8 - In the Company of a Refined Prince

Summary

In Chapter 8, “In the Company of a Refined Prince,” I examine Abd al-Samad Mirza ‘Izz al-Dowleh Salur’s Safar-Nameh (1883). Abd al-Samad Mirza was a Qajar prince, the son of Muhammad Shah and the younger brother of Naser al-Din Shah. He was appointed as the governor of a number of provinces and accompanied his older brother during his travels around the world. He commanded a number of languages (Persian, Arabic, and French in particular), led a luxurious, princely life in his palatial garden, was occasionally dispatched on ceremonial diplomatic missions, and was an avid follower of global news. He was a poet and a painter. What is peculiar about this travelogue is the fact that its author had a rather remote, princely disposition, was not in any significant position of power, and represented a stratum of Qajar royalty that was relatively educated, socially alert, and, from his monarchic vantage point, deeply concerned about the location of his homeland in the larger regional and global context.