Hossein Ali Mirza

Hossein Ali Mirza (Persian: حسین‌علی میرزا, romanized: Ḥosayn-ʿAlī Mīrzā; 26 August 1789 – 16 January 1835), a son of Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834), was the Governor of Fars and pretender to the throne of Qajar Iran.

As governor, Ali Mirza restored Shah Cheragh, following its devastation in a 1795 earthquake. He opened the tombs of the Achaemenid shahs to obtain gold, but found them empty. During his rule, the city of Shiraz was subjected to high taxation and low security. Ali Mirza gained independence from the government of Hajji Mohammad Hossein Isfahani, rented Bushehr ports to the British and stopped paying taxes after 1828, thus going 200,000 tomans in tax arrears to the crown.

After Fath-Ali Shah's death, Prince Mohammad Mirza was crowned shah as Mohammad Shah Qajar, but Ali Mirza formerly as the fifth in line for the throne, led a revolt and entitled himself as Hossein Ali Shah. After two months he was defeated in Shiraz by Manuchehr Khan Gorji. On the orders of Mohammad Shah, Ali Mirza was blinded and imprisoned in Ardabil, where he died of cholera in January 1835.

Born on 26 August 1789 in Amol, Hossein Ali Mirza was the fifth son of Fath-Ali Shah. His mother was Badr Jahan Khanom, daughter of Qader Khan, amir of an Arab tribe settled in Bastam. In November 1799 Ali Mirza married the daughter of Amir Guna Khan Za‘faranlu, Khan of a Kurdish tribe in Quchan. In the same year he was appointed governor of Fars.

Ali Mirza appointed Cheragh Ali Khan Navai, a loyal servant to Fath-Ali Shah and commander of 800 to 1000 musketeers from Nur, Mazandaran, as his vizier. Cheragh Ali, regarded as the ablest of the Prince-Governor's ten viziers, served for Ali Mirza until his recall in 1805 as a result of various charges made by the people of Fars against him. He was replaced by Naser Allah Khan Qaraguzlu, who was dismissed in 1808.

The next vizier, Mohammad Nabi Khan, increased the price of bread in Shiraz; this led to a massive riot and an appeal by the rioters to a Shaykh al-Islām of Fars who issued a fatwa ordering the killing of Nabi Khan's most notorious extortioner, Mirza Hadi Fasai. The revolt was calmed when Ali Mirza ordered the price of bread brought down, the bakers getting bastinadoed. Shortly afterwards, Hajji Mohammad Hossein Khan Amin al-Dowla, a Mostowfi ol-Mamalek (treasurer), came to Shiraz to investigate the provincial finances. Nabi Khan was dismissed, tortured and his wealth confiscated. Over time Amin al-Dawla's influence increased to the extent that he secured Ali Akbar Qawam al-Mulk's appointment as Mayor (Kalantar) of Shiraz, over Ali Mirza's opposition.

In his 20s, Ali Mirza's authority increased, and he independently made an agreement with the East India Company, though he was less interested in governing than playing chovgan (polo). He was indifferent to the safety of his subjects; his palace was well-protected, but the city walls were broken and there was no encircling ditch.

Along with Mazandarani musketeers, Ali Mirza had troops of common tribes including Khamseh, but they were not always loyal. For example, Wali Khan Mamassani and his men robbed travellers on the roads throughout Fars even though he had an alliance through marriage between his daughter and Ali Mirza's son, Timur Mirza. Shiraz was beset by high taxes, poor public safety, and fatwas from Ulama that caused a large amount of violence against Jews. Meanwhile, Ali Mirza increased his influence in the Persian Gulf; he was effectively independent from the government of Hajji Mohammad Hossein Isfahani and negotiated to rent Bushehr ports to the British. In 1827 he had a conflict with Oman which ended peacefully.