[custom_adv] The state under Naser Al-Din was the recognized government of Iran but its authority was undermined by local tribal leaders. The religious and tribal chieftains held quite a bit of autonomy over their communities. [custom_adv] Naser Al-Din was not effective in implementing his sovereignty over his people. Local groups had their own militias and oftentimes did not obey laws passed by the monarchy since they did not have the power to enforce them. [custom_adv] the people followed the ulama's fatwas instead of state issued law. When Naser Al-Din took power, his army barely had 3,000 men which was significantly smaller than the armies under various tribal leaders. [custom_adv] When the state needed a proper army, he would hire the local militias.Prior to his reforms, Naser's government had very little power over their subjects and even during the reforms, they faced more scrutiny over their ability to implement those reforms successfully. [custom_adv] Naser al-Din was in Tabriz from Qajars tribe when he heard of his father's death in 1848 , and he ascended to the Sun Throne with the help of Amir Kabir.Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government. [custom_adv] With his sanction, some Babis were killed after an attempt on his life.This treatment continued under his prime minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of the Báb – regarded as a manifestation of God to Bábí's and Bahá'ís, and to historians as the founder of the Bábí religion. [custom_adv] Unable to regain the territory in the Caucasus irrevocably lost to Russia in the early 19th century, Naser al-Din sought compensation by seizing Herāt, Afghanistan, in 1856. Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to British India and declared war on Persia, forcing the return of Herāt as well as Persia's recognition of the kingdom of Afghanistan. [custom_adv] Naser al-Din was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw. [custom_adv] During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Persian monarch to be so honoured. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages, including Persian, German, French, and Dutch. [custom_adv] In 1890 Naser al-Din met British major Gerald F. Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of the Persian tobacco industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a fatwa that made farming, trading, and consuming tobacco haram (forbidden). [custom_adv] Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized 'Talbet' company represented foreign exploitation, so for that reason it was deemed immoral. It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke. [custom_adv] Naser al-Din was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, when he was visiting and praying in the shrine of Shah-Abdol-Azim. It is said that the revolver used to assassinate him was old and rusty, and had he worn a thicker overcoat, or been shot from a longer range, he would have survived the attempt on his life. [custom_adv] Shortly before his death, he is reported to have said "I will rule you differently if I survive!" The assassin was prosecuted by the defence minister, Nazm ol Doleh.Naser al-Din was buried in the Shah-Abdol-Azim shrine, in Rayy near capital, where he was assassinated. [custom_adv] His funeral took place six months after his death. A British diplomat who spoke with some who had been present, Charles Hardinge, commented "... the corpse was conveyed on a very high funeral car and was 'high' in more ways than one" (see picture below 'The Shah's funeral'). [custom_adv] His one-piece marble tombstone, bearing his full effigy, is now kept in the Golestan Palace Museum in capital and is renowned as a masterpiece of Qajar-era sculpture.The Shah in a uniform studded with diamonds from the treasury of the Persian emperors. Often he wore the famous square Darya-ye Noor. [custom_adv] Naser al-Din Shah was very interested in painting and photography. He was a talented painter and, even though he had not been trained, was an expert in pen and ink drawing. Several of his pen and ink drawings survive. He was one of the first photographers in Persia and was a patron of the art. [custom_adv] He established a photography studio in Golestan Palace. Naser al-Din was also a poet. 200 couplets of his were recorded in the preface of Majma'ul Fusahā, a work by Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat about poets of the Qajar period. [custom_adv] He was interested in history and geography and had many books on these topics in his library. He also knew French and English, but was not fluent in either tongue. [custom_adv] Hekāyāt Pir o Javān was attributed to him by many; it was one of the first Persian stories written in modern European style.
