Saed News: Stay with us as we share unseen photos of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar during his foreign travels.
According to the History Service of Saed News, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah took four foreign loans during his 10-year reign, some of which were aimed at covering the expenses of his trips abroad.
Between 1896 and 1906 (1275 to 1285 in the Iranian calendar), Mozaffar ad-Din Shah traveled abroad three times. His first trip to Europe lasted seven months, during which the fifth Qajar king visited Russia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, and on the way back, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Two years later, his second trip to Europe began on April 6, 1902 (17 Farvardin 1281), lasting six months, visiting Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, England, and Italy.
His final destination on this trip was England. The Shah’s third trip to Europe began on June 6, 1905 (16 Khordad 1284) and lasted four months. This trip was made possible following a loan of 290,000 pounds from the Royal Bank of England. Below is a list of the main souvenirs the Shah brought back from his second European trip:
Electric ice cream machine.
Electric cooking pot for on-site cooking.
Hiring of French male and female chefs.
Purchase of three photography kits, including a color camera, which the Shah described as “a camera that takes pictures in all colors.”
Four telephones that could “talk up to a hundred miles.”
One hundred bottles of cologne.
Gold watch.
One hunting rifle case.
Two-person carriage.
(Source: Ebrahim Safa’i, The Constitutional Movement of Iran, Tehran 1991)
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah on his trip
The Shah’s third trip to Europe started on June 6 and lasted four months. To finance these trips, Iran secured loans from Russia and England.
The photo below shows Mozaffar ad-Din Shah and his companions in the city of Warsaw, Poland, during one of his European trips in 1900 (1279 Iranian calendar).
Below is a rarely seen image showing a different appearance of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah and his entourage in Turkey in 1898 (1277 Iranian calendar).
