# Gowhar Qajar

Gowhar Qajar (Persian: گوهر قاجار; died circa 1901), also known as Hajieh Gowhar (حاجیه گوهر), was a writer, poet, and calligrapher of the Qajar era who was also familiar with astronomy. She was known by the title Shams al-Shu'ara (شمس‌الشعراء; lit. Sun of the Poets). She is recognized as one of the first female astronomers in Iran and the author of the book Gowhariyeh.

## Biography

Gowhar lived in Isfahan during the reigns of Mohammad Shah and Naser al-Din Shah and was knowledgeable in various sciences, including astronomy. Her mother was Tayghun Khanum, the daughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, and her father was Musa Khan Qavanlu. Gowhar was bold and skilled in poetry, especially in composing odes, which was a remarkable feat in that male-dominated era. She honed her poetic talents in the school of Qa’ani, adopting the Iraqi style in her odes, the Saadi style in her ghazals, and sometimes following the style of Hafez.
The themes of her poems, which were compiled in a book titled Divan-e Gowhar or Gowhariyeh, mostly revolved around the praise of Shia Imams, Naser al-Din Shah, and her mother, Malek Jahan Khanom. Gowhariyeh contained 6,000 verses in various forms, including odes, ghazals, quatrains, qit'ahs, and mathnawis. This book was published in Isfahan in 1941 (1320 AH) by order of Ahmad Khan Fateh and was penned by Esmaeil bin Ahmad Khansari.
In the preface of her poetry collection, which was published in Isfahan in 1902 (1320 AH) with the support of Ahmad Fateh al-Molk, it is mentioned that Malek Jahan Khanom, the mother of Naser al-Din Shah, requested her to compose a poem in praise of Fatimah and recite it at a gathering held for that occasion. Her success, described in the text as eloquence and fluency, led to her fame, and Naser al-Din Shah bestowed upon her the title "Shams al-Shu'ara" (Sun of the Poets).
The text states that she no longer composed poetry after Malek Jahan Khanom. It also mentions that she was alive until 1901 (1319 AH) when her collection of poems was handed over to the publisher.Since in this preface, the author, Gowhar Qajar, is mentioned using the past tense, her death likely occurred a year before the book's publication and almost simultaneously with the submission of the work to Fateh al-Molk in 1901.

## Resources

* 1 2 Dehkhoda, Ali Akbar: Dehkhoda Dictionary (Digital version, https://dehkhoda.ut.ac.ir) based on the 15-volume physical edition published in 1998. Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute and the International Center for Persian Language Studies, University of Tehran, 2020.
* ↑ "۱۰۰ زن نخست ایران در حوزه‌های مختلف" [The First 100 Iranian Women in Various Fields.]. BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2013-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
* ↑ Hejazi, Banafsha. Tazkerah Andaruni. p. 192.
* ↑ "Gawhariyah". Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran.
* 1 2 3 4 Khayrat-é Hésan. Etemad al-Saltaneh. 1928 (1307 AH).
* 1 2 3 Athar Afarinan. Vol. 1 and 6. Cultural Heritage and Honors Organization.
* 1 2 Azod od-Dowleh, Soltan-Ahmad Mirza (1997). Tarikh-e Azodi (in Persian). Elm Pub. ISBN 9786005696325.
* ↑ Farhi, Houman (2003). Encyclopedia of Iranian Women. First Edition. Center for Women's Participation Affairs, Presidential Office. p. 793. ISBN 9789645515407.
* 1 2 Rouhangiz Karachi (2006). Constitutional Era and Women Poets. Rudaki.
* 1 2 "قصیده‌ای که مادر ناصرالدین شاه را متحول کرد" [The Ode That Transformed Naser al-Din Shah's Mother.]. IRNA (in Persian). 2019-12-12.
* 1 2 3 4 5 Journal of Academic Library and Information Studies, Issue 19, February 1992. Author: Mafi, Abbas.
* 1 2 3 4 "Shams al-Shu'ara, Gawhar. Gohariyah." Harvard.