Hajji Mohammad Hossein Isfahani

He was born in Isfahan, Iran. In 1795 or 1796 he was named governor (beglarbegi) of Isfahan, Qom, and Kashan. In this role, Mohammad Hossein invested heavily in agriculture, which increased his own wealth and contributed to Isfahan's economic revival. In 1806 he was appointed mostowfi ol-mamalek, given the title Amin ol-Dowleh, and his son, Abd ol-Hossein Khan Isfahani succeeded him as beglarbegi. In 1809, Mohammad Hossein presented the Peacock Throne to the shah at the shah's marriage to Tarvus Khanum Taj ol-Dowleh. In 1813 he was given the title Nizam al-Dawla. In 1818, Mirza Shafi Mazandarani died and Mohammad Hossein was appointed to the position of sadr-e a'zam which he held until his death in 1823.Lambton 1991 p440Walcher 2001

File:Firman of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar, stating that on the recommendation of Muhammad Husain Khan (Sadr Isfahani), the post of deputy Minister of Isfahan and its annual salary is to be passed on, Qajar Persia, dated Jan-Feb 1822.jpg of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (reg. 1797–1834), stating that on the recommendation of Mohammad Hoseyn Khan [Sadr Esfahani], the post of deputy Minister of Isfahan and its annual salary is to be passed on to Mirza Sharif ol-Din Ahmad, whose father Mirza Mahmoud has recently died]]

Mohammad Hossein was close to Scottish diplomat John Macdonald Kinneir, whose reports play an important role in our understanding of Mohammad Hossein's career and building. Mohammad Hossein's term as governor led to the most extensive renovating and building in Qajar times. He renovated Masjid-e Jami, and Madrasa-e Abdallah. He built three madrasas, including Sadr school, built a new palace, renovating many bazaars, restoring and expanding the canal system, and enclosing slums. He removed the famous clock on the Naqsh-e Jahan, rebuilt parts of the Safavid Haft Dast palace and renovated the Bagh-e Anguristan, the Hasht Behesht, and the Talar-e Tavila. He also built a new avenue through the Khaju quarter, Chahar Bagh-e Chinarsu (aka Bagh e Now and Bagh-e Sadri). He also constructed the royal garden, Imarat-e Sadr (aka Imarat-i Naw). Mohammad Hossein was not universally praised, Rustam al-Hukama considered him an "uneducated parvenu" and claimed that Mohammad Hossein and his brothers had stolen the possessions and royal insignia of Jafar Khan Zand when Zand fled to Shiraz in 1785.Walcher 2001

Mohammad Hossein's son, Mohammad Ibrahim Khan Nazir ol-Dowleh, married one of the Fath Ali Shah Qajar's daughters (Khadijeh Soltan Begom, "Esmat-ed-Dowleh)"[http://www.qajarpages.org/fathalishahchildren.html Children of Fath Ali Shah Qajar]", History of the Qajar (Kadjar) Dynasty of Persia, The Qajar (Kadjar) Pages, accessed February 11, 2018, citing Soltan Ahmad Mirza Azod-ed-Dowleh, Tarikh-e Azodi, Nashr-e Elm, Tehran, 1376, and Kadjar Family Archives. and Khan's daughter married Husayn Ali Mirza Farmanfarma, governor of Shiraz.Walcher 2001 Khan died October 19, 1823.Afman 2008, p260

• Abdollah Khan Amin ol-Dowleh

{{Reflist}}

{{commonscategory|Hajji Mohammad Hossein Isfahani}}

• Afnan, Mirza Habibu'llah, ed. The Genesis of the Bâabâi-Bahâaâi Faiths in Shâirâaz and Fâars. Vol. 122. Brill, 2008.
• Ansari, Passim, and Abd al-Husayn Sipanta, Tarikhshan-i awqaf-i Isfahan (Isfahan, 1364/1967), 4
• Lambton, Ann SK. Landlord and peasant in Persia: a study of land tenure and land revenue administration. IB Tauris, 1991.
• {{cite journal|jstor=4311425 |title=Face of the Seven Spheres: The Urban Morphology and Architecture of Nineteenth-Century Isfahan (Part Two)|last=Walcher|first=Heidi |journal=Iranian Studies|year=2001|volume=34 |issue=1/4|pages=117–139|doi=10.1080/00210860108702000|s2cid=145640514}}

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Category:19th-century Iranian politicians

Category:1758 births

Category:1823 deaths

Category:Qajar governors of Isfahan

Category:Mostowfi ol-Mamaleks (title)

Category:19th-century Iranian architects

Category:18th-century Iranian politicians