Saed News: These five neighborhoods are each connected in some way to a famous Qajar woman. Among them, Aghdasieh is particularly notable because it was both a gift from Naser al-Din Shah to one of his favorite wives and one of the most pleasant and expensive areas throughout all periods of Tehran’s capital status.
According to the Historical Service of Saed News Analytical News Agency, these five neighborhoods are each connected in some way to a famous Qajar woman. Among them, Aghdasieh draws the most attention because it was both a gift from Naser al-Din Shah to one of his favorites and one of the most pleasant and expensive areas throughout all periods of Tehran’s time as the capital.
Aghdas-od-Dowleh and Her Resemblance to Jeyran
“Zobideh Khanum Gorusi,” also known as “Amina Aghdas,” was a village girl whom Naser al-Din Shah brought from the village of Goros Bijar to Tehran during one of his trips. She gained so much favor with the Shah that she was allowed to go to the house of Jeyran Forough-ol-Saltaneh, the Shah’s first favorite wife, and even make the royal bed. Gradually, she earned the Shah’s trust and became the custodian of his jewels. Amina was the sister of the Shah’s first male favorite (Malijak) and the aunt of the second Malijak in the court. It is said she had eyes similar to Khadijeh Tejrishi—the favorite whom the Shah, enchanted by her large eyes, called Jeyran and loved so much that he divorced one of his four official wives to marry her. Perhaps for this reason, after Jeyran’s death, the Shah added Aghdas to his harem.
The First Woman to Travel to Europe
Amina Aghdas was a powerful and beloved woman of the Shah. She was influential due to the power of the two Malijaks in the court—her brother and nephew—and used this influence extensively to silence her rivals one by one. She remained the custodian of the harem’s jewels even after losing her eyesight due to illness. The Shah, in gratitude to his favorite, decided—according to the custom of the time—to name a place in Tehran after her. He transformed the lands of Aghdasieh, which at that time were mostly barren and agricultural, known as Hesarmolla, into gardens and built a palace, granting it to Amina Aghdas, who then became known as “Aghdas-od-Dowleh,” and Hesarmolla became Aghdasieh.
Aghdas-od-Dowleh was the first Iranian woman to travel to Europe for treatment of her eye disease, although she was not cured and returned to Iran. She died two years after Naser al-Din Shah’s death from eye pain and complications related to a stroke.
