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Mohammad Shah

Mohammad Shah Qajar (born Mohammad Mirza, Persian: محمد شاه قاجار)‎‎ (January 5, 1808 - September 5, 1848) was a Shah of Persia of the Qajar dynasty between 23 October 1834 and 5 September 1848.

Mohammad Shah was son of Abbas Mirza, the crown prince and governor of Azerbaijan^[1], who in turn was the son of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, the second Shah of the dynasty. At first, Abbas Mirza was the chosen heir to the Shah. However, after he died, the Shah chose Mohammad to be his heir. After the Shah's death, Ali Mirza, one of his many sons, tried to take the throne in opposition to Mohammad. His rule lasted for about 40 days. Nonetheless, he was quickly deposed at the hands of Mirza Abolghasem Ghaem Magham Farahani, a politician, scientist, and poet.

Ali was forgiven by Mohammad, who had then become Shah. Farahani was awarded the position of chancellorship of Persia by Shah at the time of his inauguration. He was later betrayed and executed by the order of Shah in 1835, at the instigation of Haji Mirza Aqasi, who would become the Ghaem Magham's successor and who greatly influenced Shah's policies. One of his wives, Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia, later became a large influence on his successor, who was their son^[2].

He also tried to capture Herat, which was then owned by the British, twice. To try to defeat the British, he sent an officer to the court of Louis-Philippe of France. In 1839, two French military instructors arrived at Tabriz to aid him. However, both attempts to capture the city were unsuccessful^[3][4].

Shah was known to be somewhat sickly throughout his life, and he finally died at the age of 40 of gout.

Shah fell into the influence of Russia and attempted to make reforms to modernize and increase contact with the West. This work was continued by his successor, Nasser-al-Din Shah Qajar, who became known as a very capable leader ^[5]. These efforts to modernize the country brought about a great interest in photography^[6]. Other artwork during this time includes a number of small-scale paintings on lacquer^[7].

During Shah's reign, the religious movement of Bábism began to flourish for the first time. The Persian symbol of The Lion and Sun and a red, white, and green background became the flag at this time^[8].

During his reign, Shah had 20 children to eight wives, and four more wives with whom he had no children. Seven of his children died in infancy, but among the more notable of the children were Nasser-al-Din Shah Qajar, who was to become his successor, and Abbas "Molk Ara", Abdosamad, and Mohammad Taqi Mirza, who were to become the heads of the Shams Molk Ara, Salour, and Rokni families, respectively ^[9].

1. ^ History of Qajar Iran
2. ^ Translation of French Wikipedia
3. ^ Iran Chamber Society
4. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica on the Qajar Dynasty
5. ^ The Qajar Dynasty
6. ^ Art of Persia
7. ^ 19th Century Persian Art
8. ^ History of the Lion & Sun Flag
9. ^ Children of Mohammad Shah Qajar

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