| Mohammad-Ali Mirza Dowlatshah دولتشاه | |
|---|---|
 Portrait medaillion depicting Dowlatshah. Signed Gholam Khanzadeh 'Ali, datedc. 1830 | |
| Governor ofFars | |
| Reign | 1797–1799 |
| Predecessor | Hossein Qoli Khan Qajar |
| Successor | Hossein Ali Mirza |
| Governor ofGilan andQazvin | |
| Reign | 1799–1804 |
| Predecessor | Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar |
| Successor | Mirza Musa Khan Monajjembashi |
| Governor ofKhuzestan andLorestan | |
| Reign | 1804–1807 |
| Governor ofKermanshah | |
| Reign | 1807–1821 |
| Predecessor | Fath-Ali Khan Qajar |
| Successor | Mohammad-Hossein Mirza |
| Born | Mohammad Ali Mirza (محمدعلی میرزا) 5 January 1789 Nava,Mazandaran |
| Died | 22 November 1821(1821-11-22) (aged 32) Taq-e Qarra,Kermanshah province |
| House | Qajar |
| Father | Fath-Ali Shah Qajar |
| Mother | Ziba Chehr Khanoum |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Mohammad-Ali Mirza Dowlatshah (Persian:محمدعلیمیرزا دولتشاه; 5 January 1789, inNava – 22 November 1821, inTaq-e Gara[1][2][3]) was a famous Iranian Prince of theQajar dynasty. He is also the progenitor of the Dowlatshahi family of Persia. He was born atNava, inMazandaran, aCaspian province in the north of Iran. He was the first son ofFath-Ali Shah, the second Qajar king of Persia, and Ziba-Chehr Khanum, aGeorgian girl of the Tsikarashvili (also spelled Tzicara Chwili) family.[2] He was also the elder brother (by seven months[2]) ofAbbas Mirza. Dowlatshah was the governor of Fars at age 9, Qazvin and Gilan at age 11, Khuzestan and Lorestan at age 16, and Kermanshah at age 19.
In the wars againstRussia, he crushed the Russians inYerevan andTbilisi. Dowlatshah developed the city of Kermanshah and foundedDowlat-Abad, which was later renamedMalayer.
Dowlatshah had 10 sons. His descendants live in various countries around the world and carry the surname: inPersian:دولتشاهی,romanized: Doulatšâhi, which is rendered asDowlatshahi inEnglish,Doulatchahi inFrench andDoulatszahi inPolish, etc.
Dowlatshah was born on 5 January 1789 in the village ofNava inMazandaran,northern Iran.[2][4] He was the eldest son ofFath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834), the secondQajarshah (king) of Iran and part of the Qovanlu branch of theQajar tribe.[2][5] His mother was Ziba-Chehr Khanum, aGeorgian slave girl from the Tzicara Chwili family.[2] Despite being the oldest, Dowlatshah was excluded from the succession since the law of the Qajar tribe required that the chieftain of the tribe (as well as the crown prince) had to have Qajar parents. Instead, it was planned that the succession would pass to his seven-month younger brotherAbbas Mirza, due to his mother belonging to the Davanlu clan of the Qajars.[4] This choice has been made by Fath-Ali Shah's uncleAgha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797), who wanted to unite the Qovanlu and Davanlu.[6][7]
Agha Mohammad Khan also appears to have taken the personalities of both princes into account when choosing Abbas Mirza over Dowlatshah. These two princes had opposite personalities, attitudes, and physiques. Abbas Mirza was frail, bashful and humble in comparison to Dowlatshah's robust body, brave and fearless personality, and impolite and brash manners. Dowlatshah therefore consistently had the advantage in their fights when growing up. Agha Mohammad Khan first developed a strong affection for Dowlatshah because of this particular characteristic and the similarities in their personalities. Agha Mohammad Khan spent a lot of time with both of them attempting to impart his expertise and experience. He eventually discovered that his efforts with Dowlatshah were futile after observing his agitated, hostile, and daring personality through a series of tests. Agha Mohammad Khan thus made the decision to concentrate increasingly of his attention on Abbas Mirza.[4]
Fath-Ali Shah appointed Dowlatshah to rule and protect the boundaries of the two Iraqs (a name given to western states of Iran) and also adjoined Khuzestan province to his territories. In fact, during Dowlatshah's time, Kermanshah had become a citadel against the Ottomans.
Dowlatshah carried out the last, and initially very successful, attack onOttoman Iraq in 1821.Iran was resentful of the inability of the Ottoman government to protect theShia population of Iraq against theWahhabi attacks that had begun in 1801. Many of the Shias killed in the raids were Iranians, some of whom closely related to the rulingQajar dynasty of Iran. His forces quickly occupiedShahrazur andKirkuk, and laid siege toBaghdad.
His skills and ambitions mirrored those of his younger brother. He was a great military leader and a patron of the arts, poetry and philosophy. The origin of the family names "Dowlatshah," "Dowlatshahi," and close variations such as "Dolatshahi" are from this ancestor's title.
Dowlatshah has been greatly respected among the people of Kermanshah (Persians,Kurds,Lors andLaks), mainly because of his contributions such as Dowlatshah mosque (مسجد دولتشاه) His mosque is located in the Javanshir Square of Kermanshah and was built in the years 1820–1822 AD. In recent years this mosque has been repaired. It consists of separate nocturnal areas along with a courtyard.
The city ofKermanshah is located in the center of the province and has a temperate climate. It is one of the ancient cities of Iran and it is said that Tahmores Divband, a mythical ruler of the Pishdadian, had constructed it. Some attribute its constructions to Bahram Sassanid. During the reign of Qobad I and Anushirvan Sassanid, Kermanshah was at the peak of its glory. But in the Arab attack suffered great damage. Concurrent with the Afghan attack and the fall ofEsfahan, Kermanshah was destroyed due to theOttoman invasion. But from the beginning of the 11th century AH it began to flourish.
In order to prevent a probable aggression of theZangeneh tribe and due to its proximity with theOttoman Empire, theSafavid ruler paid great attention to this city. But in the Zandieh period upheavals increased, whereas during the Qajar era, Ottoman attacks reduced. Mohammad Ali Mirza in 1221 AH was seated in Kermanshah in order to prevent Ottoman aggression, andKhuzestan also came under his realm. An epigraph of Mohammad Ali Mirza in Taq-e-Bostan has remained as a relic.
The famous Alwand Bridge on theAlwand River was built by him when he went toKhanaqin in 1855 on his way to visit theShia holy sites inKarbala andNajaf, but that year Khanaqin faced a severe flood and he decided to spend his travel expenses in addition to the additional costs of building a bridge in Khanaqin. He brought a number of architects fromIsfahan to Khanaqin and the bridge was built using walnut wood imported fromKermanshah. The bridge was completed in 1860.[8]
The regime of Crown PrinceAbbas Mirza launched an attack on theOttoman Empire, placing the Iranian army under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah. The war was sparked by the Ottoman inability to protect theShia population ofOttoman Iraq fromWahhabi attacks. A large number of Shias had fled from Ottoman Iraq and were given refuge by the Qajars. The war opened with a Persian invasion of Turkey in the Lake Van region, and a counter-invasion by the Ottoman Pasha of Baghdad (as Iraq belonged to the Ottoman Empire), who invaded western Persia. This invasion force was driven back across the border, but Dowlatshah's newly modernized army of 30,000 troops defeated 50,000 Ottoman troops in the Battle of Erzurum near Lake Van in 1821. Dowlatshah then led the Iranian army south and besieged the city ofBaghdad, but Davut Pasha successfully defended the city, and with the impact of a cholera outbreak, Dowlatshah was defeated. Apeace treaty in 1823 ended the war with no changes to their mutual border.
On his way back toKermanshah after besiegingBaghdad, Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah was infected with what is presumed to have been cholera in Taq-e Gara and died there.[2]
He is buried in theshrine of Imam Husayn inKarbala.[9]
Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah had 12 daughters and 10 sons.
