page_title: Amanollah Khan Zia' os-Soltan
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Amanollah Khan Zia' os-Soltan / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: The Iranian deputies forming the first parliament (majles), 1906. Sitting second from right is Zia' os-Soltan.
context_page_description: Amanollah Khan Zia' os-Soltan was an Iranian aristocrat and politician at Qajar court during the time of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, Mohammad Ali Shah and Ahmad Shah Qajar and hero of the Persian Constitutional Revolution.
context_section_description: In the time when Crown Prince Mozaffar ad-Din Mirza was heir apparent of Persia and had his seat of power in Tabriz, Amanollah Khan held the administrative post of Nazer ol-Ayaleh (lit. "Warden of the Province"). When in 1896 the new shah proclaimed Mozaffar ad-Din Shah (r. 1896-1906) took up residence at Tehran, Amanollah Khan came with the so-called Turki-fraction from Tabriz to Tehran, arose at court to the imperial entourage and was awarded with the title of "Zia' os-Soltan" by the shah. With his marriage to a Qajar princess - a cousin to the shah - Zia' os-Soltan was close related to the Imperial house. 
  The family lived in the 1903 newly electric illuminated Tehran district of Cheragh-Bargh (lit. "electric light"), at the Khiyaban-e Cheragh Bargh ("Avenue Electric Light"). Thus, some sources also gave Zia' os-Soltan the sobriquet Cheragh-Barghi (lit. "Coming from Tcheragh-Bargh").
  As a liberal Qajar aristocratic, a man who stood up for the politics and democracy, he was delegate of Tabriz at the first Persian National Council to Tehran, when on 15 August 1906 Mozaffar ad-Din Shah proclaimed after the Constitutional Revolution (mashruteh) reforms and a parliament (majles). Zia' os-Soltan became a leader of the constitutional wing (ejtema'iyun) ready for democratic reforms. He was also one of those Qajars notables, who supported the constitution against efforts of Mohammad Ali Shah (r. 1906-1909) for returning to absolutism in 1908.
  When Mohammad Ali Shah came to power in 1906, he feared that the European powers, especially Britain, could strengthen their influence via the parliament. However, the shah rejected his father's democratic measures and, dissolving the First Majles, reclaimed absolute power. Finally, riots broke out in Tehran and Tabriz against the government and constitutional forces rose up in both cities. On 4 June 1909 Mohammad Ali Shah, fearing for his personal safety, left Golestan Palace for Bagh-e Shah (lit. "Royal Garden"), a residence just outside the city and later a village for the aristocracy, where he would be safe under the protection of the Cossack Brigade. When the people protested against his politics, the shah demanded the Cossacks for bombarding the parliament building Baharestan (lit. "Place of Springtime").
  Then, a few days later, Zia' os-Soltan was arrested with some other political leaders and Qajar princes, too. He was  accused of being involved in a bomb assault against the shah. The only food for each prisoner a day was one round bread and cucumbers. They were denied fresh cold water and thus they were forced to drink the dirty water of a small pool. Each day their guard, a certain Soltan Bagher, would take them out eight by eight in chains, and brought them to the tribunal of interrogators. These men supporting the shah's autocratic style to rule were Moayyed od-Dowleh (the Governor of Tehran), Prince Moayyed os-Saltaneh, Seyyed Mohsen Sadr ol-Ashraf, Mir Panj Arshad od-Dowleh, Mirza Abdol Motalleb Yazdi (the editor of the royalist Adamiyat newspaper) and Mirza Ahmad Khan (the writer of the police station). The tribunal was investigating three matters and by means of torture and pressure wanted to get information about: 1) Who had thrown the bomb at the Shah? 2) Who was the founder of the anjoman (Freemason lodge) in the house of Ali Reza Khan Qajar Amirsoleimani Azod ol-Molk (a Qajar elder and the tribal head or Ilkhan, who became later regent to the young Ahmad Shah, who was suspected in plotting against Mohammad Ali Shah and replacing him with his uncle Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan)? 3) Who was giving rifles to the mojaheds? Other than that they were not interested in the events of the Majles and the Mashruteh.
  In all this they would not spare the prisoners any torture or hurt with regard to some of them in particular, especially the editor of the Rouh ol-Qodos newspaper, Soltan ol-Olama Khorasani Rouh ol-Qodos, and Zia' os-Soltan. Because these two men were suspected that they had knowledge of the background to the attempt on the shah's life, they were subjected to severe to
caption: The Iranian deputies forming the first parliament (majles), 1906.Sitting second from right is Zia' os-Soltan.
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