Mehrmah Khanum Ismat al-Saltaneh (d. 1917; Persian: مهرماه خانم عصمتالسلطنه) was a Qajar princess and travel writer, the daughter of Farhad Mirza Mo'tamed al-Dowleh and Jahan-Ara Khanum, who was the daughter of Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah.Dianati, G. "حاجیه مهرماه خانم عصمت السلطنه دختر فرهاد میرزا". میقات. شماره 65. She was also the full sister of Emamqoli Mirza Emad al-Dowleh.Ruznama-ye Khaterat, E'temad os-Saltaneh, Amir Kabir, 1971, p.16.
Biography During the final years of Mohammad Shah's reign, he held Farhad Mirza in high esteem. In an effort to secure a supporter within the royal family for his favored son, Abbas Mirza Molk-Ara, who was known as a rival to Naser al-Din Mirza for the throne—Mohammad Shah arranged the engagement of Mehrmah Khanum to Molk-Ara. However, with Mohammad Shah's death and the ascension of Naser al-Din Shah to the throne, Molk-Ara was exiled to the holy cities of Iraq, and the marriage never took place.
Marriages and Family Life In her youth, Mehrmah Khanum married Mirza Mohammad Qavam al-Dawla, who was several years older than her. This marriage resulted in two children.In the range of the incident: The political life of Ahmad Qavam, p. 31 After Qavam al-Dowleh's death in 1873, Mehrmah Khanum married his cousin, Mirza Musa Vazir-Lashkar Ashtiani. Their marriage produced a son named Musa Moshir Akram.
Shortly thereafter, Mehrmah Khanum married Abd al-Wahhab Khan Asaf al-Dowleh but had no children with him.Ruznama-ye Khaterat-e Ain al-Saltaneh, Tehran: Asatir, p.935. Following his death in 1888, she married Hossein Khan Hessam al-Molk, the governor of Hamedan. However, Hessam al-Molk also died soon after, leaving Mehrmah Khanum widowed once again.Diary of Seyed Mohammad Kamarei: Ramadan 1336 / June 1918.
Children Mehrmah Khanum had three children:
Mohammad Taqi Khan Mo'tazed al-Molk (son of Qavam al-Dawla), who served as a special aide to Naser al-Din Shah and married the daughter of Abd al-Wahhab Khan Nezam al-Molk.Qavam al-Dowleh House Registration File, Tehran Cultural Heritage Management, 1997. Mostafa Khan Azim al-Dowleh (son of Qavam al-Dowleh). Musa Moshir Akram (son of Vazir-Lashkar).
Later life and death Mehrmah Khanum was granted the title Ismat al-Saltaneh in the month of Muharram 1885. She died in Ramadan 1917.
Travel and Literary Contributions In 1879-1880, she embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which lasted ten months, and her travelogue, Safarnameh-ye Ismat al-Saltaneh, is a creation of this journey. The travelogue was completed by a scribe in 1881, during which she was referred to as "the wife of the esteemed and noble Nasir al-Dowleh." This suggests that she married Abd al-Wahhab Khan Nasir al-Dowleh a few months after the passing of Mirza Musa.
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