Fakhr-ol-dowleh

Fakhr-ol-dowleh
Princess Ashraf al-Muluk
Born1883
Tabriz, Iran
DiedDecember 1955 (aged 71–72)
Tehran, Iran
SpouseMohsen Amin-ol-dowleh
IssueHossein Amini
Gholamhossein Amini
Mahmoud Amini
Ali Amini
Mohammad Amini
Ahmad Amini
Abul-Qasem Amini
Reza Amini
Masoumeh Amini
DynastyQajar
FatherMozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar
MotherSarvar os-Saltaneh

Princess Ashraf al-Muluk (Persian: اشرف‌الملوک; 1883–December 1955), titled Fakhr-ol-Dowleh (فخرالدوله) was one of the most prominent daughters of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty.[1] She had a reputably strong character, to the point that she was even willing and able to confront Reza Shah for her patrimony and right.

She married Prince Mohsen, Amin ol dowleh junior, whose father, Mirza Ali Khan, Amin ol dowleh senior, was a prominent prime minister under the Qajars, often condemned for acting indecisively towards foreign powers, specifically Britain.

She took control of her husband's huge wealth, together with that of her own inheritance from his father, and managed to make his family the most financially powerful in the country. Most of the district of Elahieh in Tehran belonged to her. She also introduced taxis for the first time in Tehran, white Fiats that slowly replaced old horse carriages during the 1950s.

Her son, Ali Amini, briefly became a Prime Minister of Iran under Mohammad Reza Shah, and after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 led an opposition movement against the Islamic republic in Paris.

  1. ^ Eminent Persians: The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979, Volumes One and Two. Syracuse University Press. August 2022. ISBN 978-0-8156-5617-3.