Anis al-Dawla

Anis al-Dawla (Persian: انیس‌الدوله) (c. 1842 – 1896) was a royal consort of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar of Iran (r. 1848–1896).^[1]

Anis al-Dawla انیس‌الدوله
Portrait of Anis al-Dawla by Kamal-ol-Molk
Imperial consort of Qajar Iran
Born	Ca. 1842 Ammameh, Qajar Iran
Died	1896 Tehran, Qajar Iran
Spouse	Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
House	Qajar
Religion	Islam

Life

She was born ca. 1842^[2] and was the daughter of an impoverished shepherd from Ammameh in Lavāsān, northeast of Tehran,^[1] and was employed as a free maidservant to Jeyrān in the Qajar harem in 1859. She became the favorite of the shah after Jeyrān's death in 1860.

Photograph of Anis al-Dawla

She was the only consort to take meals with Nāṣer-al-dīn, a unique privilege,^[3] and to join him regularly at bedtime after he received visits from other wives. She was also the only one to openly criticise him and organise political opposition to government policies that she disagreed with.^[4] While the shah had other favorites, such as her own servant Amina Aqdas, she remained his main favorite. He granted the Shahrastanak Palace to her.^[3]

She had a great desire to visit the West. In 1873, she did accompany the Shah on his visit to Moscow; however, she was forced to interrupt the visit and return after it became apparent that the host governments was not able to manage the protocol around secluded veiled women. She blamed prime minister Mirza Hosein Khan Moshir od-Dowleh, for her interrupted journey, and managed to have him deposed from his post.^[1]

In the harem, she took precedence over all other eighty-five wives (only four of whom were actual wives, the rest of whom being concubines, since a Muslim man can only have four wives). She took over the duties of the shah's mother, Malek Jahan Khanom, after her death in 1873,^[1] and was given revenue from districts rather than a salary like the other women. She received the wives of heads of foreign legations and visiting dignitaries.^[1] Her influence over the shah resulted in her receiving many appeals from supplicants.

She died soon after Naser al-Din Shah's assassination in 1896.^[2]

Gallery

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  Anis al-Dawla and her retinue (ca. 1870–1880)
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  Photograph of Anis al-Dawla
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  Photograph of Anis al-Dawla, 1893