Sattar Khan (, , October 20, 1866 – November 17, 1914), honorarily titled Sardār-e Melli ( meaning ''National Commander'') was a pivotal figure in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and is considered a national hero by the Iranian people.

Biography

Early life

Sattar Khan was born in Sardar Kandy, of Iranian Azerbaijani origin, some time in 1868. He was the third son of Haj Hasan Bazzaz, from the Qaradagh. During his childhood, his eldest brother, who had become a highway robber, was executed by the authorities. The family later moved to

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

where Sattar himself came into conflict with the law when he tried to find a hideout for two Caucasian fugitives to whom his father had given shelter. He was incarcerated for two years in Narin Qalʿa, a notorious local prison. Afterwards he too became a brigand and was subsequently imprisoned again. He also served in the gendarmerie controlling the main road between Khoy and Marand, and for a while found employment as part of the armed escort to the crown prince Mozaffar-al-Din Mirza and was given the title of "khan" (which means "sir" in the

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

). Later, after a period in Tehran, he headed an auxiliary troop fighting Turkmen highway robbers near

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

Revolutionary

Sattar Khan had close ties to the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He rose from obscurity to head Constitutionalist rebels from the Amirkhiz district of

. By 1907, he had become a favored leader of the rebels. After shelling the Majles (parliament) of Iran in the capital

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. ...

, 40 thousand of Mohammad Ali Shah's soldiers were ordered to attack Tabriz, where Constitutional rebels were holding out. In June 1908, under the leadership of Sattar Khan, a High Military Council was established. Sattar Khan was appointed the Commander in chief of High Council, Bagher Khan as his deputy, and Ali Musyo, Haji Ali and Seyed Hashem Khan as other notable members. Sattar khan and Bagir khan

By April 1909, the Tabriz rebels had lost a large number of their fighters in driving out royalist forces from the city. Taking into account Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan's heroism during the battle, Sattar Khan was honored by the title of "Sardar-e Melli" (, "National General") and Bagir khan "Salar-e Melli" (, "National Leader") by the order of the Assembly. The early victories of the rebels in Tabriz greatly influenced other Constitutionalists across Iran. Special committees with the name of "Sattar Khan" were established in

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 ...

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 ...

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and other cities. Sattar Khan's reputation also led to the powerful Bakhtiyari tribal leaders to throw in their lot with the Tabriz rebels.

Most of the cities of Azarbaijan province were cleared of royalist military forces by October 1908. Mohammad Ali Shah authorized the reopening of the Majles in Tehran in order to try and placate the opposition. The Second Majles was held in December 1908. It ordered a plaque of honor with images of Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan carved on it in gold as a token of appreciation for their services. The strengthening of revolutionary power in the wake of the Tabriz victory frightened not only 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 ...

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

but also his allies, Russia and Great Britain. In March 1910, Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan set out for the capital Tehran with 300 pro-

Moderates Moderate is an ideological category which entails Centrism, centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical politics, radical or extremism, extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religi ...

soldiers, where they were greeted by large numbers of supporters April 3, 1910. Sattar Khan and his warriors camped out in Atabek Park, where they refused to obey the Shah's order to disarm. The Shah's troops and police forces led by Yeprem Khan (Davidyans), head of Tehran police, launched a brief but violent confrontation on the night of August 7, 1910, and succeeded in surrounding and disarming Sattar Khan's forces. About 30 warriors were killed and Sattar Khan was wounded in his leg – remaining disabled until his death at the age 48, on November 9, 1914.Houri Berberian, ''Armenians and the Iranian constitutional revolution of 1905-1911: "the love for freedom has no fatherland"'', Westview Press, 2001. (p. 154). He was buried in the famous Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine cemetery in Shahr-e Ray, just outside Tehran.

Legacy

Sattar Khan is remembered in Iran as the heroic leader of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and is the subject of poems and songs.

References

External links