Morad Mirza Hesam o-Saltaneh (Persian: سلطانمراد میرزا حسامالسلطنه; 1818 – 11 March 1883) was a Qajar prince, governor and military officer in 19th-century Iran. A son of the crown prince Abbas Mirza, Morad Mirza held various governorships throughout his career, including the Khorasan province five times. Morad Mirza is most notable as a commander of the Second Herat War (1856), sieging the Principality of Herat and re-establishing brief Persian control over Greater Khorasan.
He first appears in historical sources as the governor of Qaradagh during the last years of his father's life. In 1837, he was sent by his brother and suzerain, Mohammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834–1848), to suppress an uprising in the Bakhtiari region. Following the coronation of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar on 20 October 1848, Morad Mirza was assigned to suppress the Rebellion of Hasan Khan Salar in Khorasan, a power struggle within the Qajar family. Despite severe winter conditions that delayed his progress, he captured the provincial capital Mashhad in 1850, reasserting royal control after extended tribal resistance. Hasan Khan Salar and his allies were executed following the victory, and Morad Mirza was rewarded with the title "Hesam o-Saltaneh" ("Sword of the Kingdom") and the governorship of Khorasan.
Morad Mirza worked to increase Iranian influence and strengthen his alliances with the tribal leadership, establishing his authority in the towns of Sarakhs and Marv in 1852 and 1853, respectively. Herat, a frontier vassalage barely under Iranian control, became a focal point due to its contested status. When the Mohammadzai leader Sardar Kuhandil Khan marched towards Herat in the spring of 1852, the Iranian forces successfully made him retreat, and briefly controlled the citadel of Herat. Britain, which was anxious about possible encroaching Russian influence if Herat was fully incorporated into Iranian rule, forced Iran in January 1853 to accept terms that restricted its interference in Herat's internal affairs, including limiting Iranian military presence unless foreign forces attacked the area.
This agreement laid the groundwork for tensions that culminated in the Second Herat War in 1856. After overthrowing Sa'id Mohammad Khan on 15 September 1855, the Durrani prince Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza Durrani requested Iranian assistance against Kuhandil Khan's brother Dost Mohammad Khan, who had been acknowledged him as ruler of all of Afghanistan by the British partly to prevent Iranian plans for Herat. Fearing a lack of Iranian support, Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza subsequently defected to the British side. In April 1856, Morad Mirza laid siege to Herat with 30,000 troops. After months of resistance, including efforts by Morad Mirza to sow discord, Herat surrendered on 25 October 1856 due to supply shortages. Britain saw this as a violation of the 1853 agreement and declared war on Iran on 1 November 1856.
Burdened by an empty war treasury and the risk of political disaster, the Iranian government signed the Treaty of Paris on 4 March 1857, which ended the war and required Iran to leave Herat and abandon all claims to Afghanistan. After this, Morad Mirza continued to hold various administrative roles, including the governorship of the Fars province twice (1859–1861 and 1865–1868). Before he could assume his position as governor of Khorasan for the fifth time, he died and was buried in the Imam Reza Shrine.
Contents
Biography
Background and early career
Born in 1818, Morad Mirza was a member of the ruling Qajar dynasty of Iran and the thirteenth son of Abbas Mirza, who served as crown prince until his death from illness in 1832. He first appears in sources as the governor of Qaradagh during the last years of his father's life. In 1837, his brother and suzerain Mohammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834–1848) sent him to suppress an uprising in the Bakhtiari region. After the coronation of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar on 20 October 1848, Morad Mirza was given an army of 7,000 troops and tasked with suppressing the Rebellion of Hasan Khan Salar in the Khorasan province, a power struggle by the Davalu clan of the Qajars.
He shortly marched from Tehran, but due to the extreme cold and snowstorm, was unable to achieve much. The survival of his troops depended entirely on the assistance of Sam Khan Ilkhani Zafaranlu, the leader of the Kurdish Zafaranlu tribe. When Hamzeh Mirza Heshmat od-Dowleh, the governor of Khorasan, was expelled from the provincial capital of Mashhad in the winter of 1848–1849, the governments rule over Khorasan reached its lowest point. Morad Mirza first started to advance gradually in the spring of 1849, in succession capturing the towns of Torshiz, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Joveyn, Sabzevar. On June 1849, he besieged Mashhad, where Hasan Khan Salar was based. Leading leaders from the Afshar, Hazara, and Turkmen communities supported Hasan Khan Salar in the early phases of the siege. An Iranian regiment, sent to assist Morad Mirza and led by Hasan Ali Khan Garrusi, also participated in the siege.
The populace of Mashhad was so supportive of Hasan Khan Salar that even the beggars armed themselves with knives to protect the city. However, he became an unpopular figure by October 1849 due to melting down gold and silver valuables from the Imam Reza Shrine worth 22,000 toman to refill his funds. Early in 1850, Morad Mirza was informed of the complaints in Mashhad about its high food prices. Several of Hasan Khan Salar's tribal allies, including Karimdad Khan Hazara, Abbasqoli Khan Darragazi, and Uraz Khan Toqtamish Sarakhsi, let Morad Mirza's army enter Mashhad on 23 March 1850.
Hasan Khan Salar was denied shelter in the Imam Reza Shrine due to his previous harsh treatment toward several powerful clergy members, and thus surrendered to Morad Mirza. He was executed on 29 April 1850, along with his brother Mohammad Ali Khan Qajar Davalu and son Amir Aslan. On May 21, 1850, another brother, Mirza Mohammad Khan Beglerbegi, who had been captured during Morad Mirza's capture of Sabzevar, was executed in Tehran.
First term as governor of Khorasan
With Mashhad once again under royal control, Morad Mirza held the governorship of Khorasan. Due to his victory, Morad Mirza was rewarded with the title of "Hesam o-Saltaneh" ("the Sword of the Kingdom") as well as a sword and badge by Naser al-Din Shah. During his first term as governor of Khorasan, Morad Mirza worked to increase Iranian influence in Herat and along the northern border. Morad Mirza's selection of allies strengthened the tribal leadership of the Khorasani places of Quchan, Dargaz and Bojnord. Sam Khan Ilkhani, who had shown himself to be a loyal supporter of the Iranian government throughout Hasan Khan Salar's rebellion, played a crucial part in the expedition against the Turkmens in 1851, the interference in Herat in 1852, the protection of Sarakhs against the Khanate of Khiva in 1854, and the Second Herat War. Given that his father Reza Qoli Khan Zafaranlu had been a fervent opponent of the Iranian government in the late 1820s, Sam Khan Ilkhani's ascent to power was an unexpected development. Other notable tribal allies included; Abbasqoli Khan Darragazi, who would serve as the governor of the town Sarakhs and later the town of Marv; and Jafarqoli Khan Shadillu, a former ally of Hasan Khan Salar who was installed as the governor of the towns of Jajarm, Nardin and Astarabad in 1854.
Herat was the first place that caught Morad Mirza's attention. Being a frontier vassalage barely under Iranian control, it was seen by the Qajar dynasty as an integral part of the Guarded Domains of Iran. Due to widespread anti-Iranian tensions in Herat and Britain's increasing engagement in Afghanistan, Iran's rule over Herat was under heavy threat. The British East India Company advocated for Herat's autonomy as a buffer state between northwestern India, Russia and Iran, even though they had previously supported Iranian rule over the city. Uncertainty over Herat's status as an Iranian tributary influenced many developments in the early 19th century. Opportunities for interference arose with the death of its ruler, Yar Muhammad Khan Alakozai, and the ascension of his son, Sa'id Mohammad Khan, in June 1851.
Unlike his father, Sa'id Mohammad Khan could not keep the loyalty of the local leadership in check. Sardar Kuhandil Khan, the Mohammadzai leader of the city of Kandahar, put pressure on him with his military. In March 1852, he conquered the towns of Farah and Esfezar and advanced to the boundaries of Herat. The Iranian government reacted by sending two different armies, led by Sam Khan Ilkhani and Abbasqoli Khan Darragazi. Kuhandil Khan abandoned his plans for Herat and retreated to Kandahar when Iranian forces reached Herat. The citadel of Herat was then held by Sam Khan Ilkhani until the third week of May 1852, when it was returned to Sa'id Mohammad Khan. However, for an additional three months, the Iranian troops remained in the area around Herat.
Second term as governor of Khorasan
On 15 September 1855, without requesting Iranian approval or assistance, Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza overthrew Sa'id Mohammad Khan and made himself the new ruler of Herat. Around the same time, in southern and western Afghanistan, the power of the Mohammadzai was increasing. Kuhandil Khan had recently died, and thus his brother Dost Mohammad Khan—who had ruled Kabul since 1842— captured Kandahar and installed his own governor at Farah in November 1855. Before this, Dost Mohammad Khan had on 18 March 1855 signed the Treaty of Peshawar with Britain, which acknowledged him as ruler of all of Afghanistan. Part of the purpose of this deal was to prevent Iranian plans for Herat. Now fully supported by the British, Dost Mohammad Khan announced his plan to march on Herat under the guise of wanting to avenge Sa'id Mohammad Khan, who was his son-in-law.
On 11 December 1855, Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza's request for help reached the Iranian government. According to the Iranologist Christine Noelle-Karimi; "The swift reaction of the Iranian government... suggests the possibility that preparations for a move against Herat had already been under way." The newspapers in Tehran reported on the deployment of Iranian troops to Herat on 20 December 1855. It was during the winter of 1855–1856 that Morad Mirza was re-appointed as the governor of Khorasan. An army under Sam Khan Ilkhani was sent in advance to Herat in February 1856, but it was quickly ousted by the Afghan authorities, who also almost succeeded in overthrowing Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza. Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza subsequently defected to the British side due to lacking confidence in the Iranian government. On 29 March 1856, Morad Mirza captured Ghuriyan, and quickly afterwards Farah, Esfezar and Karukh.
At the start of April 1856, Morad Mirza besieged Herat with 30,000 troops. In an attempt to make the siege easier, he tried to create division among the factions in Herat. However, this made the situation even more difficult. Morad Mirza made a deal with Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza's vizier Isa Khan Bardurrani to betray him, while simultaneously being in peace talks with Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza. On 28 April 1856, Morad Mirza received Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza through the efforts of Isa Khan. However, the latter showed no willingness to give up control of Herat and who expected autonomy as part of the agreement, leading to Morad Mirza to increase the pressure on the city. Isa Khan sought assistance from the British and Russians due to feeling deceived by the Iranian government, but failed. Naser al-Din Shah and his courtiers were worried by the siege's duration. During the fifth month of the siege, Morad Mirza received a letter from Nuri, reprimanding him for the prolonged siege. On 25 October 1856, Isa Khan surrendered the city due to a shortage of supplies. Morad Mirza's boldness and the siege techniques of the French army engineer M. Buhler played a key role in the capture of Herat.
Later career and death
On 21 March 1859, Morad Mirza was appointed as the governor of the Fars province, thus succeeding Tahmasp Mirza Moayed od-Dowleh. During his term, Morad Mirza appointed Hossein-Qoli Nezam al-Saltaneh Mafi as his pishkar (private secretary/steward), which the latter would serve as until 1870. Morad Mirza held the governorship of Fars until 1861, when Tahmasp Mirza Moayed od-Dowleh was restored to the office. In April 1861, Morad Mirza was appointed as the governor of Khorasan for the third time. With his minister Mohammad Naser Khan Zahir od-Dowleh leading the military, Morad Mirza worked to manage the Turkmen threat and stabilize the region, as he had in the 1850s. The Zafaranlu tribe of Quchan continued to play an important role in fending off the Turkmen attacks, especially Sam Khan Ilkhani's half brother Amir Hossein Khan Ilkhani. In November 1863, Morad Mirza was again dismissed and summoned back to Tehran. From 1865 to 1868, Morad Mirza served as the governor of Fars for a second time. In 1870, he was given the governorship of the town of Yazd, but instead sent his son Abol-Fath Mirza Moayed od-Dowleh to manage it.
While still having the governorship of Yazd, Morad Mirza was re-appointed as the governor of Khorasan on 23 March 1871, during which he was engaged in frequent conflicts with the Turkmens. In the same year, he was dismissed as the governor of Yazd, instead being given the governorship of the city of Isfahan, which he again sent Abol-Fath Mirza Moayed od-Dowleh to manage. Morad Mirza was dismissed as the governor of Khorasan on 10 March 1872 because he openly criticized and clashed with the prime minister Mirza Hosein Khan Sepahsalar. Hossein Khan Shahsevan was appointed in his stead. In 1873, Morad Mirza was part of Naser al-Din Shah's retinue during his first trip to Europe. In 1876/77, he was given the governorship of the Kurdistan and Kerman provinces, and again sent Abol-Fath Mirza Moayed od-Dowleh to manage them in his stead. In 1881, Morad Mirza travelled to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople to ask for assistance against the rebellion of Sheikh Ubeydullah, a leader of the Kurdish branch of the Sufi order Naqshbandi. The Ottoman envoy Suleiman Pasha traveled to Iran with Morad Mirza and brought a friendly letter to improve ties between the two nations.
In February/March 1882, Morad Mirza was appointed as the governor of Khorasan for the fifth time, but died on 11 March 1883 before he could assume the position. He was 67 years old at the time of his death, and was buried in the Imam Reza Shrine.
Legacy and assessment
Morad Mirza has been praised by poets such as Malek Kalam Majdi and Monem Shirazi. At the request of Morad Mirza, the philosopher, theologian and poet Hadi Sabzavari composed the Sharh-e abyat-e moshkela-ye Masnavi, an important analysis of the challenging passages of the Masnavi by the medieval Persian poet Rumi. The Iranologist Abbas Amanat describes Morad Mirza as a "cultivated yet rambunctious prince, he was known for his Qajar pride and outspoken anti-British sentiments."