Anoushiravan Mirza


Prince Anoushiravan Mirza "Zia' od-Dowleh" "Amir Touman" was a Persian prince of the Qajar dynasty that ruled Iran 1785-1925. He became a well known politician at the imperial court at Tehran and popular governor of the Iranian province of Semnan in the late 19th century.

Life and Career

Anoushiravan Mirza also written Anushirvan Mirza was born on 19 August 1833 at Ardabil, Iran, and died on 23 October 1899 in Tabriz after suffering from apoplexy and paralysis, bur. at Shusha, Karabakh. He was the first-born and eldest son of Prince Bahman Mirza, the almighty governor-general of Azerbaijan in the time of Mohammad Shah Qajar. His mother was Bahman Mirza's first chief wife Princess Malek Soltan Khanom, daughter of Prince Mohammad Taghi Mirza "Hessam os-Saltaneh".
After Bahman Mirza fell out of favour at court in Tehran and exiled to Russia in 1848 his wives and children followed him to Russian occupied Caucasus province of Karabakh. But shortly after 1850 Anoushiravan Mirza moved back to Iran. And when his cousin Nasser al-Din Shah pardoned Bahman Mirza in 1872, finally Anoushiravan Mirza was rewarded with several governmental offices. In 1873 he became governor of Turshiz, 1878 governor of Talesh, later 1881-1882 governor of Tabriz, 1884-1886 and 1898-1899 of Semnan, Damghan and Shahrud, 1888-1889 governor of Borujerd and Lorestan. In 1891 he had the vizierate of the province of Kermanshah on behalf of the almighty governor and commander-in-chief of his time Hassan Ali Khan Garrousi “Amir Nezam”. He also received the title of Zia' od-Dowleh - which that he became well-known - and the military rank of Amir Touman by Nasser al-Din Shah.
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Thomas Stevens 1887 told in his travel-diary Around the World on a Bicycle:
Prince Anoushiravan Mirza married in 1850 as his first and chief wife his cousin Badie ol-Jamal Khanom, daughter of Mohammad Hassan Khan Iravani by Princess Mahrokhsar Khanom "Fakhr od-Dowleh". Secondly he married the daughter of Prince Amir Teymur Mirza Hessami, son of Mohammad Taghi Mirza "Hessam os-Saltaneh".
He issued two sons and two daughters: