SAEDNEWS: As you turn the pages of Qajar history, you consistently find clear links between this history and Shemiran. From the residence of Qajar kings and their ministers in Shemiran to the political and social transformations of that era, all of these developments were rooted in northern Tehran.
According to the Saed News analytical report, citing Hamshahri Online, traces of many of these changes and transformations can still be seen across Shemiran. For example, when the few remaining residents of the village of Emameh in Naserabad, Lavasan, cross its historic bridge, they occasionally recall a name that once made their village famous during the Qajar era. It is a bridge built through the efforts of a history-making woman—an adolescent girl named Fatemeh, who later became known in the court of Naser al-Din Shah as Anis al-Dowleh.
But who was Anis al-Dowleh, and what was her connection to Lavasan? How did this village girl from a small settlement in northern Tehran enter the royal court and become the Shah’s favorite wife? To answer these questions, we must go back more than 150 years into contemporary historical books, memoirs, and diaries, and travel about six kilometers north of Lavasan.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar was famous for two things: having many wives and his strong passion for hunting. If one follows both of these traits, they lead to a single place: the village of Emameh and Naserabad in Lavasan. Naserabad is one of the villages of Lavasan-e Kuchak in Shemiranat County, located about six kilometers north of Lavasan.
A geographical book describing the political geography of Shemiran notes about this area in those years:
“It had 3 hectares of irrigated wheat fields, 5 hectares of dry farming land, and 10 hectares of orchards and poplar groves. It was irrigated by a river. Its products included wheat, barley, potatoes, beans, dairy products, apples, walnuts, and cherries. The occupation of the inhabitants was farming and livestock breeding.” Emameh was one of the places where Naser al-Din Shah frequently went hunting.
However, one of these hunting trips turned out differently from the others. In the second half of the 13th century AH, while hunting in Emameh, the Shah encountered a shepherd girl. After a short conversation, he found her to be talkative and sweet-spoken, and he brought her to Tehran. The girl’s name was Fatemeh, daughter of a man named Nour Mohammad. She had lost her parents in childhood and lived a difficult life in Emameh under the care of her uncle and aunt, working as a shepherd girl.
There is a Persian proverb that says, “Wherever you take a wife from, you are considered from that place.” If we set aside the Shah’s other wives, by this saying Naser al-Din Shah could also be considered “from Lavasan.”
The Shah first placed Fatemeh under the care of Jeyran, one of his favorite consorts, so she could learn court etiquette. After Jeyran’s death, her household and belongings were given to Anis al-Dowleh, and she gradually gained influence and status within the royal court. She quickly became one of the most beloved and powerful women in Naser al-Din Shah’s inner circle, receiving the title Anis al-Dowleh and later playing an important role in political and social matters.
There are more surviving photographs of her than of any other wife of Naser al-Din Shah, likely due to the Shah’s special affection for her. At that time, no one except the Shah himself was allowed to photograph the women of the harem, and all images of Anis al-Dowleh were taken by him.
Doust-Ali Khan Moayer al-Mamalek wrote in his memoirs about the private life of the Shah:
“Anis al-Dowleh was in effect the queen, though she bore no children.”
She also received special titles from the Shah. Etemad al-Saltaneh wrote in his diaries:
“In Jumada al-Thani of the year 1312 AH, the Shah granted Anis al-Dowleh the title of ‘Qaddisa’ in recognition of her services.” He also noted that she was awarded the Sun Sash Medal, one of the first decorations given to royal women, and that she was the first woman in Iran to receive it.
Her role in the Shah’s private life went beyond titles. Unlike most women in the harem, she was educated, wrote fluent and elegant prose, and had exceptional capabilities that distinguished her from others. She had her own secretary and even a female scribe—something considered unprecedented at the time.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons for her historical prominence was her role in the Tobacco Protest. Historical records state:
“Anis al-Dowleh withdrew her support from the Shah and demonstrated her independence. After the issuance of the fatwa banning tobacco, she ordered all hookahs to be collected and, in response to the Shah’s question about who declared tobacco forbidden, she replied: ‘The one who made me lawful to you.’”
Historical sources also record many charitable acts by Anis al-Dowleh. Her endowments included offerings to holy shrines such as jewels, pearl curtains, silver shrines for martyrs of Karbala, and gold-inlaid gifts to religious sites including Imam Reza’s shrine. She also funded publications and religious texts.
Among her charitable works, two are especially significant as they reflect her attachment to her birthplace. Years after entering the royal court, she returned to Naserabad and initiated the construction of a bridge in her native village. She also endowed the village of Kashanak in Shemiran.
In this way, Anis al-Dowleh remains a historical figure whose life connects the humble landscape of Lavasan with the grandeur and politics of the Qajar court.
