30 Facts About Sayf ol-Dowleh

Soltan Mohammad Mirza better known by his honorific title Sayf ol-Dowleh was an Iranian prince of the Qajar dynasty and the thirty-ninth son of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, the second shah of Qajar Iran.

Sayf ol-Dowleh was the governor of Isfahan between 1820 and 1835 and contributed to its restoration after the damage it suffered during the civil war between the Zand dynasty and Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, rebuilding several Safavid pavilions and designing his own palace.

Sayf ol-Dowleh suppressed the Jihad, but Isfahan was damaged again and a famine followed.

Sayf ol-Dowleh spent his days traveling and died in 1899 in Malayer.

Sayf ol-Dowleh's mother, Taj ol-Dowleh, was a Georgian concubine and later wife of Fath-Ali Shah.

Until the end of his regency, Sayf ol-Dowleh improved his writing skills, spending time in a literary circle which included the philosopher Zayn al-Abidin Shirvani, the poet Nezam Vafa Arani, and Mohammad Bagher Shafti, an influential cleric of the time, who became the regent of Sayf ol-Dowleh after the death of Yusef Khan.

Sayf ol-Dowleh seized power and ended Shafti's regency, although he later pardoned him, principally because of his influence over the city.

Sayf ol-Dowleh began to reform Isfahan, which had suffered economic and agrarian decline since the fall of the Safavids.

Sayf ol-Dowleh built the Tekiyah of the Prince's mother in honour of his childhood wet nurse, Maryam and restored the Vank Cathedral in order to secure his popularity among the Armenian residents of the city.

Sayf ol-Dowleh continued his reforms by restoring the city's barren farms, and arresting the outlaw groups that posed a constant threat to the lands adjacent to the city.

Sayf ol-Dowleh ordered the addition of several fountains and gardens to the Char Bagh Palace, where in 1831 he married Bahar Khanum, daughter of a chief of the Shahsevan tribe.

Apart from rebuilding the old pavilions and palaces, Sayf ol-Dowleh designed the Serpouchideh Palace, which included four ponds, a garden, a coffeehouse and a zoorkhaneh.

Sayf ol-Dowleh's plans for reforming the city were disrupted by the heavy taxes Fath-Ali Shah demanded, which was a result of prince-governors of other provinces refusing to pay their own taxes.

Towards the later years of his administration, Sayf ol-Dowleh was in a power struggle with Mohammad Bagher Shafti over the city.

Sayf ol-Dowleh tried to dilute Shafti's influence over Isfahan by empowering communities such as the Sufis and the Christians.

Sayf ol-Dowleh ordered him to teach Sufi traditions to citizens, and encouraged conflicts between Shias and Sufis.

Sayf ol-Dowleh revoked the harsh rules against Christians and restored their place in society, letting them practise their beliefs.

Sayf ol-Dowleh requested a large number of troops from Tehran to confront Shafti.

Sayf ol-Dowleh took Sayf ol-Dowleh's mother hostage and detained her for three years in Tehran.

Sayf ol-Dowleh was ousted from the government of Isfahan on the orders of Haji Mirza Aqasi, the grand vizier of the Shah, who, for unknown reasons, distrusted Sayf ol-Dowleh and persuaded Mohammad Shah to dismiss him.

Sayf ol-Dowleh even offered solutions to the problems of equipment for the artillery.

Sayf ol-Dowleh suggested the use of a particular kind of white and very hard stone for manufacturing cannons, which were used later in the campaign.

In 1848 Naser al-Din Shah ascended the throne, and Sayf ol-Dowleh began a long journey which he recorded in a travelogue.

Sayf ol-Dowleh's first stop was in Baghdad, where he stayed for six years.

Sayf ol-Dowleh deeply regretted his failure to complete the various initiatives he had commenced while governing Isfahan.

Sayf ol-Dowleh however abandoned his titles and went on another journey across Iran.

Sayf ol-Dowleh visited Mashhad, Isfahan, Kashan, and Qazvin, where he settled until 5 March 1872, when Naser al-Din Shah appointed him as the Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi.

Sayf ol-Dowleh ordered the expansion of the Imam Reza Shrine library, adding extensive numbers of shelves made of pine wood.

Sayf ol-Dowleh then retired from government and settled in Malayer.

Sayf ol-Dowleh died in 1899, leaving no children of his own to pay for his funeral.