Sardar Homayoun
Encyclopedia
Son of Ali Khan Vali
Ali Khan Vali
Ali Khan Vali the Governor' علی خان والی was a notable 19th-century Iranian photographer. He is best known for his photograph album documenting his career as governor at various places in Azerbaijan between 1879 and 1896....
http://www.iranjoa.com/iranjoa22/alikhan_text.htm with the military title of Sardar Homayoun was the first Iranian army general to graduate from the prestigious Saint-Cyr Military School
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
in France, which was founded by Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1802. During the Overthrow of the Qajar dynasty
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...
, Sardar Homayoun was encouraged by the local politicians and moderates, backed by the British government, to become the Shah of Persia
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
(The fact that his lineage could be traced to the Qajar dynasty gave added incentive to have him on the throne http://zarrinkafsch-bahman.org/5.html). He declined out of fear for his family's safety and due to his moral reluctance to use force against countrymen, a measure inevitable for the maintenance of the monarchy. The position was later given to Reza Shah Pahlavi
Reza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
.
During Reza Shah's
Reza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
reign, he was appointed commander of the Cossack Division in Northern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
He retired soon after to his family's estate to pursue writing and farming. An aristocrat by birth, he believed in the character conferred by military education and discipline. His cousin, Doust Mohammad Khan Moayer ol-Mamalek, was the son-in-law of Nasser al-Din Shah
Nasser al-Din Shah
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar was the King of Iran from September 17, 1848 to May 1, 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia and the third longest reigning monarch king in Iranian history after Shapur II of the Sassanid Dynasty and...
who married her daughter Princess Esmat os-Saltaneh.
He had five daughters and two sons. His sons, Ebrahim and Ali Vali have served in the imperial army as an army general during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
He was the first Mayor of Tabriz in 1908, (see list of Tabriz Mayors), and as a modern man, he was at the origin of the first electrical generator to Tabriz. He also introduced the first metallic printing press in Iran.