AN OFFICIAL LETTER FROM MOHAMMAD MIRZA TO HIS UNCLE ALLAHYAR KHAN ASAF AL DOWLEH
Qajar Iran, dated 1242 AH (1826 - 7 AD)

AN OFFICIAL LETTER FROM MOHAMMAD MIRZA (THE FUTURE MOHAMMAD SHAH, R. 1834-48) TO HIS UNCLE ALLAHYAR KHAN ASAF AL DOWLEH, THEN PRIME MINISTER OF FATH ALI SHAH QAJAR (R. 1769-1834)
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ENGLISH BIBLIOPHILE
Qajar Iran, dated 1242 AH (1826 - 7 AD)

Persian manuscript on paper, 16ll. of black shikasteh nasta’liq script, continuing diagonally to the right-hand margin and culminating at the top, seal impression to the top right, laid on card, in narrow pink and green borders, mounted, framed and glazed, the folio 33.2cm x 17.7cm, 52.5cm x 35.5cm including the frame.

Provenance: Purchased by the present vendor at Christie's London in 1998.

The present missive is in response to a letter from the king of Persia, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, delivered to the prince by the prime minister, regarding the military plans and preparations for the last major Russo-Persian military conflict (19 July 1826 - 22 February 1828) leading to the disastrous Treaty of Turkmenchay.

Given the overwhelming anti-Russian feelings in Iran at the time, and the Jihad fatwa issued against them by the prominent cleric Agha Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai, coupled with Britain’s persistent advice to Fath Ali Shah to reconquer territories lost to Russia in the Gulistan Treaty (October 1813), the ill-advised war seemed inevitable. The courage of the named individuals, Mostafa Khan, Hajji Khan, and Hossein Khan, and their loyalty to the king under the command of Abbas Mirza is beyond doubt. The document, in direct reply to the king’s de facto order of attack, is a remarkable testament to their courage in a grim predicament.

Dimensions: the folio 33.2cm x 17.7cm, 52.5cm x 35.5cm including the frame