| Fath-Ali Shah Qajar فتحعلی شاه قاجار | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Kings[1] Khan of Khans[1] | |||||
 Portrait by Mihr 'Ali, between 1809 and 1810 (Hermitage Museum) | |||||
| Shah of Iran | |||||
| Reign | 17 June 1797 – 23 October 1834 | ||||
| Predecessor | Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar | ||||
| Successor | Mohammad Shah Qajar | ||||
| Grand viziers | |||||
| Born | May 1769 Damghan, Zand Iran | ||||
| Died | 24 October 1834 (aged 65) Isfahan, Qajar Iran | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Numerous wives, including Taj ol-Dowleh, Kheyr-ol-Nessa Khanom, Sanbal Baji, Badralensa Khanum and Maryam Khanom | ||||
| Issue Detail | Mohammad Ali Mirza Abbas Mirza Ziaʾ al-Saltaneh Hossein Ali Mirza | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Qajar | ||||
| Father | Hossein Qoli Khan | ||||
| Mother | Agha Baji | ||||
| Religion | Shia Islam | ||||
| Tughra |  | ||||
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (Persian: فتحعلىشاه قاجار, romanized: Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) 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, comprising what is nowadays Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1804–1813 and 1826–1828 and the resulting treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay.[2] These two treaties are closely tied to Fath-Ali Shah's legacy amongst Iranians, who often view him as a weak ruler.[3]
Fath-Ali Shah successfully revamped his realm from a mostly Turkic tribal khanship into a centralized and stable monarchy based on the old imperial design.[2] At the end of his reign, his difficult economic problems and military and technological liabilities took Iran to the verge of governmental disintegration, which was quickened by a consequent struggle for the throne after his death.[4]
Under Fath-Ali Shah, many visual portrayals of himself and his court were created in an effort to commend the crown. The notable ones include rock reliefs next to the ones erected under the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire (224–651) in Ray, Fars and Kermanshah. This was done so that he could represent himself as heir to the ancient Persian empire to his countryfolk and the generations that followed.[4]
- ^ a b Amanat 1997, p. 10.
- ^ a b Dowling, Timothy C. (2014). Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-948-6., page 728
- ^ Mousavi 2018.
- ^ a b Amanat 1999, pp. 407–421.