Aliqoli Mirza Qajar
Etezad os-Saltaneh / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aliqoli Mirza Qajar (Persian: علیقلی میرزا قاجار; 7 December 1822 – 14 December 1880) was an Iranian prince of Qajar dynasty and scholar who served as the first Minister of Science in Qajar Iran. He was the forty-seventh son of Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834), King of Iran. Aliqoli Mirza was fascinated by the European Enlightenment and tried to spread its ideals in Iran. During the heyday of the Dar ul-Funun college, he was the headmaster of the school and played a key role in its survival.
Aliqoli Mirza Qajar | |
---|---|
Etezad os-Saltaneh | |
Born | (1822-12-07)7 December 1822 |
Died | 14 December 1880(1880-12-14) (aged 58) |
House | Qajar dynasty |
Father | Fath-Ali Shah Qajar |
Mother | Gol-Pirhan Khanum |
Religion | Islam |
In 1860, Shah Naser al-Din Shah established the Ministry of Science and appointed Aliqoli Mirza as its first Minister of Science. He served for 22 years and held various other positions, such as Minister of Mines and supervisor of education and crafts. He was responsible for building Persia's first telegraph line, he ran the government printing house, and he held the governorates of Malayer and Tuyserkan. He also supervised several newspapers, such as the Ruznameh-ye Mellati and Ruznameh-ye elmiya-ye dawlat aliya-ye Iran, the first Persian scholarly journal.
While Aliqoli Mirza wrote a variety of books on topics ranging from history to astronomy, his most important scientific work was a Persian-language interpretation of Newton's theories. Other notable works that he produced or participated in the composition of include: Nameh-ye Daneshvaran, a collection of biographies of Iranian and Muslim scholars; Al-Mutanabin, the history of religions; History of events and accidents in Afghanistan, the first Persian source that recorded the Anglo-Persian War; Exir al-Tavarikh; Fitna of Báb; and his own diwan . Aliqoli Mirza died in 1880 and was buried in Ray. Although his conservative proclivities slowed his initiatives, his work nevertheless proved influential during the Iranian Enlightenment.