Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat (; 8 June 1800 – 29 June 1871) was an Iranian literary historian, administrator, and poet in 19th-century

Qajar Iran 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 peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

Biography

Hedayat was born 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. ...

on 8 June 1800 to a renowned family which was descended from the prominent 14th-century lyric-poet Kamal Khujandi. In his

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

work, Hedayat sometimes referred to himself as "Hedayat Mazan-darani", "Tabari", or "Tabarestani" due to his father Mohammad-Hadi Khan having served the

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 ...

tribal leaders in

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

. Mohamad-Hadi Khan oversaw the finances and employees of the Qajar household under

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as Shah. Originally a chieftain of the Quwanlu branch of t ...

. Under

Fath-Ali Shah Qajar Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (; 5 August 1772 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irrevocable ceding of Iran's northern territories in the Caucasus, com ...

, he served as a provincial administrator in Khorasan and later Shiraz. He died in 1803, While working for the Qajar prince

Hossein Ali Mirza Hossein Ali Mirza (; 26 August 1789 – 16 January 1835), a son of Fath-Ali Shah (1797–1834), was the Governor of Fars and pretender to the throne of Qajar Iran. As governor, Ali Mirza restored Shah Cheragh, following its devastation in a 17 ...

as a

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

. Upon the completion of his education, Reza-Qoli Khan entered the service of Hossein Ali Mirza son of Fath Ali Shah and governor of

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

. He was given the title of Khan and of Amir-ol Sho'ara in 1830, when Fath Ali Shah visited

. In 1838 he came back to

. Mohammed Shah instructed him to remain at the court and in 1841 selected him as tutor to his son Prince

Abbas Mirza Molk Ara Abbas may refer to: People * Abbas (name), list of people with the name, including: **Abbas ibn Ali (645–680), popularly known as ''Hazrat-e-Abbas'', the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the first imam in Shia Islam) **Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (567 ...

. In 1847 he was appointed governor of

Firuzkuh Firuzkuh () is a city in the Central District of Firuzkuh County, Tehran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 15 ...

Mission to Khiva

In 1851, he was chosen by

Naser al-Din Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (; ; 17 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. During his rule there was internal pressure from the people of Iran, as well as external ...

to lead the Embassy to

Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...

. Relations between Iran and

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by th ...

were at this time strained by mutual distrust, the Khan of Khiva having been accused of supporting the Salar Revolt and conducting raids on Northern Khorasan some years prior. He was minister of education in 1852 and principal of the newly founded Dar-ol-fonoon College at

. In 1857, he was selected as tutor of Mozaffar al-Din Shah. He died from a severe illness in 1871. He has two sons,

Ali Qoli Khan Mokhber ed-Dowleh Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and ...

and Ja'afar Qoli Khan Nayer-ol-Molk. Reza Qoli Khan was great-grandfather of Sadeq Hedayat.

Works

*''Farhang-e anjomanārā-ye nāṣeri'' (a Persian dictionary) *''Madārej al-balāḡa dar ʿElm-e Badiʿ'' (on Persian

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

) *''Majmaʿ al-foṣaḥā'' ("The meeting place of the eloquent") *''Rawżat al-ṣafā-ye nāṣeri'' *''Riāż al-ʿārefin'' ("The gardens of the Mystics") *''Tārix-e Rawżat al-ṣafā-ye nāṣeri'' (on history) He also wrote a

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

containing 50,000 distichs and six

Mathnawi Mathnawi ( ), also spelled masnavi, mesnevi or masnawi, is a kind of poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically "a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines". Most mathnawi poems follow a Meter (poetry), meter of eleven, or o ...

References

Sources

* Hedayat, Reza Qoli Khan Hedayat, Reza Qoli Khan 1800 births 19th-century Persian-language poets 19th-century Persian-language writers Iranian governors 19th-century Iranian poets Iranian biographers People from Mazandaran province People of Qajar Iran Qajar literature {{Iran-bio-stub