| Ahmad Shah Qajar احمد شاه قاجار | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ahmad Shah in 1916 | |||||
| Shah of Iran | |||||
| Reign | 16 July 1909 – 15 December 1925 | ||||
| Coronation | 21 July 1914 | ||||
| Predecessor | Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar | ||||
| Successor | Reza Shah Pahlavi | ||||
| Regent | Ali Reza Khan Azod al-Molk Abolqasem Naser ol-Molk | ||||
| Prime Ministers | |||||
| Born | (1898-01-21)21 January 1898 Tabriz,Azerbaijan,Sublime State of Iran | ||||
| Died | 21 February 1930(1930-02-21) (aged 32) Neuilly-sur-Seine,Seine (nowadaysHauts-de-Seine),France | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Badr al-Molouk | ||||
| Issue Among others... | Princess Irandokht Prince Fereydoun Mirza | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Qajar | ||||
| Father | Mohammad Ali Shah | ||||
| Mother | Malekeh Jahan | ||||
| Religion | Shia Islam | ||||
| Tughra |  | ||||
Ahmad Shah Qajar (Persian:احمد شاه قاجار; 21 January 1898 – 21 February 1930) was theshah of Iran (Persia) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the seventh and final ruling member of theQajar dynasty.[1]
Ahmad Shah was born inTabriz on 21 January 1898 and ascended the throne at the age of 12[2] after the removal of his fatherMohammad Ali Shah by the Parliament on 16 July 1909. Due to his young age, his uncle,Ali-Reza Khan, took charge of state affairs as Regent. Upon reaching the age of majority, Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914.
On 16 July 1909,Mohammad Ali Shah wasoverthrown by rebels seeking to restore the 1906 Constitution. The rebels then convened theGrand Majles of 500 delegates from different backgrounds, which placed Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Ali's eleven-year-old son, on theSun Throne.[citation needed]
The Grand Majlis enacted many reforms. They abolished class representation and created five new seats in the Majlis for minorities: two seats forArmenians, and one seat each forJews,Zoroastrians, andAssyrians. The Majles also democratized the electoral system, diminished the electoral dominance of Tehran, and even lowered the voting age from twenty-five to twenty.
Not much is known about Ahmad's early life before his succession to the throne. Due to his young age, his uncle,Ali Reza Khan Azod al-Molk, governed as regent.
Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914, upon reaching his majority.[3] He attempted to fix the damage done by his father by appointing the best ministers he could find. He was, however, an ineffective ruler who was faced with internal unrest and foreign intrusions, particularly by theBritish Empire andRussian Empire. Russian and British troopsfought against theOttoman Empire forces in Iran duringWorld War I.
The Second Majlis convened in November 1910 and just like the First Majlis, did not lead to any relevant accomplishment. The Majlis was rendered ineffective because the central government was weak and did not have enough influence to rein in the changes that it had proposed.
In 1917, Britain used Iran as the springboard for an attack into Russia in anunsuccessful attempt to reverse theRussian Revolution of 1917. The newly bornSoviet Union responded by annexing portions of northern Persia as buffer states much like its Tsarist predecessor. Marching onTehran, the Soviets extracted ever more humiliating concessions from the Iranian government – whose ministers Ahmad Shah was often unable to control. The weakness of the government in the face of such aggression by an atheist foreign power sparked seething anger among many traditional Iranians – including the youngRuhollah Khomeini, who would later condemn bothCommunism and monarchy as treason against Iran's sovereignty and the laws of Islam.
By 1920, the government had virtually lost all power outside the capital and Ahmad Shah had lost control of the situation. Ahmad Shah has also been described as "pleasure-loving, effete, and incompetent".[4] TheAnglo-Persian Agreement, along with new political parties, further immobilized the country. The Moderates and Democrats often clashed, particularly when it came to minority rights andsecularism. The debates between the two political parties led to violence and even assassinations.
The weak economic state of Iran put Ahmad Shah and his government at the mercy of foreign influence; they had to obtain loans from theImperial Bank of Persia.[clarification needed] Furthermore, under the Anglo-Persian Agreement, Iran received only a small fraction of the income generated by theAnglo-Persian Oil Company. On the other hand, the Red Army along with rebels and warlords ruled much of the countryside.
On 21 February 1921, Ahmad Shah was pushed aside in amilitary coup by ColonelReza Khan, Minister of War and commander of thePersian Cossack Brigade, who subsequently seized the post of Prime Minister. During the coup, Reza Khan used three thousand men and only eighteen machine guns, a very bloodless coup that moved forward quickly. One of Khan's first actions was to rescind the unpopular Anglo-Persian Agreement. In addition, he signed theRusso-Persian Treaty of Friendship. This agreement canceled all previous treaties between the two countries and also gave Persia full and equal shipping rights in theCaspian Sea.
Stripped of all his remaining powers, Ahmad Shah went into exile with his family in 1923. Ahmad Shah's apparent lack of interest in attending to the affairs of the state and poor health had prompted him to leave Iran on an extended trip to Europe. He was formally deposed on 31 October 1925, when Reza Khan was proclaimed Shah by the Majlis, as Reza Shah Pahlavi. This terminated the Qajar dynasty.
The coup of 1921 rendered Ahmad Shah politically weaker and less relevant. In 1923, Ahmad Shah leftIran forEurope for health reasons. Later, the formal termination of theQajar dynasty by the Majles turned Ahmad Shah's 1923 European tour into exile.
Ahmad Shah died in 1930[how?] atNeuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris, France, and was buried in his family crypt inKarbala,Iraq.[5] His brother, former crown princeMohammad Hassan Mirza, assured the continuation of the dynasty through his descendants. French publications at the time reported that his estate was worth some seventy-five millionfrancs.[6]
Ahmad Shah Qajar married five times. His first wife wasLydia Jahanbani. He had four children, each by a different wife.
He had 12 grandchildren, who respectively carry the last names Albertini, Faroughy, Panahi and Qajar (also spelled Kadjar).
Ahmad Shah Qajar Born: 21 January 1898 Died: 21 February 1930 | ||
| Iranian royalty | ||
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| Preceded by | Shah of Iran 1909–1925 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Head of the Imperial House of Qajar 1909–1930 | Succeeded by |
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