Mahshid Mussavi

Ahmad Shah was the last Qajar ruler with whom the Qajar reign came to its end. Born one year after the assassination of Nasseraddin Shah, Ahmad Mirza was elected by Tehran conquerors as the shah of Iran and due to his young age, they chose a regent for him.

Ahmad Mirza's fate to become the shah of Iran forced him to stay in Iran and part with his parents who were to leave Iran. Seven years later, he was crowned; but his coronation coincided with the beginning of First World War and some parts of Iran were invaded and occupied by Russian, British and Ottoman forces.

The end of war did not give the promise of better days for Iran and Middle East. Keeping dominance in India, greed for domestic markets, seizing oil resources of the Middle East and fighting with the danger of bolshevism were the main pivot of imperialistic policies in the region.

As Lord Curzon wished the conclusion of 1919 treaty would turn Iran to one of colonial countries of Britain. But Ahmad Shah did not sign it and the treaty was cancelled. So the British decided to work out another plan. Some people including Lloyd George, then the prime minister and Winston Churchill pondered over the idea of creating a dictatorial government supported by Intelligence service. Reza khan's coup of 1921 was the outcome of the new policy.

Ahmad Shah died in France, 1928, never recognizing the Pahlavi regime. His corpse was buried in Karbala as he wished.

The following photos are from a collection of Ahmad Shah's life from his childhood to his reign.