Photos of the Iranian princess, the wife of Shah Nasser Qajar, continue to excite impressionable and naive Internet users. Hundreds, if not thousands, of articles have been devoted to her, discussing the tastes and preferences of the Shah, who lived almost two hundred years ago.
Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar
The Iranian Shah, who ruled the country for 47 years, was the most educated man in Iran, who knew several languages, loved geography, drawing, poetry, and the author of books about his travels. At the age of seventeen, he inherited the throne, but he could only take power with the help of weapons. He was an extraordinary person who managed to carry out small, from the point of view of our time, but significant reforms in the country for his time.
As a literate person, he understood that only an educated and developed Iran would be able to exist on an equal footing with other countries in this world. He was a fan of European culture, but he realized that the religious fanaticism that raged in the country would not allow him to turn his dreams into reality.
Nevertheless, a lot was accomplished during his lifetime. A telegraph appeared in Iran, they began to openschool, the army was reformed, a French school was opened, a prototype of the future university, where they studied medicine, chemistry, geography.
Nasser Qajar Theater
Nasser Qajar knew French perfectly, was familiar with French culture, in particular with the theater, but he was first of all the Shah of Iran, a Muslim. Therefore, his dream of a full-fledged theater could not come true. But he, together with Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, creates a state theater, the troupe of which consisted of men. In the photos of the actors, you can see the famous "Iranian princess Anis al Dolyah." Yes, this is a princess, but not a real one, but performed by a male actor.
The Iranian theater did not play productions from the life of the people. His satirical repertoire consisted entirely of plays describing court and social life. All roles were played by men. This is not an isolated case. Think of Japanese kabuki theater where only men play. True, the Japanese actors played in masks, and it was hardly possible to see their fused eyebrows and mustaches. By the way, thick unibrows among the inhabitants of Arab and Central Asian countries have always been considered a sign of beauty, both for women and men.
Founder of Iranian theater
The head of the first state theater was a well-known person in Iran Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered the founder of the Iranian theater. All roles were played by men, only after 1917 were women allowed to be actresses andparticipate in performances.
Old photos
Nasser al-Din was fond of photography from his youth. He had his own laboratory, where he personally printed pictures. He photographed himself, he had a French photographer who took pictures of him. In the late sixties of the XIX century, the Sevryugins brothers open their studio in Tehran, one of them - Anton - becomes a court photographer.
He removed the check from everything, Sevryugin helped him in this. He kept photos of his wives, close associates, theater artists, his trips, solemn meetings, military operations in the palace safe. After the Iranian revolution, all his archives were declassified, and the pictures fell into the hands of journalists. Who is depicted in these photographs is now difficult to say. Do not rely on the Internet. Signatures for the same photos on different sites differ dramatically. Their authenticity is highly questionable.
On one German site, an interesting comment was found on an article about Nasser ad-Din, which was sent by a resident of Iran. He writes that the khan did not like women, therefore, in order to look like men and thereby please the shah, they painted mustaches on themselves. It is difficult to say how true this is, but it partially explains the clearly male faces in women's clothes and the fact that an outsider (photographer) takes pictures of the khan in a circle of masculine women.
Who is Iranian Princess Anis
Anis al Dolyakh is, most likely, the name of the heroine of a play that was played out with the same acting characters in various situations (accidents from life). Somethinglike modern TV shows. Each actor played one role for many years.
Shah Nasser Qajar had an official wife, Munir Al-Khan, who bore him children, including his heir, Mozafereddin Shah. She was from a noble and influential family with considerable power. There is no doubt that the Shah had a harem. But who lived in his harem, it is impossible to say for sure now.
Photos of the Shah's concubines
The photos of the Iranian princess al Dolyah and the Shah's concubines, posted on the Internet, are most likely pictures of theater artists or excerpts from plays. Coming to any theater, we see the composition of the troupe in its foyer in photographs, where you can often see actors made up, that is, excerpts from their roles.
Let's not forget that the Shah was a supporter of everything European, but remained a Muslim dictator who did not tolerate any dissent. Deviating from the norms of the Koran (in this case, photographing women with open faces) would alienate thousands of his devoted subjects from him. This would not fail to take advantage of his enemies, of whom he had plenty. He was assassinated more than once.
Shah visited many European countries, including Russia. He was fascinated by Russian ballet. He could not stage something like this in his country, so he creates a play about it, dressing the Iranian princess Anis (photo below) and other alleged women in ballet tutus. By the way, the shah wrote books about his travels, which were published in Europe and Russia. He may have also written plays for his theatre.
What does the name Anise mean
Why does the Iranian princess have such a strange name Anise? This is no coincidence, it was under Shah Nasser ad-Din that two religious rebels who dared to recognize the Koran as obsolete were shot. This is the founder of a new religion, called Babism, Baba Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, as well as his ardent follower and assistant Mirza Muhammad Ali Zunuzi (Anis). There is a legend that during the execution, carried out by a detachment of 750 Christians, Baba, in a strange way, ended up in his cell, and Anis was not touched by bullets.
The satirical Iranian princess bears the name Anis. Each time it caused laughter and bullying. By dressing his opponent in women's clothes, which in itself is a disgrace for a Muslim, the shah took revenge on those who went against the Koran. We do not know the names of other "inhabitants" of the Shah's harem, maybe they can also tell a lot. Of course, these are only assumptions, what really happened, we will never know.
