Iranian princess Anis al Dolyah: a man or a woman in the photo, what is known about the life of the princess. Books recommended by feminists

Last time we talked about the three main favorites of the Shah, in this issue we will continue to get acquainted with the family of the ruler of Iran. Nasser ad-Din Shah had more than a dozen daughters, I will tell you about the life of four princesses.

Princess Esmat al-Dawla

Her mother was also of royal blood, Esmat had a strong and independent character, she became the first Iranian woman to learn to play the piano. She loved literature and tried herself in this field.

Very young Esmat (left) next to her older sister and father (find the shah)

Esmat in his youth

Esmat often wore clothes in European style. Take a look, Esmat in a white dress is leaning on the balustrade, a gazebo can be seen in the distance, and a dog is crouching at her feet - a direct example of European painting.

Princess Esmat al-Dawla

Esmat had two sons and two daughters.

Esmat with his mother* and little daughter Fakhr al-Taj (Shah's granddaughter)

Esmat al-Dawla with his daughter (Shah's granddaughter) Fakhr al-Taj

Esmat is engaged in literature

Princess Esmat al-Dawla

She died of malaria in 1905

Mourning for Esmat

Turan Agha Fakhr al-Daula and Mist Agha Forug al-Daula - Shah's daughters

The youngest of the princesses (they are sisters, from the same mother **), Fakhr (1862 - 1892), was interested in art, read a lot, wrote poetry and wrote down for us her father's favorite story Amir Arsalan, which they told the Shah before going to bed. Fakhr adored the Shah and often accompanied him on trips around the country, and being apart, she maintained constant correspondence with her father.

Turan Agha Fakhr (left) and Mist Agha Forug (right)

Turan Agha Fakhr died at a very young age from tuberculosis. Contemporaries noted the refined and refined beauty of the Shah's daughter.

Turan Agha Fakhr

The eldest - Forug (1850-1937) also wrote poetry, she gave birth to three sons and four daughters. At the beginning of the 20th century, she became actively interested in politics and participated in constitutional activities.

Forug al-Dawla

Laila Khanum (Shah's wife, left), Fakhr al-Daula (left) and Forug al-Daula (center)
(Laila Khanum is not the mother of the sisters, their mother** had already died by that time)

Forug al-Dawla (center) dressed as a dervish

hilarious moment - one of the shah's daughters and his grandson

Anis-al-Daula (first from the left in the bottom row), Forug (third from the left in the bottom row) hugs one of the Shah's wives Laila Khanum, Fakhr (third from the left in the second row)

Taj al-Saltana or Zahra Khanom Taj es-Saltane (1884 - 25 January 1936)
- the most famous daughter of Nasser ad-Din Shah from his wife Turan es-Saltane.

Zahra Khanom Taj es Saltane

Taj es-Saltane is a beauty, a feminist, a writer who left memories of life at the court of her father and after his murder.
The memoirs have come down to us in an incomplete copy, and this is the only evidence of this kind authored by a woman from the royal family of Iran at that time.

Taj's early childhood memories are full of bitterness. She was brought up by nannies, governesses and mentors, was separated from her mother, whom she saw only twice a day. If the father was in Tehran, then once a day, usually around noon, her a short time brought to see him. In his memoirs, Taj mentions the need for close contact with the mother and the benefits of breastfeeding.

At the age of seven, a girl receives elementary education at the royal school, but in 1893 she was forced to leave school and study with private tutors, some of whom she mentions in detail in her book. The style and content of the memoirs betrays her familiarity with Persian and European literature and history. She was also taught how to play the piano and tar, painting and the art of embroidery.

Zahra Khanom Taj es-Saltane as a child

When Taj was eight, negotiations began for her marriage. At the beginning of 1893, at the age of nine, Taj es-Saltana was engaged to Amir Hussein Khan Shodzha-al-Saltane, in December of the same year a wedding contract was signed. The groom, too, was still a child "probably about eleven or twelve." But the marriage was not consummated, the couple celebrated the wedding only in 1897, a year after the assassination of Nasser ad-Din Shah, when the Taj was thirteen years old.

Unknown artist, Zahra Khanom Taj es-Saltan in European dress

All marriages of women from the royal family were for reasons of profit, there was no talk of love. However, Taj was looking forward to the marriage, hoping to gain relative independence. married woman. After the murder of her father, all the royal wives with children were transported to one of the residences of Sarvestan, where Taj es-Saltana felt almost like a prisoner.

Taj advocates marriage for love, criticizing contractual unions in which well-being is not taken into account at all married couple. In the first years of their married life, she and her husband were teenagers still playing children's games, and the young wife was offended by her husband's neglect, which began almost immediately after wedding night. Like most men from noble Qajar families, Hussein Khan had many lovers - men and women; and Taj justifies her own flirting and affairs as revenge for her husband's neglect and infidelity. Aref Qazvini, Iranian poet, composer and musician is the most famous of the men mentioned in the memoirs. He dedicated beautiful daughter his shah famous poem"Ey Taj".

Taj gave birth to four children - two sons and two daughters, but one boy died in infancy.

Zahra Khanom Taj es-Saltan with children

Taj also mentions a dangerous abortion undertaken after she found out about her husband's venereal disease. Ironically, the physical and emotional consequences of the abortion were considered manifestations of hysteria - a diagnosis that granted her the freedom to leave her home: "Doctors ordered to go outside in order to unwind ... due to illness, I was provided with some mitigation of the usual domestic confinement."

She spoke about the interest of her contemporaries in Europe and wrote in her memoirs: "I madly wanted to go to Europe." But, unlike her older sister Akhtar, she never managed to go there. While writing her memoirs in 1914, she tried to commit suicide three times.

Taj es-Saltan

A troubled first marriage eventually ended in divorce in December 1907. Taj does not discuss any subsequent marriages in his memoirs, but as mentioned, the manuscript is incomplete. Her free association with men and her romantic (or even sexual) relationships with them, created her reputation as a "free woman" (she was considered a prostitute).

Taj es-Saltan

In March 1908, Taj remarries, the marriage lasted only a few months, and in July 1908 a divorce followed. In more later years Taj es-Saltane became actively involved in constitutional and feminist activities. Along with some other women of the royal family of Iran, she was a member of the Women's Association during the Constitutional Revolution in Persia 1905-1911. and fought for women's rights.

In 1909, she marries for the third time, it is not known how this marriage ended, but in 1921 Taj describes herself as a single, unmarried woman.

Memories paint us a deeply unhappy life, and a series of letters written by Taj to various prime ministers in the early 1920s in order to restore her pension testifies to her financial difficulties.

Taj es-Saltan

In 1922, Taj accompanied one of her daughters to Baghdad, where her son-in-law, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed. She died in obscurity, probably in Tehran in 1936.

to be continued

* - Princess Khojasteh Khanom Qajar "Tadj al-Dowla," aghdi
** - Khazen al-Dowla, sigheh

Sources:

Women in Iran from 1800 to the Islamic Republic, Lois Beck, Guity Nashat, University of Illinois Press, 2004

Liminalities of Gender and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Iranian Photography: Desirous Bodies by Staci Gem Scheiwiller, Routledge, 2016

Sexual Politics in Modern Iran by Janet Afary, Cambridge University Press, 2009

Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, Farzaneh Milani, I.B.Tauris, 1992

Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896, Abbas Amanat, I.B.Tauris, 1997

The Encyclopaedia Iranica

Photos of the Iranian princess, the wife of Shah Nasser Qajar, continue to excite impressionable and naive Internet users. Hundreds, if not thousands of articles have been devoted to her, discussing the tastes and preferences of the Shah, who lived almost two hundred years ago.

Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar

The Shah of Iran, who ruled the country for 47 years, was the most educated person in Iran, who knew several languages, loved geography, drawing, poetry, and the author of books about his travels. At the age of seventeen, he inherited the throne, but he could only take power with the help of weapons. He was an extraordinary person who managed to carry out small, from the point of view of our time, but significant for his time, reforms in the country.

As a literate person, he understood that only an educated and developed Iran would be able to exist on an equal footing with other countries in this world. He was a fan European culture, but he realized that the religious fanaticism that raged in the country would not allow him to turn his dreams into reality.

Nevertheless, much was accomplished during his lifetime. A telegraph appeared in Iran, schools began to open, the army was reformed, a French school was opened, a prototype of the future university, where they studied medicine, chemistry, and geography.

Nasser Qajar Theater

Nasser Qajar knew perfectly well French, was familiar with French culture, in particular with the theater, but he was first of all the Shah of Iran, a Muslim. Therefore, his dream of a full-fledged theater could not come true. But he, together with Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, creates a state theater, the troupe of which consisted of men. In the photos of the actors, you can see the famous "Iranian princess Anis al Dolyah." Yes, this is a princess, but not a real one, but performed by a male actor.

The Iranian theater did not play productions from the life of the people. His satirical repertoire consisted entirely of plays describing the court and social life. All roles were played by men. This is not an isolated case. Remember kabuki, where only men play. True, they played in masks, and it was hardly possible to see their fused eyebrows and mustaches. By the way, thick, fused eyebrows among the inhabitants of Arab and Central Asian countries have always been considered a sign of beauty, both for women and men.

Founder of Iranian theater

Head of the first state theater was a well-known person in Iran Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered the founder of the Iranian theater. All roles were played by men, only after 1917 were women allowed to be actresses and participate in performances.

Old photos

Nasser ad-Din was fond of photography from his youth. He had his own laboratory, where he personally printed pictures. He photographed himself, he had a French photographer who took pictures of him. In the late sixties of the XIX century, the Sevryugins brothers open their studio in Tehran, one of them - Anton - becomes a court photographer.

He removed everything, Sevryugin helped him in this. He kept photos of his wives, close associates, theater artists, his trips, solemn meetings, military operations in the palace safe. After the Iranian revolution, all his archives were declassified, and the pictures fell into the hands of journalists. Who is depicted in these photographs is now difficult to say. Do not rely on the Internet. Signatures for the same photos on different sites differ dramatically. Their reliability is highly questionable.

On one German site, an interesting commentary came across to an article about Nasser al-Din, which was sent by a resident of Iran. He writes that the khan did not like women, therefore, in order to look like men and thereby please the shah, they painted mustaches on themselves. It is difficult to say how true this is, but it partially explains the clearly male faces in women's clothes and the fact that an outside man (photographer) takes pictures of the khan in a circle

Who is Iranian Princess Anis

Anis al Dolyakh is most likely the name of the heroine of a play that was played out with some acting characters By different situations(accidents from life). Something like modern TV series. Each actor played one role for many years.

Shah Nasser Qajar had an official wife, Munir Al-Khan, who bore him children, including his heir, Mozafereddin Shah. She was from a noble and influential family with considerable power. There is no doubt that the Shah had a harem. But who lived in his harem, it is impossible to say for sure now.

Photos of the Shah's concubines

Photos of the Iranian princess al Dolyah and the Shah's concubines, posted on the Internet, are most likely pictures of theater artists or excerpts from plays. Coming to any theater, we see in its foyer the composition of the troupe in photographs, where you can often see actors made up, that is, excerpts from their roles.

Let's not forget that the shah was a supporter of everything European, but remained a Muslim dictator who did not tolerate any dissent. Departure from the norms of the Koran (in this case photographing women with bare faces) would alienate thousands of his devoted subjects. This would not fail to take advantage of his enemies, of whom he had plenty. He was assassinated more than once.

Shah visited many European countries, including Russia. He was fascinated by Russian ballet. He could not stage something like this in his country, so he creates a play about it, dressing the Iranian princess Anis (photo below) and other alleged women in ballet tutus. By the way, the shah wrote books about his travels, which were published in Europe and Russia. Perhaps he also wrote plays for his theatre.

What does the name Anis mean?

Why does an Iranian princess have such strange name It is no coincidence that it was during the reign of Shah Nasser ad-Din that two religious rebels who dared to recognize the Koran as obsolete were shot. This is the founder new religion, called Babism, Baba Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, as well as his ardent follower and assistant Mirza Muhammad Ali Zunuzi (Anis). There is a legend that during the execution, carried out by a detachment of 750 Christians, Baba, in a strange way, ended up in his cell, and Anis was not touched by bullets.

It is the name Anis that is satirical iranian princess. Each time it caused laughter and bullying. By dressing your opponent in women's clothing, which in itself is a shame for a Muslim, the Shah took revenge on those who went against the Koran. We do not know the names of other "inhabitants" of the Shah's harem, maybe they can also tell a lot. Of course, these are only assumptions, what really happened, we will never know.

Recently, an incredible "beauty" struck the Internet. A photo of an Iranian princess, whose name was Anis al Dolyah, appeared on the Web. It is known that the fourth Shah of Iran, Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, photographed his wives with an open face, and thanks to this, information about the beauty of that time has come down to our days.

IN Lately By social networks many photographs of Iranian princesses swept through, which are accompanied by an explanatory text, which says that this is a symbol of the beauty of Iran in those years.
And many, probably, believed in the very specific tastes of the Iranian ruler Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, because these princesses are attributed to his harem.
But did oriental beauties really look like that?

What is known about the biography of the princess
Anis al-Dolyah was the beloved wife of the fourth Shah of Iran, Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, who ruled from 1848 to 1896. Nasser had a huge harem of wives, whom he, contrary to the laws of Iran of that time, photographed with open faces. It is thanks to Nasser al-Din's passion for photography and his easy attitude to strict rules modern world learned about the ideals of beauty in Western Asia in the 19th century.

Anis al-Dolyakh was considered the most beautiful and sexy woman of that era. The fat lady with fused eyebrows, thick mustaches and a tired look from under her brows had almost 150 fans. However, Anis belonged only to the Shah. For admirers unearthly beauty al-Dolyah could only dream of her, it became known to comandir.com. Some men, by the way, could not come to terms with the evil fate and laid hands on themselves because of the unrequited love that tormented their hearts.
In 19th-century Iran, a woman was considered beautiful if she had abundant facial hair and was very fat. The girls from the harem were specially fed a lot and were practically not allowed to move so that they would gain weight. Anis al-Dolyakh met all the standards of attractiveness of that time.

Curious fact. Once, Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, during a visit to St. Petersburg, visited a Russian ballet. The Shah was so impressed with the ballerinas that upon arrival home he ordered all his numerous wives to have skirts resembling tutus sewn on. Since then, the Nasser spouses have walked exclusively in short fluffy skirts, round the clock opening their husband's eyes to mouth-watering folded legs.

What's the catch?
why are these women so different from the concept of beauty of the time, which we could read about and even see in films?
In fact, these are not Iranian princesses, not the wives of the Shah and ... not women at all! These photographs depict the actors of the first state theater created by Shah Nasreddin, who was a great admirer of European culture. This troupe played satirical plays only for courtiers and nobility. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater.

The plays of that time were played only by men, since until 1917 Iranian women were forbidden to perform on stage. That's the whole secret of the "Iranian princesses": yes, this is the Shah's harem, but in a theatrical production.

As a literate person, he understood that only an educated and developed Iran would be able to exist on an equal footing with other countries in this world. He was a fan of European culture, but he realized that the religious fanaticism that raged in the country would not allow him to turn his dreams into reality.

Nasser Qajar Theater

Nasser Qajar knew French perfectly, was familiar with French culture, in particular with the theater, but he was, first of all, the Shah of Iran, a Muslim. Therefore, his dream of a full-fledged theater could not come true. But he, together with Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, creates a state theater, the troupe of which consisted of men. In the photos of the actors, you can see the famous "Iranian princess Anis al Dolyah." Yes, this is a princess, but not a real one, but performed by a male actor.

The Iranian theater did not play productions from the life of the people. His satirical repertoire consisted entirely of plays describing court and social life. All roles were played by men. This is not an isolated case. Remember japanese theater kabuki where only men play. True, the Japanese actors played in masks, and it was hardly possible to see their fused eyebrows and mustaches. By the way, thick, fused eyebrows among the inhabitants of Arab and Central Asian countries have always been considered a sign of beauty, both for women and men.

Founder of Iranian theater

Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, a well-known person in Iran, who is considered the founder of the Iranian theater, was the head of the first state theater. All roles were played by men, only after 1917 were women allowed to be actresses and participate in performances.

Old photos

On one German site, an interesting commentary came across to an article about Nasser al-Din, which was sent by a resident of Iran. He writes that the khan did not like women, therefore, in order to look like men and thereby please the shah, they painted mustaches on themselves. It is difficult to say how true this is, but it partially explains the clearly male faces in women's clothes and the fact that an outsider (photographer) takes pictures of the khan in a circle of masculine women.

Who is Iranian Princess Anis

Anis al Dolyakh is, most likely, the name of the heroine of a play that was played out with the same acting characters in various situations (accidents from life). Something like modern TV series. Each actor played one role for many years.

Photos of the Shah's concubines

Let's not forget that the shah was a supporter of everything European, but remained a Muslim dictator who did not tolerate any dissent. Deviating from the norms of the Koran (in this case, photographing women with open faces) would alienate thousands of his devoted subjects from him. This would not fail to take advantage of his enemies, of whom he had plenty. He was assassinated more than once.

What does the name Anis mean?

Why does an Iranian princess have such a strange name Anis? This is no coincidence, it was during the reign of Shah Nasser ad-Din that two religious rebels who dared to recognize the Koran as obsolete were shot. This is the founder of a new religion, called Babism, Baba Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, as well as his ardent follower and assistant Mirza Muhammad Ali Zunuzi (Anis). There is a legend that during the execution, carried out by a detachment of 750 Christians, Baba, in a strange way, ended up in his cell, and Anis was not touched by bullets.

It is the name Anis that the satirical Iranian princess bears. Each time it caused laughter and bullying. By dressing his opponent in women's clothing, which in itself is a shame for a Muslim, the shah took revenge on those who went against the Koran. We do not know the names of other "inhabitants" of the Shah's harem, maybe they can also tell a lot. Of course, these are only assumptions, what really happened, we will never know.