Early life

Born on 26 August 1789 in Amol, Hossein Ali Mirza was the fifth son of Fath-Ali Shah. His mother was Badr-e Jahan Khanum, 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.^[3] In the same year he was appointed governor of Fars.^[4]

Rule in Fars

Ali Mirza appointed Cheragh Ali Khan Navai, a loyal servant to Fath-Ali Shah and commander of 800 to 1000 musketeers^{[lower-alpha 1]} from Nur, Mazandaran, as his vizier. Cheragh Ali, regarded as the ablest from 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.^[3]

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.^[3] 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,^[3] over Ali Mirza's opposition.^[6]

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^[3] than playing chovgan (polo).^[7] 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.^[3]

Along with Mazandarani musketeers, Ali Mirza had troops of common tribes including Khamseh,^[8] 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.^[3] 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.^[9]

By 1830, discontent with his rule had weakened his authority, and the Khans of Dashtestan demanded more power in Fars and openly defied him.^[1] Their rebellion was not meant to depose Hossein Ali Khan, but to restore the power of those khans that had had influence during Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi's administration.^[1] Ali Mirza sent troops to stop the rebels, but those defied him, too. To stay in power, he asked for British aid. The rebels were defeated by British troops, the khans lost all of their power, and Ali Mirza gained full control of Fars.^[10]

Attempt to gain throne

Ali Mirza did not want to be involved in Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, even though Abbas Mirza asked for help.^[10] With the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Abbas Mirza's popularity as crown prince waned. Ali Mirza stopped paying taxes and expelled the Shah's representatives.^[11]

In 1833, the death of Abbas Mirza gave Ali Mirza an opportunity to claim the throne. Ali Mirza was the fifth son of Fath-Ali but had a non-Qajar mother, which made him an unacceptable candidate. The Treaty of Turkmenchay recognized Abbas Mirza as crown prince; after his death the Russian Empire supported Mohammad Mirza, his eldest son, as the next ruler. Since all of the Shah's eldest sons (including sons of non-Qajar mothers such as Dowlatshah) were dead, Ali Mirza thought that choosing Mohammad Mirza as crown prince would deprive him of his rights and surrender to Russian demands.^[12] For these reasons, Ali Mirza sought to take the throne.^[3] He searched for allies; his negotiations with the British Empire and the Ottomans were unsuccessful.^[13] He then tried to consolidate his hold on Kerman^[14] and negotiated with tribal leaders of the Bakhtiaries and Lurs, but failed in both.^[13] In 1834, Ali Mirza defeated a local revolt led by Mohammad Zaki Khan; historians believe this revolt was fomented to increase Ali Mirza's prestige.^[15]

Revolt

In October 1834, Fath-Ali Shah died on his way to Fars to collect the 200,000 tomans tax arrears from Ali Mirza.^[3] When news reached Tehran, Ali Shah Mirza, eighth son of the deceased Shah and Mayor of Tehran, proclaimed himself king with the support of the British. He was defeated by Mohammad Shah and Mirza Abu'l-Qasem Qa'em-Maqam in a battle near Tehran.^[16][17]

Ali Mirza ordered Khutbahs to proclaim him as the new king of Iran and struck coins in his name as "Hossein Ali Shah Qajar".^[3] In Fars, this claim was unacceptable to the tribal khans who had once lost their power to him. The public viewed Ali Mirza as a cruel and ruthless ruler, and his claim to the throne was not supported by tribal leaders or the people in his court.^[14] In December 1834, he sent an army under the command of his brother, Shoja-al-Saltana, towards Isfahan, which successfully captured the city. With the defeat of Ali Shah Mirza, the British and Russian Empires proclaimed Mohammad Shah as king near Qomsha (today Shahreza). Shoja-al-Saltana was defeated by Manouchehr Khan and, after the battle, Manouchehr Khan marched towards Shiraz with an army that included British officers.^[3]

Ali Mirza's authority was unstable and he faced revolts from various tribes. Most of his army deserted when they heard of Shoja-al-Saltana's defeat, and he was low on funds.^[18] Without an army, Yazd could not be defended against Manouchehr Khan's attack.^[19] When he reached Shiraz, the morale of Ali Mirza's army was low and Shiraz fell in a two-hour battle after which Ali Mirza was easily captured.^[3][20] Ali Mirza lost all of his wealth, titles, and lands and was sent to a castle in Ardabil.^[18] Fars was held by Mohammad Shah until 1840, when he granted it to Mirza Hossein Khan.^[21]

Death

Ali Mirza was imprisoned in Ardabil. In the final days of his life, he prayed, cried over his mistakes and asked for forgiveness.^[22] On 16 January 1835 he died of cholera.^[20] His body was buried in Mashhad.^[3]