Mohammad-Vali Khan, Khalatbari Tonekāboni (Persian: محمدولیخان تنکابنی; 1846 – 18 September 1926), known as Sepahdar A'zam, was the leader of the constitutionalist revolutionary forces from Iran's Northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran and known as one of the greatest statesmen and military commanders of Persian history as well as its wealthiest nobleman.[1]
He served as colonel for ten years and became Minister of Post and Telegraph as well as Minister of Customs where he was in charge of all imports into and exports out of the Persian empire. Later he became Minister of Treasury where he was singlehandedly in charge of the entire country's coin issue. He also held the title of Minister of Defence and was Prime Minister for four terms. His highest military title was Commander in Chief.[2] He was of the noble Khalatbari family.[3]
As an ethnic Persian, Sepahsalar Khalatbari was the only leader who was able to restore security inside Persia by controlling the ethnic Turkomans inside the kingdom.[1] He was called upon many times by not only the various sectors of the Persian government but also by the Russians to suppress the Turkomans. His enormous wealth with income estimated at US$2 million/year in the early 1900s[1] (the equivalent of $530 million/year in 2000[4]) allowed him to be the chief financier of the Persian Empire where he would use his property as collateral for loans the kingdom obtained from Russia and Britain.[5]
Commemorative poster (3 x 4 m2) pertaining to the conquest of Tehran by the Constitutional Revolutionaries in July 1909. The two men on horse are Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsālār-e A'zam-e Tankāboni), and Sardar As'ad.
In 1909 he was given the title Sepahdar Azam and was sent by then King Mohammad Ali Shah to crush the Azerbaijani constitutionalist uprising in the northwest headed by Baqer Khan and Sattar Khan. He arrived in Azerbaijan but refused to fight the constitutionalist forces deeming it "fratricide". Instead he returned to Tonekabon and due to his genius military skill and national democratic following became the leader of the constitutionalist and anti-royalist forces, the same forces he was sent to crush. As their new leader he first occupied the city of Qazvin and then marched onto Tehran.
During his march to Tehran the Russian foreign ministry in Saint Petersburg sent a telegram to the Russian Embassy in Tehran stating: "Please inform His Excellency Sepahdar Azam that if he and his army peacefully march on Tehran and then proceed to the house of Saad al Dowleh, then on the authority of this telegram, Sepahdar Azam and all his relatives and kin will be placed in the protection of the Tsarist government."[6]
Sepahdar Azam (Khalatbari Tonekaboni) wrote back "The Russian government believes I have done all this for my own personal gain. For Iran's freedom and independence and as a Shia Muslim I have to obey Najaf Religious leaders decree to help and support constitutionalist forces."
Rejecting the Tsarist government's request, he continued his march and forced the royalists in Tehran to surrender. King Mohammad Ali Shah fled and sought refuge in the Russian embassy, then left Persia altogether. He accepted the title of Sepahsalar (Commander in Chief). Sepahsalar-e Khalatbari Tonekaboni became Minister of Defence in the first constitutionalist government that followed dethroning of King Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar in 1909. He subsequently became Prime Minister of Iran four times. As the largest property owner in Persia his noble "Khan" status allowed him to rule several fiefdoms in Gilan and Mazandaran provinces, including the city and regions surrounding Tonekabon.
Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni continued to fight the religious clerics' attempts to create a theocracy as well as the ruling establishments attempts to continue a monarchy. He took frequent trips to France to learn the French system of representative democracy.
With the advent of the Pahlavi dynasty and the Reza Khans, imposed by the British in the 1920s, Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni was placed under increased political pressure.[7] Much of his property was seized by the new government in an attempt to control his wealth and his power. His favorite son, Colonel Ali Asghar Khan, killed suspiciously in Lashkarak Hunting-ground.
On July 16, 1926, Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni committed suicide. His last note, written to his eldest son Amir Asad, read: "Amir Asad, right away take my body to the shrine for cleansing and burial next to my son Saad al Dowleh. Do it now. For after living eighty years no mourning or tears are needed for me."
^ abcMajd, Mohammad Gholi (2000), "Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran", University Press of Florida, pp. 45–46
^"Constitutionalist Movement of Iran" (PDF). amu.ac.in. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
^KAMALY, HOSSEIN. God and Man in Tehran: Contending Visions of the Divine from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic. Columbia University Press, 2018. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/kama17682. Accessed 16 June 2023.
^Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2000
^"History of Iran. Constitutional Revolution". iranchamber.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
^Tafreshi, Poupak (1 January 2010). The struggle for freedom, justice, and equality: The history of the journey of Iranian women in the last century (MA thesis). Washington University in St. Louis. doi:10.7936/K7XP730D.
^Shuster, Morgan (1912) The Strangling of Persia, Unwin Publications
SourcesEdit
Cyrus Ghani: Iran and the rise of Reza Shah. From Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule. I. B. Tauris, London u. a. 1998, ISBN1-86064-258-6, S. 78.
mohammad, vali, khan, khalatbari, tonekaboni, mohammad, vali, khan, khalatbari, tonekāboni, persian, محمدولی, خان, تنکابنی, 1846, september, 1926, known, sepahdar, leader, constitutionalist, revolutionary, forces, from, iran, northern, provinces, gilan, mazand. Mohammad Vali Khan Khalatbari Tonekaboni Persian محمدولی خان تنکابنی 1846 18 September 1926 known as Sepahdar A zam was the leader of the constitutionalist revolutionary forces from Iran s Northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran and known as one of the greatest statesmen and military commanders of Persian history as well as its wealthiest nobleman 1 Sepahsalar e Khalatbari Tonekaboniسپهسالار تنکابنی9th Prime Minister of IranIn office 30 September 1909 25 July 1910MonarchAhmad Shah QajarPreceded byJavad Sa d al DowlehSucceeded byMostowfi ol MamalekIn office 12 March 1911 26 July 1911MonarchAhmad Shah QajarPreceded byMostowfi ol MamalekSucceeded byNajaf Qoli Samsam al SaltanehIn office 5 March 1916 29 August 1916MonarchAhmad Shah QajarPreceded byAbdol Hossein FarmanfarmaSucceeded byVosough od DowlehPersonal detailsBorn1846Tonekabon IranDied18 September 1926 1926 09 18 aged 80 Tehran IranResting placeImamzadeh SalehPolitical partyModerate Socialists Party Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 SourcesBiography EditHe served as colonel for ten years and became Minister of Post and Telegraph as well as Minister of Customs where he was in charge of all imports into and exports out of the Persian empire Later he became Minister of Treasury where he was singlehandedly in charge of the entire country s coin issue He also held the title of Minister of Defence and was Prime Minister for four terms His highest military title was Commander in Chief 2 He was of the noble Khalatbari family 3 As an ethnic Persian Sepahsalar Khalatbari was the only leader who was able to restore security inside Persia by controlling the ethnic Turkomans inside the kingdom 1 He was called upon many times by not only the various sectors of the Persian government but also by the Russians to suppress the Turkomans His enormous wealth with income estimated at US 2 million year in the early 1900s 1 the equivalent of 530 million year in 2000 4 allowed him to be the chief financier of the Persian Empire where he would use his property as collateral for loans the kingdom obtained from Russia and Britain 5 nbsp Commemorative poster 3 x 4 m2 pertaining to the conquest of Tehran by the Constitutional Revolutionaries in July 1909 The two men on horse are Mohammad Vali Khan Sepahsalar e A zam e Tankaboni and Sardar As ad In 1909 he was given the title Sepahdar Azam and was sent by then King Mohammad Ali Shah to crush the Azerbaijani constitutionalist uprising in the northwest headed by Baqer Khan and Sattar Khan He arrived in Azerbaijan but refused to fight the constitutionalist forces deeming it fratricide Instead he returned to Tonekabon and due to his genius military skill and national democratic following became the leader of the constitutionalist and anti royalist forces the same forces he was sent to crush As their new leader he first occupied the city of Qazvin and then marched onto Tehran During his march to Tehran the Russian foreign ministry in Saint Petersburg sent a telegram to the Russian Embassy in Tehran stating Please inform His Excellency Sepahdar Azam that if he and his army peacefully march on Tehran and then proceed to the house of Saad al Dowleh then on the authority of this telegram Sepahdar Azam and all his relatives and kin will be placed in the protection of the Tsarist government 6 Sepahdar Azam Khalatbari Tonekaboni wrote back The Russian government believes I have done all this for my own personal gain For Iran s freedom and independence and as a Shia Muslim I have to obey Najaf Religious leaders decree to help and support constitutionalist forces nbsp Nikolai Baratov right and Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni left at the Caucasus frontRejecting the Tsarist government s request he continued his march and forced the royalists in Tehran to surrender King Mohammad Ali Shah fled and sought refuge in the Russian embassy then left Persia altogether He accepted the title of Sepahsalar Commander in Chief Sepahsalar e Khalatbari Tonekaboni became Minister of Defence in the first constitutionalist government that followed dethroning of King Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar in 1909 He subsequently became Prime Minister of Iran four times As the largest property owner in Persia his noble Khan status allowed him to rule several fiefdoms in Gilan and Mazandaran provinces including the city and regions surrounding Tonekabon Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni continued to fight the religious clerics attempts to create a theocracy as well as the ruling establishments attempts to continue a monarchy He took frequent trips to France to learn the French system of representative democracy With the advent of the Pahlavi dynasty and the Reza Khans imposed by the British in the 1920s Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni was placed under increased political pressure 7 Much of his property was seized by the new government in an attempt to control his wealth and his power His favorite son Colonel Ali Asghar Khan killed suspiciously in Lashkarak Hunting ground On July 16 1926 Sepahsalar Khalatbari Tonekaboni committed suicide His last note written to his eldest son Amir Asad read Amir Asad right away take my body to the shrine for cleansing and burial next to my son Saad al Dowleh Do it now For after living eighty years no mourning or tears are needed for me See also EditSardar As ad Bakhtiari Bagh e FerdowsReferences Edit a b c Majd Mohammad Gholi 2000 Resistance to the Shah Landowners and Ulama in Iran University Press of Florida pp 45 46 Constitutionalist Movement of Iran PDF amu ac in Retrieved 12 June 2023 KAMALY HOSSEIN God and Man in Tehran Contending Visions of the Divine from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic Columbia University Press 2018 JSTOR http www jstor org stable 10 7312 kama17682 Accessed 16 June 2023 Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2000 History of Iran Constitutional Revolution iranchamber com Retrieved 12 June 2023 Tafreshi Poupak 1 January 2010 The struggle for freedom justice and equality The history of the journey of Iranian women in the last century MA thesis Washington University in St Louis doi 10 7936 K7XP730D Shuster Morgan 1912 The Strangling of Persia Unwin PublicationsSources EditCyrus Ghani Iran and the rise of Reza Shah From Qajar collapse to Pahlavi rule I B Tauris London u a 1998 ISBN 1 86064 258 6 S 78 Political officesPreceded byJavad Sa d al Dowleh Prime Minister of Iran1909 1910 Succeeded byMostowfi ol MamalekPreceded byMostowfi ol Mamalek Prime Minister of Iran1911 Succeeded byNajaf Qoli Samsam al SaltanehPreceded byAbdol Hossein Farmanfarma Prime Minister of Iran1916 Succeeded byVosough od Dowleh Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mohammad Vali Khan Khalatbari Tonekaboni amp oldid 1172920715, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
