To the task of chronicling the waning years of Persia’s Qajar court, Dust-Ali Khan “Mo`ayyer al-Mamalek” (1876–1966) brought matchless gifts. On his mother’s side, he was the grandson of Naser al-Din Shah, ruler of Qajar Iran from 1848 to 1896; on his father’s side, he was the descendant of a family of assayers and masters of the royal mint with roots in the Safavid era (1501–1736). He was also a painter and writer with a keen eye for atmosphere and detail. Throughout his long life, he kept journals of the rarefied and sometimes turbulent world in which he moved. Some of those records were incorporated by him into autobiography or descriptions of his grandfather’s court—its modes of governance, festivals, royal hunts, palaces and gardens, life in the harem, and much more.
The Artist and the Shah is the product of a seven-year labor of love by Manoutchehr Eskandari-Qajar, a dedicated historian of the Qajar era, to not only translate two of Dust-Ali Khan’s memoirs but also to gather together 280 photographs from public archives and private collections. Most of the photographs are presented here for the first time in their proper context. Illuminated with the words of Dust-Ali Khan, they provide a uniquely intimate view of an era now long vanished.
Contents/Excerpt
Illustrations, xi
A note on translation and transliteration, xxvii
Translator’s Preface and Acknowledgments, xxviii
The Life and Times of Dust-Ali Khan “Mo`ayyer al-Mamalek,” 1
Eighty-Five Years of Life in a Few Pages, 47
Birth, Early Childhood and Youth, 47
Young Adulthood, the Cholera of 1310 and Life at Lar, 64
From the Preface to Notices on the Private Life of Naser al-Din Shah: 1892, 69
Death of Naser al-Din Shah; Arrival of Mozaffar al-Din Shah and Marriage, 78
La Belle Époque: Paris in 1900, 87
Return to Tehran and Halcyon Days, 119
The Coming Storms Over the Horizon, 134
All Things Must Come to an End, 146
Notices on the Private Life of Naser al-Din Shah, 161
The Reason for Writing This Book, 161
The Royal Andarun, 166
Royal Wives and Children, 170
On the Incomes of Wives and Children and on the Lives of Some of the Eunuchs of the Court, 178
On the Customs and Pastimes of the Members of the Harem, 182
The Private or Sleeping Quarters (Khabgah) and
Sleeping Habits of the Shah, 196
On the Manner of Taking Meals in the Andarun and on some of the Evening Pastimes, 201
The Tale of the Abbas-Ali Plane Tree, 209
The Manner of Dress of the Wives of the Shah and the Fashion of the Day, 210
On Naser al-Din Shah’s Appearance, Habits and Qualities, 217
On the Shah’s Artistic Talents, 222
On Petitioning the Shah, 231
The Chess Players, 235
On the Shah’s Passion for Hunting and Shooting, 237
On Political Matters, 241
On the Shah’s Love for Jayran, 244
On the Buildings of Golestan Complex and the Edifices of the Qajar Era, 251
The Greater Narenjestan, 251
The Karim Khani Retreat, 253
The Badgir Pavilion, 255
The Gallery Pavilion, 256
The White Palace, 256
The Shams al-Emareh, 257
On the Zoological Gardens at the Golestan Palace, 263
On the Shah’s visits to the Royal Gardens and the Royal Summering Grounds, 265
Shahrestanak, 269
Descriptions of the Royal Gardens, 273
Bagh-e Shah, 273
Eshratabad, 275
Eyshabad, 276
Qasr-e Qajar, 276
The Garden of Dowshan Tapeh, 280
Saltanatabad, 283
Sahebqaraniyeh, 288
Sorkheh Hesar, 289
The Turquoise Palace, 291
The Celebration of Festivals, 292
Nowruz, 292
The Birthday of His Majesty, 315
The Eid of Adha, 317
Celebration of the Birth of Hazrat-e Fatemeh (A), 321
The Ta`zieh Ceremonies, 326
The Month of Fasting, 340
On Horse Races, 343
Audiences with Doctors and Poets, 354
Aashpazaan (Soup-making), 356
Hunting Excursions of the Shah, 361
Jajrud, 362
Masileh, 372
Qom, 374
Relations of the Shah with Members of His Court, 390
Babri Khan, 390
The Mother of the Shah, 391
Aziz al-Soltan, 395
The Shah and Children, 410
The Shah and Loyal Servants, 414
The Tobacco Boycott Affair, 420
The Tehran-Shah Abdolazim Railroad Incident, 422
The Assassination of Naser al-Din Shah and the Conclusion of this Story, 426
A Final Word, 435
Notes, 441
Notes to Translator’s Preface and Acknowledgments, 443
Notes to The Life and Times of Dust-Ali Khan “Mo`ayyer al-Mamalek”, 449
Notes to Eighty-Five Years of Life in a Few Pages, 459
Notes to Notices on the Private Life of Naser al-Din Shah, 501
Appendices, 577
Jahanbani Family Line, 579
Mo`ayyer al-Mamalek Family Line, 589
Selected photographs of the
Mo`ayyer al-Mamalek Family, 595
Wives and Children of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, 607
Wives and Children of Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar, 619
Wives and Children of Mohammad-Ali Shah Qajar, 625
Selected photographs of
Mohammad-Ali Shah’s Family 629
Credits, 633
Bibliography, 635
Index, 643
