Farrokh Khan | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Farrokh Khan, made by his cousin Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk in c. 1851 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1812 Qajar Iran |
| Died | 5 May 1871 Qajar Iran |
| Resting place | Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom |
| Children | Mohammad Ebrahim Ghaffari Mehdi Ghaffari Qa'em-Maqam |
| Relatives | Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari (granduncle) Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk (cousin) Abu Torab Ghaffari (cousin) Kamal-ol-molk (cousin) |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Persian |
| Notable works | Makhzan ol-Vaqaye |
Farrokh Khan (Persian: فرخ خان; 1812 – 5 May 1871), also known as Amin ol-Dowleh (امینالدوله), was a high-ranking Iranian official from the Ghaffari family. Between 1855–1857, he served as the Iranian ambassador to the French court in Paris, where he assisted in signing the Treaty of Paris, thus ending the losing Anglo-Persian War and withdrawing the Iranian army from Herat.
Farrokh Khan began his career at the court as a personal assistant to the Qajar shah (king) Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834). In 1833, he took part in the siege of Herat under the crown prince Abbas Mirza and later suppressed uprisings in Mazandaran, Isfahan, and Gilan. He documented the Iranian army's actions during the 1838 siege of Herat and became the national tax collector in 1850. Appointed as the personal treasurer of Naser al-Din Shah in 1854, he was given the title of Amin ol-Molk in 1856. Farrokh Khan negotiated with British diplomats in Paris during Iran's conflict with Britain over Herat and later signed the Treaty of Paris in 1857, which ended the war and required Iran to leave Herat and abandon all claims to Afghanistan. He also established diplomatic ties with the United States, engaged with European nations, and promoted educational progress by persuading Naser al-Din Shah to send 42 students abroad to Europe.
Over the course of his over two-year diplomatic mission, Farrokh Khan instructed his secretary Hoseyn Sarabi to assist him in writing a diary of his trips, titled Makhzan ol-Vaqaye ("The Treasury of Events"). Initially unpublished, this travelogue caught the attention of the Qajar Shah and other Iranian court members, and eventually became crucial for historians exploring the international politics of that period. Scholars have found Farrokh Khan's interactions with Western dignitaries, including Napoleon III, Leopold I of Belgium, and Queen Victoria, along with his detailed diplomatic narratives, to be of high importance.
In Tehran, Kashan, and other places, Farrokh Khan led various building projects, including the Aminoddole Carvansarai in Kashan, which has been described as "a splendid example of Persian architecture." He died from a heart attack on 5 May 1871, and was buried in the Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom.