Princess Zuhra. Queen, princess, doctor: three women revered by feminists in the Muslim world

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At all times, the earth has been filled with all kinds of myths, and with the advent of the Internet in our lives, true and not so true stories instantly become known to the general public. You've probably already heard about the "incomparable Anis al-Dolyah", because of whom 13 young people took their own lives, and you've even seen her photo. What can you say about Melania Trump’s grandmother: are they similar to her supposed granddaughter or not?

website did some research and found out what's really behind some popular internet stories.

Myth #16: The Iranian Qajar princess was a symbol of beauty in the early 20th century. 13 young men committed suicide because she did not agree to become their wife

You've probably seen a photo of "Princess Qajar" or "Anis al-Dolyah" with such a caption. This woman doesn't fit in well modern standards beauty even in Iran itself, but some people believe that more than 100 years ago things were completely different.

There is some truth in this, but it is worth asking another question: did such a princess really exist? Yes and no. The woman in the tutu-like outfit was named Taj al-Dola, and she was the wife of Nasser al-Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty.

There is an opinion that the photo does not real wife Shah, and the man is an actor, but this is probably nothing more than speculation, because Taj was a real historical figure.

And here is another “Qajar princess” (on the left), a photo of which you could also see with the same text about the symbol of beauty and 13 unfortunate young people. This lady was the daughter of Taj al-Dola and her name was Ismat al-Dola.

Of course, both mother and daughter were not fatal beauties who broke the hearts of numerous fans. If only because they lived in a Muslim country and hardly had the opportunity to communicate with strangers, much less choose a husband.

As for the woman on the right, her name was also Taj and she was Ismat al-Dol’s sister on her father’s side - he, like many eastern rulers, had more than one wife. Taj al-Saltaneh, also known as Zahra Khanum, went down in history as an artist, writer and the first feminist in Iran who was not afraid to take off her hijab, wear European clothes and divorce her husband.

Myth #15: Nikola Tesla worked as a swimming instructor

— Prof Jeff Cunningham (@cunninghamjeff) August 29, 2017

And this is what a real giant hornet looks like. The true size of the “tiger bee” is also impressive, but fortunately it is not as huge as its model, which we are incredibly happy about.

Myth #12: The whale that died from eating garbage

A photo that many took for image of a dead person whale with a lot of garbage in its stomach, is actually an installation created by Greenpeace Philippines to raise awareness about ocean pollution. But, unfortunately, this happens in reality, and not only whales suffer, and not only in the Pacific region, so we have something to think about.

Myth No. 11: “Ancient Astronaut” on the wall of the New Cathedral in Salamanca (Spain)

Where did the astronaut come from on the wall of the cathedral, built in the 16th century? It's simple: during the restoration in 1992, the artist Jeronimo Garcia decided to depict something unusual and carved a figurine in a spacesuit, and in addition to it, a faun holding an ice cream cone in his paw.

Myth No. 10: Description of a photograph of a wolf pack

This photo also “went to the people” with a description taken from someone’s head and not corresponding to reality. Allegedly, the first three wolves in the pack are the oldest and weakest, the five following them are the strongest, in the middle is the rest of the pack, another five strong animals close the group, and behind them all is the leader who controls the situation.

However, the author of the photo, Chadden Hunter, explains that the pack hunts bison in this way, and in front is not the three weakest animals, but the alpha female.

Myth No. 9: A she-wolf protects the male's throat in a fight.

You have probably seen this photo more than once with a touching caption that the she-wolf is “hiding”, pretending to be scared, while at the same time she protects the male’s throat, knowing that she will not be touched in a fight. Alas, this too is nothing more than a beautiful fairy tale.

A fairly popular photograph “without Photoshop” turned out to be the result of merging two different photographs. The sky was borrowed from the Dutch photographer Marieke Mandemaker and superimposed on the photo Crimean Bridge in Moscow.

Myth No. 7: "Heaven's Gate" photographed by the Hubble telescope

The “unusual photo that amazed scientists” turned out to be the work of graphic designer Adam Ferriss, which, however, was based on a real photo of the Omega Nebula (aka the Swan Nebula).

This is what the original photo looks like. By the way, this nebula can be observed in an amateur telescope - its shape resembles a ghostly swan floating across the sky.

Myth No. 6: In China they fake... cabbage

It seems that we have already become accustomed to the idea that in our time absolutely everything can be faked. And in fact, cabbage made from some liquid substance is very similar to the real thing. Is it really being sold to unsuspecting buyers? Not at all.

This “fake” cabbage, as well as other “products”, serves only as a dummy in food service outlets in China, Korea, Japan and some other countries.

Myth #5: There was no hotel room for Arnold Schwarzenegger, so he had to sleep on the street next to his own statue.

Before “Iron Arnie” had time to make a joke on his Instagram, sharing this photo with the meaningful caption “How times have changed,” it was immediately posted on another resource, where they made up a whole story about how the actor and former governor of California was not allowed into the hotel and he had to sleep right on the ground.

Of course, Schwarzenegger didn't spend the night on the street. And the photo was taken not near the hotel, but near the city convention center, opposite the entrance to which there is a statue depicting young Arnold in his best form.

And many probably believed in the very specific tastes of the Iranian ruler Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, because these princesses were assigned to his harem.

But did oriental beauties really look like this?


Of course not Ruler of Iran - Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar since early childhood He loved photography very much, and when he came to power, a photo studio appeared in his palace. And Anton Sevryugin, by the way, our compatriot, became the court photographer. All this happened in the 1870s, and although Sevryugin had an honorary title for his contribution to the art of Iran, he did not have the right to photograph the harem, but could only photograph the Shah himself, the courtiers and guests of the head of state.
Only the Shah himself had the right to photograph the wives from the harem; there is information that he often did this, personally developed the photographs in the laboratory and kept them secret from everyone so that no one could see them. It’s even interesting what he photographed there

So where did the photographs of the “Princesses of Iran” come from?

And why are these women so different from the concept of beauty of that time, which we could read about and even see in films?

In fact, these are not Iranian princesses, not the wives of the Shah and... not women at all! These photographs depict the actors of the first state theater, created by Shah Nasruddin, who was a great admirer European culture. This troupe played satirical plays only for courtiers and nobility. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater. In the plays of that time only men acted, since until 1917 Iranian women was forbidden to perform on stage. That’s the whole secret of the “Iranian princesses”: yes, this is the Shah’s harem, but in a theatrical production.

The Shah of Iran, who ruled the country for 47 years, was the most educated man in Iran, knew several languages, loved geography, drawing, poetry, and authored books about his travels. At the age of seventeen he inherited the throne, but was able to take power only 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 for his time reforms in the country.

As a literate person, he understood that only an educated and developed Iran could exist in this world on an equal basis with other countries. He was a fan of European culture, but realized that the religious fanaticism that was rampant in the country would not allow his dreams to come true.

Nevertheless, a lot was done during his lifetime. The telegraph appeared in Iran, schools began to open, army reform was carried out, French school, the prototype of the future university, where they studied medicine, chemistry, and geography.


Nasser Qajar Theater

Nasser Qajar knew perfectly French, was familiar with French culture, particularly the theater, but he was first and foremost 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, created a state theater, the troupe of which consisted of men. In the photographs 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 perform productions from the life of the people. His satirical repertoire consisted entirely of plays describing the court and social life. All roles here were played by men. This is not an isolated case. Remember the Japanese kabuki theater, where only men perform. True, the Japanese actors played in masks, and it was hardly possible to see their fused eyebrows and mustaches. By the way, thick, fused eyebrows among residents of Arab and Central Asian countries have always been considered a sign of beauty, both among women and men.


Founder of Iranian theater

The head of the first state theater was a famous 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 and participate in performances.

Old photos

Nasser ad-Din was fond of photography from his youth. He had his own laboratory where he printed photographs with his own hands. He took photographs himself, he had a French photographer who took pictures of him. At the end of the sixties of the 19th century, the Sevryugin brothers opened their studio in Tehran, one of them - Anton - became a court photographer.

The Shah filmed everything, Sevryugin helped him with this. He kept photographs of his wives, intimates, theater artists, his trips, ceremonial meetings, and military operations in the palace safe. After the Iranian revolution, all his archives were declassified, and the photographs fell into the hands of journalists. It is now difficult to say who is shown in these photographs. You shouldn't rely on the Internet. Captions for the same photos on different sites differ radically. Their reliability is highly doubtful.

On one German website, there was an interesting comment on an article about Nasser ad-Din, 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 on mustaches. It is difficult to say how true this is, but this partly explains the clearly male faces in women's clothing and the fact that an outside man (photographer) takes pictures of the khan in a circle of masculine women.


Who is Iranian Princess Anis

Anis al Dolah is most likely the name of the heroine of some play that was played with one acting characters for various situations (cases from life). Something like modern TV series. Each actor played the same role for many years.

Shah Nasser Qajar had an official wife, Munira 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 it is now impossible to say for sure who lived in his harem.

Photos of the Shah's concubines

Photos of the Iranian princess al Dolyah and the Shah's concubines posted on the Internet are most likely photographs of theater artists or excerpts from plays. Coming to any theater, we see in its foyer the composition of the troupe in photographs, where we can often see the actors in makeup, 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. Deviation from the norms of the Koran (in in this case photographing women with their faces uncovered) would have alienated thousands of his loyal subjects. His enemies, of whom he had plenty, would not fail to take advantage of this. Attempts were made on his life more than once.

The Shah visited many European countries, including Russia. He was delighted with Russian ballet. He couldn’t stage something like that in his country, so he creates a play about it, dressing the Iranian princess Anis (photo below) and other supposedly women in ballet tutus. By the way, the Shah wrote books about his travels, which were published in Europe and Russia. Perhaps he also wrote plays for his theater.


What does the name Anis mean?

Why does the Iranian princess have this? strange name Anise? This is no coincidence; it was under Shah Nasser ad-Din that two religious rebels who dared to admit that the Koran had become obsolete were shot. This is the founder new religion, called Babism, Baba Seyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, as well as his ardent follower and assistant Mirza Muhammad Ali Zunuzi (Anis). There is a legend that during the execution by a detachment of 750 Christians, Baba in a strange way ended up in his cell, and Anis was not touched by the bullets.

It is the name Anis that the satirical Iranian princess bears. Each time it caused laughter and mockery. Dressing your opponent in women's clothing, which in itself is a shame for a Muslim, the Shah took revenge on those who went against the Koran. We do not know the names of the other “inhabitants” of the Shah’s harem, maybe they can also tell a lot. Of course, these are only assumptions; we will never know what really happened.

“Sometimes a meme pops up on social networks - a corpulent woman of the Middle Eastern type with a noticeable mustache and in a hijab and a comment: a Persian princess, because of the love for whom 13 young people committed suicide. And of course, in the comments there is a lot of bullshit. But this is all lies and nonsense , and as always, no one is interested in a real living person, because this person is a woman. So I’ll tell you about her.

So, Princess Zahra Khanum Taj al Sultane from the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1785 to 1925. Born in 1883 in Tehran. Father - Nasreddin Shah, mother Turan al Sultane. I grew up in a harem and saw my parents very rarely. She was taught at home - literacy, prayers, embroidery, playing Persian musical instruments, and as a nod to modernity - on the piano. At the age of nine she was engaged. The groom was eleven. He was the son of an influential military commander, whose support Nasreddin Shah wanted to enlist.

Zahra Khanum Taj lived interesting life and wrote a voluminous memoir. She achieved a divorce from her husband, not wanting to tolerate his infidelity, which was for that time and that society. was unheard of. She was the first at the Shah's court to reveal her face and began to wear European clothes. After the divorce, she was married twice more and the famous poet Aref Kazvini dedicated poems to her. She held the first literary salon in Tehran, where Western-looking intellectuals gathered. She was one of the founders of the first feminist organization in Iran, the Women's Liberation League, around 1910.

Zahra Khanum Taj has never left Iran except for a trip with youngest daughter to Baghdad. She died in Tehran in 1936. Her memoirs were published in 1996 under the title Crown of Sorrow: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to the Present 1884-1914.
From FB Rina Gonzalez Gallego

"Taj es-Saltaneh is a beauty, a feminist, a writer who left memories of life at her father's court and after his assassination.

The memoirs have come down to us in an incomplete copy, and this is the only evidence of its kind authored by a woman from the royal family of Iran at that time.

Taj's early childhood memories are full of bitterness. She was raised by nannies, governesses and tutors, and was separated from her mother, whom she saw only twice a day. If the father was in Tehran, then once a day, usually around noon, she would a short time brought to see him. In his memoirs, Taj mentions the need for close contact with the mother and the benefits of breastfeeding.

At the age of seven, a girl receives elementary education at the royal school, but in 1893 she was forced to leave school and study with private tutors, some of whom she mentions in detail in her book. The style and content of the memoirs reveal her familiarity with Persian and European literature and history. She was also taught to play the piano and tar, painting and the art of embroidery.

When Taj turned eight, negotiations began about her marriage. In early 1893, at the age of nine, Taj es-Saltaneh was betrothed to Amir Hussein Khan Shoja al-Saltaneh, and a wedding contract was signed in December of that year. The groom was also still a child, “probably eleven or twelve years old.” But the marriage was not consummated; the couple celebrated their wedding only in 1897, a year after the assassination of Nasser ad-Din Shah, when Taj was thirteen years old.

All marriages of women from the royal family were concluded for reasons of profit, there was no talk of love. However, Taj was looking forward to marriage, hoping to gain relative independence married woman. After the murder of her father, all the royal wives and children were transported to one of the residences of Sarvestan, where Taj es-Saltana felt almost like a prisoner

Taj advocates for love marriage, criticizing contractual unions in which well-being is completely disregarded married couple. In the first years of their married life, she and her husband were teenagers, still playing children's games, and young wife was offended by her husband’s neglect, which began almost immediately after the wedding night. Like most men from noble Qajar families, Hussein Khan had many lovers, both male and female; and Taj justifies his own flirtations and affairs as revenge for his spouse's neglect and infidelity. Aref Qazvini, an Iranian poet, composer and musician, is the most famous of the men mentioned in the memoirs. He dedicated his famous poem "Ey Taj" to the beautiful daughter of the Shah."

Taj gave birth to four children - two sons and two daughters, but one boy died in infancy.

Taj also mentions a dangerous abortion undertaken after she learned of her husband's venereal disease. Ironically, the physical and emotional consequences of the abortion were considered manifestations of hysteria, a diagnosis that gave her freedom to leave her home: “The doctors ordered me to go outside to unwind... due to my illness, I was given some relief from the usual confinement at home.”

She spoke about the interest of her contemporaries in Europe and wrote in her memoirs: “I desperately wanted to go to Europe.” But, unlike his older sister Akhtar, she never managed to visit there. While writing her memoirs in 1914, she attempted suicide three times.

The troubled first marriage ultimately ended in divorce in December 1907. Taj does not discuss any subsequent marriages in his memoirs, but as mentioned, the manuscript is incomplete. Her free communication with men and her romantic (or even sexual) relationships with them gave her the reputation of a “free woman” (she was considered a prostitute).

In March 1908, Taj remarried, the marriage lasted only a few months, and divorce followed in July 1908. In more later years Taj es-Saltaneh became actively involved in constitutional and feminist activities. Along with some other women of the royal family of Iran, she was a member of the Women's Association during the Constitutional Revolution in Persia 1905-1911. and fought for women's rights.

In 1909 she marries for the third time; it is unknown how this marriage ended, but in 1921 Taj describes herself as a single, unmarried woman.

Memories depict a deeply unhappy life, and a series of letters written by Taj to various premiers in the early 1920s to restore her pension reveal the financial difficulties she was going through.

In 1922, Taj accompanied one of her daughters to Baghdad, where her son-in-law, an official in the Foreign Office, was posted. She died in obscurity, probably in Tehran in 1936."

Photos of the Iranian princess, wife of Shah Nasser Qajar, continue to excite impressionable and naive Internet users. Hundreds, if not thousands of articles are devoted to her, discussing the tastes and preferences of the Shah, who lived almost two hundred years ago.

Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar

The Shah of Iran, who ruled the country for 47 years, was the most educated man in Iran, knew several languages, loved geography, drawing, poetry, and authored books about his travels. At the age of seventeen he inherited the throne, but was able to take power only 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 for his time reforms in the country.

As a literate person, he understood that only an educated and developed Iran could exist in this world on an equal basis with other countries. He was a fan of European culture, but realized that the religious fanaticism that was rampant in the country would not allow his dreams to come true.

Nevertheless, a lot was done during his lifetime. A telegraph appeared in Iran, schools began to open, army reform was carried out, a French school was opened, the prototype of a future university, where they studied medicine, chemistry, and 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, created a state theater, the troupe of which consisted of men. In the photographs 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 perform productions from the life of the people. His satirical repertoire consisted entirely of plays describing court and social life. All roles here were played by men. This is not an isolated case. Remember kabuki, where only men play. True, they played in masks, and it was hardly possible to see their fused eyebrows and mustaches. By the way, thick, fused eyebrows among residents of Arab and Central Asian countries have always been considered a sign of beauty, both among women and men.

Founder of Iranian theater

The head of the first state theater was a famous 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 and participate in performances.

Old photos

Nasser ad-Din was fond of photography from his youth. He had his own laboratory where he printed photographs with his own hands. He took photographs himself, he had a French photographer who took pictures of him. At the end of the sixties of the 19th century, the Sevryugin brothers opened their studio in Tehran, one of them - Anton - became a court photographer.

The Shah filmed everything, Sevryugin helped him with this. He kept photographs of his wives, intimates, theater artists, his trips, ceremonial meetings, and military operations in the palace safe. After the Iranian revolution, all his archives were declassified, and the photographs fell into the hands of journalists. It is now difficult to say who is shown in these photographs. You shouldn't rely on the Internet. Captions for the same photos on different sites differ radically. Their reliability is highly doubtful.

On one German website, there was an interesting comment on an article about Nasser ad-Din, 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 on mustaches. It is difficult to say how true this is, but this partly explains the clearly male faces in women's clothing and the fact that an outside man (photographer) is photographing the khan in a circle

Who is Iranian Princess Anis

Anis al Dolyah is most likely the name of the heroine of a play that was played out with the same characters in various situations (cases from life). Something like modern TV series. Each actor played the same role for many years.

Shah Nasser Qajar had an official wife, Munira 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 it is now impossible to say for sure who lived in his harem.

Photos of the Shah's concubines

Photos of the Iranian princess al Dolyah and the Shah's concubines posted on the Internet are most likely photographs of theater artists or excerpts from plays. Coming to any theater, we see in its foyer the composition of the troupe in photographs, where we can often see the actors in makeup, 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. Deviation from the norms of the Koran (in this case, photographing women with their faces uncovered) would alienate thousands of his devoted subjects. His enemies, of whom he had plenty, would not fail to take advantage of this. Attempts were made on his life more than once.

The Shah visited many European countries, including Russia. He was delighted with Russian ballet. He couldn’t stage something like that in his country, so he creates a play about it, dressing the Iranian princess Anis (photo below) and other supposedly women in ballet tutus. By the way, the Shah wrote books about his travels, which were published in Europe and Russia. Perhaps he also wrote plays for his theater.

What does the name Anis mean?

It is no coincidence that the Iranian princess has such a strange name; it was under Shah Nasser ad-Din that two religious rebels who dared to admit that the Koran had become obsolete were shot. This is the founder of a new religion called Babism, Baba Seyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, as well as his ardent follower and assistant Mirza Muhammad Ali Zunuzi (Anis). There is a legend that during the execution by a detachment of 750 Christians, Baba strangely ended up in his cell, but Anis was not touched by the bullets.

It is the name Anis that the satirical Iranian princess bears. Each time it caused laughter and mockery. By dressing his opponent in women's clothing, 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 the other “inhabitants” of the Shah’s harem, maybe they can also tell a lot. Of course, these are only assumptions; we will never know what really happened.

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