flag of Qajar Iran (1906–1925)
Parent houseQajar tribe
CountryQajar Iran
Founded1789
FounderAgha Mohammad Shah
Final rulerAhmad Shah
TitlesShah of Iran
Deposition1925
Cadet branchesBahmani family

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.

List of Qajar monarchs

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No. Shah Portrait Reigned from Reigned until Tughra
1 Mohammad Khan Qajar   1789[3] 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

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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,[4] 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.

Titles and styles

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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.[5]

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.

Notable members

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Bahram Mirza
Politics
Military
Social work
Business

Religion

Women's rights
  • Princess Mohtaram Eskandari, intellectual and pioneering figures in Iranian women's movement.[7]
  • 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.[8]
Literature
  • Prince Iraj, Iranian poet and translator
  • Sadegh Hedayat, a Qajar descendant through the female line
  • Anvar Khamei, the Iranian economist, politician, and sociologist.
Entertainment

Family tree

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Mothers of Qajar Shahs

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See also

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Notes

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

Citations

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  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. ^ Sümer 1978.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Qajar People". Qajars. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Qajar (Kadjar) Titles and Appellations". www.qajarpages.org. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  6. ^ برخورد جهان اسلام با مسئله افغانستان. University of Arizona Libraries. 1989.
  7. ^ Paidar 1997, p. 95.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Caton 1988.

Sources

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Royal house
Qajar dynasty
Preceded by Ruling house of Iran
1796–1925
Succeeded by