page_title: Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873
section_title: The book
hierarchical_section_title: Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873 / The book
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustrated London News - 28 June 1873 - The Shah at the Royal Italian Opera
context_page_description: The Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873 has been written by Naser al-Din Shah while on his tour through the European continent in 1873, during the zenith of European imperialism. The book was translated into English by James Redhouse in 1874. It is the first of three diaries written by Naser al-Din Shah, who was King of Persia from 1848 until 1896, corresponding to his three tours through Europe respectively in 1873, 1878 and 1889. In the 1873 diary, Naser al-Din Shah relates his travel departing from Tehran and he describes his travel through the countries of Russia, Prussia, Germany, Belgium, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Georgia. The book has been criticized for its long and very detailed descriptions.
context_section_description: The diary is written in the first person; the Shah is directly communicating with his readers. He uses a relatively dry style of writing. Indeed, while oriental works of literature are usually written with numerous ornamentations of diction, the diary of the Shah is written in a very simplistic style. 
  The diary is full of passionate and enthusiastic phrases that Naser al-Din Shah uses to express the various feelings that he had when discovering the novelty of European lands. He paid constant attention to the natural scenery, but also to the development of agriculture, commerce or industry and to European mechanical skills. He visited numerous museums, zoos and botanical collections, and he made extensive comments on them in his diary. He also visited many factories, public establishments, hospitals, and schools. He regularly went to the theatre and to the opera. Besides, the Shah notably attended the 1873 World's fair in Vienna, where Persia had a pavilion of which the Shah was very proud.
  
  On his tour, Naser al-Din Shah met a great number of important officials, monarchs, aristocrats, dignitaries, princes, and notably Queen Victoria and Tsar Nicholas II. Along the diary, he emphasizes the cordiality by which the European monarchs have welcomed him. Private meetings, excursions, balls, and official receptions were indeed organized for him. The Shah thus carefully relates in his diary the numerous parties and sumptuous ceremonies to which he has been formally conveyed and which have been held in his honor. 
  The book has been criticized for its extremely lengthy and repetitive descriptions. The diary indeed includes long descriptions of the physiognomy of Europeans and of the background, genealogy or status of the people that the Shah met.  The book also contains highly detailed accounts of the cities and of the European landscape. The Shah puts considerable emphasis on the distances between the towns and cities, on the road and on lodging. The book has also been dismissed for its extremely long descriptions of theater, operas, parties, or train travels. In contrast, the diary is entirely void of descriptions of the European economic or political structures. There are only vague and random allusions to diplomatic discussions, and the Shah makes no analyses or introspections. As a consequence, the diary has been considered as being of “little literary value”. Some authors have even asserted that the diary was pointless as a historical document.
  The translation of the book by James Redhouse is based on a highly censored version of the diary of the Shah. Less censored versions have been published in the 1990s in Persia. However, these versions have not been translated into English or any European language. These uncensored versions contain many passages that are not part of the book published by the Qajar court in 1874, such as very personal or critical comments about European royalty, descriptions of women, sexual encounters, etc.
caption: Illustrated London News - 28 June 1873. The Shah at the Italian Royal Opera
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