Mirza Ali Asghar Khan (; 6 January 1858 – 31 August 1907), also known by his honorific titles of Amin al-Soltan and Atabak, served as Prime Minister 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 ...

from 1887 to 1896 under Naser ed-Din Shah Qajar, from 1898 to 1904 under Mozaffar ed-Din Shah Qajar and from May 1907 until his assassination in August 1907 under Moahammad Ali Shah Qajar.

Early life

Ali Asghar was born on 6 January 1858. He was the second son of Agha Ebrahim, an influential court minister of Georgian origin. When Ali Asghar was 15 years old, he began helping his father in politics. The next year, Ali Asghar and his father accompanied Naser al-Din Shah to his

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

to the holy

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

cities of

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya (, ) or Kadhimayn () is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad. As th ...

, and

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

. When Ali Asghar returned to his native Tehran, he was promoted to commander of the royal escort cavalry, and in the following years continued to rise to higher offices, eventually being promoted to the treasurer of the army. After the death of his father in 1883, he received the latter's honorific title "Amin al-Soltan" and became the Justice Minister. A few years later he received the title of " Atabak" and took over the post of Prime Minister.

Exile and return

After Naser's assassination in 1896, Ali Asghar helped by securing the throne and its secure transfer to his son,

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907) was the fifth Qajar shah of Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906, which he approved of in ...

. In November 1896, Ali Asghar was dismissed from his prime minister office by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. Ali Asghar then initially retired to

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

, later traveled through

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and then emigrated to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

.The administrative and social history of the Qajar period. Vol. II. Mazda Publishers, 1997, p. 378. During the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in I ...

, the new

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 ...

shah

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (‎; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925) was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty and remained the Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 until being deposed on 16 July 1909. He was furthermore the grandson of Iran’s early mod ...

invited Ali Asghar back to Iran. Although Ali Asghar had many who opposed him, he also had supporters in major Iranian cities such as

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

, and his native Tehran. He was shortly appointed by Mohammad Ali Shah as the Prime Minister of Iran. At the time of Ali Asghar's re-appointment as prime minister, Iran was in chaos: the state owed money to the people who served them;

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

n rivalry over Iran; Ottoman incursions on the west Iranian borders; and devastating rebellions. Ali Asghar managed to quickly stop the Ottomans, and also tried to make stability fix the financial problems in Iran. Ali Asghar was assassinated in the front of the

Iranian Parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

on 31 August 1907.

References

Sources

* Rahimi, MalekMohammad. Gorji haye Iran. Esfahan: Yekta, (2000). (The Georgians of Iran) * Cyrus Ghani: ''Iran and the rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule''. I. B. Tauris, London u. a. 1998, , S. 78. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amin-al-Sultan, Ali Asghar Khan 1858 births 1907 deaths Iranian people of Georgian descent Politicians from Tehran Prime ministers of Iran People of the Persian Constitutional Revolution Assassinated Iranian politicians 19th-century Iranian politicians 20th-century Iranian politicians Members of the 1st Iranian Majlis Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath People of Qajar Iran Politicians assassinated in the 1900s Burials at Fatima Masumeh Shrine

Early life

Exile and return

See also

References

Sources