Amanullah Mirza Qajar (; ; Azerbaijani Əmənulla Mirzə Bəhmən mirzə oğlu Qovanlı-Qacar) (1857—1937) was a

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

prince. He was also an

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

n and Azerbaijani military commander, obtaining the rank of Major General.

Early life

Amanullah Mirza Qajar was born on January 8, 1857, in the city of Shusha in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(modern day Azerbaijan.) He was the 17th son of Prince Bahman Mirza Qajar of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

by one of the latter's junior wives. Like all descendants of Bahman Mirza, he bore the title of Prince of Persia () in the Russian empire.

Career

Russian Army

Amanullah entered military service on July 19, 1879, in the 164th Zagatala Infantry Regiment. In 1883, he was promoted to

podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

. On November 20, 1886, he was transferred to the 2nd plastun Battalion of the

Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

. On May 9, 1902, Amanullah was promoted to yesaul. On April 16, 1909, he became starshina of the army and the commander of the 9th Battalion of the Kuban ''plastun''.

First World War

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Amanullah fought on the Austrian front. He was awarded the Order of St. Anne 2nd Class with swords, the Order St. Vladimir 3rd Class with swords, and the Order St. Stanislaus 3rd Class. On April 25, 1915, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Because of a severe leg wound, Amanullah was sent to the rear for treatment. In 1916, he returned to the front. Along with his battalion, he fought near the village of Marhonovka. Amanullah captured the enemy trenches and destroyed the enemy's manpower. During the operations on November 5, 1916, he was awarded the Saint George Sword. He received the rank of Major General in 1917. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

, he lived in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

and

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

After the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

(ADR) created its first army as a newly established state, Amanullah filed a report on 1 December 1918, to the newly established Ministry of War with a request of admission to their armed forces. In March 1919, he was a part of the emergency diplomatic mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan and participated in the Iranian government in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. He served as chairman of the central military service presence. On January 27, 1920, Major General Amanullah was appointed as the deputy chief of the 1st Infantry Division of the ADR and head of the garrisons in

Khankendi Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in the region. The city is located in a valley on ...

and

. He participated in fighting the attacks of the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

armed forces on the military units of the ADR on 22–23 March 1920.

Iran

After the fall of the ADR in connection with the repression of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

, Amanullah was forced to leave for

. Living in Tehran, he taught at the military school and participated in the formation of the Iranian army. He was a deputy of the

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

(Parliament) of Iran, and the chairman of the society of the Iranian-Soviet friendship. He died in 1937 in Tehran.

References

Sources

* * Азербайджанская Демократическая Республика (1918—1920). Армия. (Документы и материалы). — Баку, 1998 * Азербайджанская Демократическая Республика (1918—1920). Внешняя политика. (Документы и материалы). — Баку, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Qajar, Amanullah Mirza 1857 births 1937 deaths Military personnel from Shusha Amanullah Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Russian people of Iranian descent Azerbaijani military personnel of the Armenian–Azerbaijani War (1918–1920) Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Imperial Russian Army generals Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Iran Azerbaijani nobility Azerbaijani emigrants to Iran Members of the National Consultative Assembly Generals of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Azerbaijani people of Iranian descent Bahmani family Azerbaijani generals