Mirza Malkom Khan

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Mirza Malkom Khan was an Iranian proponent of freemasonry active during the period leading up to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. A believer in social Darwinism, Malkom Khan espoused an Iran modeled on the values of the enlightenment and urged a return to a "Persian" heritage.

[edit] References

Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution (New Haven and London: Yale, 2006)

Iran:Constitutional Revolution

MALKUM Khan, Mirza (New Julfa 1833 – Rome 1908) Educated at the Samuel Muradian school, Paris, 1843–51. Returned to Persia; converted to Shia Islam; entered government service. Selected as instructor in the newly established Tehran Polytechnic in 1852. To Paris in the diplomatic service in   [Page 431]   1857. Introduced freemasonry into Persia in 1859; exiled by Shah Nasir od-Din for doing so in 1862. Pardoned; given post in the Constantinople embassy. To Tehran in 1872 as assistant to Grand Vizier Moshir od-Dowlah. Chief of Persian legation in London (later ambassador) 1872–88; visited Berlin at the time of the congress (1878), advising Armenians to take an anti-Russian stance. Lost his position in 1889 as the result of a scandal over selling a cancelled concession for a lottery. Attacked the shah and Persian government from London; edited from 1890 the news-sheet Qanun, which was banned in Persia but read by the shah and his ministers. Became recognised as the most important Persian moderniser of the century. Pardoned and reinstated by Shah Mozaffar od-Din in 1898; appointed ambassador to Italy, with title of Nezam od-Dowlah. Remained at this post until his death.

http://www.answers.com/topic/mirza-malkom-khan Mirza Malkom Khan 1833 - 1908 Persian diplomat, political philosopher, and advocate of modernization. The son of Mirza Ya?qub, an Armenian from Jolfa who had converted to Islam, Mirza Malkom (also Malkam, Malkum) Khan studied in Paris, where he became familiar with French social and political theories, especially those of Auguste Comte. On his return to Persia, he was employed as a translator for the European teachers of the Dar al-Fonun, the modern school of higher learning inaugurated in 1851 by Persia's modernizing premier, Amir Kabir. In 1857, Malkom wrote the first of his many pamphlets, entitled Ketabcheh-ye Ghaybi (The invisible booklet), in which he discussed the urgent need for modern reforms for Persia, if it were to survive as an independent nation. He also organized the Faramush-Khaneh (House of oblivion), a pseudo-masonic (secret) organization, which incurred the suspicion of the Naser al-Din Shah. Malkom was exiled in 1861 and went to Baghdad. There he was befriended by Mirza Hoseyn Khan, the Persian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who agreed with him about modernization and reforms and who obtained his pardon from the shah. Malkom was then made a counselor in the Persian embassy in Istanbul in 1864, during the early modernization period of Ottoman Turkey, called the Tanzimat. In 1871, Mirza Hoseyn was recalled to Tehran and appointed minister of justice, then prime minister. Malkom was appointed minister to Britain. From London, Malkom continually addressed the shah and his ministers about the need for modernization reforms. His arguments were not always original, but they were simply argued, easily understood, and effective - he criticized the government, but spared the shah. Some of his suggestions were attempted, but the experiment did not last, since the shah grew tired of the complications of change and the ongoing rivalry at court. He lost interest in all this and became more tyrannical toward the end of his reign. While Malkom was in London, the shah took three trips to Europe, visiting London each time, where several important concessions were granted to European and British companies. Malkom was involved in their transactions and had the opportunity to benefit financially each time. In 1889, the shah granted a lottery concession to an English company, which came under attack when he returned to Persia, and the concession was canceled. Malkom, however, who knew this, did not reveal the cancellation until he had sold out his own shares. This unethical situation cost him his position, his title, and his salary. In 1890, he began to publish a pamphlet entitled Qanun (The law) in London. In it his arguments turned to criticism, then outright attack, not even sparing the shah. He also mentioned secret societies that were working for reform and suggested that the natural leaders of the people were by right the ulama (body of mollas), and that they should lead the movement. It has since been suggested that these secret societies were not actually organized but that Malkom was saying they should be. Qanun was smuggled into the country and enjoyed a widespread popularity, making its mark on a generation that was soon to become involved in the Constitutional Revolution. After the assassination of Naser al-Din Shah in 1896, Malkom was restored to favor and was appointed minister to Italy. He lived to see the beginning of the Constitutional Revolution in 1906. Despite a lifetime of argument in favor of reform, his role in the lottery concession continues to sully his name. Notwithstanding such criticism, his influence on the shah, the politicians of his day, and the modernization of Persia cannot be denied. Bibliography Algar, Hamid. Mirza Malkum Khan: A Study in the History ofIranian Modernism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. Bakhash, Shaul. Iran: Monarchy, Bureaucracy, and Reform under the Qajars, 1858 - 1896. London: Ithaca Press, 1978.

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http://www.iranian.com/Letters/2004/February/feb27d.html

• Not a prince

A correction to an item on the site. In the Quiz section, under "Gammaas Gammaas" it is mentioned that Mirza Malkom Khan was a Qajar Prince. I believe that is incorrect. Malkom got his start as the chief of staff to Farrokh Khan Amin-O-Doleh, who was NaserEdin Shah's emissary to Europe. Malkom was not a Qajar prince, but moved up through the ranks to the prominence he attained towards the end of his life. Professor Eskandari can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe so. [Also see below] Mahmoud Ghaffari Web: ghaffaris.com Top

• Honorary prince

Mr. Ghaffari is correct [See above]. Malkam Khan was of Armenian origin, son of Yaqub Khan. Both father and son were confidants of Nasser-ed-Din Shah. The father a liaison to the Russian embassy, the son a liaison to the French. Malkam Khan or Malkom Khan, as he was called, was an early supporter of Nasser-ed-Din Shah's vision of a reforming and modernizing monarch with strong central control. He was awarded the title Prince by Nasser-ed-Din Shah as a result of his services to crown and country. Though at first a strong supporter of Nasser-ed-Din Shah, he had a parting of the ways with the shah and later became a chief opponent of the shah's policies. He was among four individuals who had not been of royal blood to receive the title of "Prince" from Qajar shahs. The other prominent " Prince" in the Qajar era was Prince Arfa'-ed-Dowleh, who received his title from Mozaffar-ed-Din Shah, about whom Mr. Farhad Diba and I have written two articles for the Iranian already. (See: "Tabriz in Monaco" and "Villa Danesh"). Manoutchehr Eskandari-Qajar

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married 1863 Constantinople, Dalian Arakial, had 4 children, Fereydoun, Leila, Sultana, Vicotia.

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obit times: Malcom Khan's obituary in the London Times, 1908:

Death of Prince Malcom Khan.

Lausanne, July 13, 1908.*

Prince Malcom Khan, who was formerly private secretary to the Shah Nasr-ed-Din, died this morning at the Hotel du Parc at Ouchy, where he arrived some days ago, in a weak state of health, with the Princess and three daughters. The body will be cremated in Paris.

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The death of Prince Nazem ud Dowleh Malcom Khan removes from the scene one of the most prominent representatives of modern Persia, and one who perhaps did more than any of his countrymen to bring Persia into touch with European politics and civilization. He was the son of Yacoub Khan, himself an eminent Persian statesman of noble and very ancient family, and was born at Ispahan in 1832. At an early age he was sent to Paris, where he received his education and became an ardent student of European institutions. On his return to Persia his promotion was rapid, and in 1854 he was sent by the Shah on a special diplomatic mission to the European Courts and to the United States. His object was to conclude treaties of commerce and friendship with the European Powers and with America. The result of his experience abroad was to make him a keen advocate of reform at home. In this he was in advance of his time, and in 1860 he found it convenient to leave his own country and proceed to Constantinople, where he resided up to the year 1872. He had succeeded, however, in exercising a considerable influence upon the literary style of his Persian contemporaries, and in particular he entirely reformed and simplified the elaborate diplomatic language of his country. In 1872 he was recalled from exile, and entrusted with a post second only to that of the Grand Vizier, so that he was enabled to exercise a real control over both the home and foreign affairs of Persia. The reforms which he was able to carry were so considerable that he received the title of Nazem ud Dowleh (Reformer of the Empire). Perhaps the most remarkable of his achievements, however, was his success in inducing the Shah to undertake his first journey to Europe in 1872. Prince Malcom Khan not only prepared the European Courts for the visit, which excited popular interest in England and elsewhere to an extraordinary degree, he also accompanied his Imperial master, and remained behind him in Europe as the representative of Persia who was best fitted to consolidate the results of the visit. In 1878 Prince Malcom Khan acted with credit as Persian Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Berlin and was instrumental in securing for his country the restoration of a province which had been in the possession of Turkey. As Persian Minister in London the Prince was a well-known figure throughout the eighties up to his resignation in 1889. In that year he had arranged another visit of the Shah, which again attracted unusual public interest in his country. In 1899 he was appointed Minister to Rome, a post which he held at the time of his death. Throughout his long life Prince Malcom Khan was remarkable for the interest which he took in the intellectual and political development of his country. He promoted a new system of public instruction and published an edition of "Gulistan" and other works in a new phonetic system of Arabic writing which he invented. In 1865 he married, at Constantinople, the Princess Daelian, by whom he is survived. There were three daughters of the marriage, and a son who was educated at Eton.