'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎205r] (414/610)

him, by word of mouth. He assumes the asceticism and sanc
tity of a “ darvish,” professing not to spend more than 6
tumans a month on his food, and his house is always thronged.
He is a law unto himself, is quite out of control and a very mis
chievous person.
Other fairly prominent Mujtahidts are :—
(cousins).
Agha All Najamabadl. J
Shaikh Abdul Nabl.
Agha Shaikh Murtaza Ashtiani.
No. 42. AMIR MU’AIYID, IsmaM Khan, Savad KnU. Former
title Amir Tumdn.
Born about 1850. Has 3 sons Sahm-ul-Mamalik, Saifullah
Khan and Hujabr-us-Sultan.
His grandfather Lutf All Beg, of a peasant family of the
SurkherobiLt district of £avad Kuh, became a brigand in Savad
Kuh until, to avoid capture, he fled to Tabriz where he entered
the service of Nasir-ud-Din at that time Valiahd, and was
afterwards promoted “jalodar.” On Nasir-ud-Din s accession
to the throne Lutf Ali Beg died leaving two sons, Murad Beg in
the Shah’s stable, and Ibrahim Khan in his coachhouse.^ Both
were promoted, the former to superintendence of the ‘‘ brood
mares ” the latter became head of his department and “ Mira-
kh5r ” with the title of Shu’a-ul-Mulk. Shu’a-ul-Mulk left
4 sons, among them Isma’il Khan, Amir Mu’aiyid.
He is an adventurous soldier of fortune, who entered the
military school at Tehran and started his career as a Nail) of the
“fauj ” of Savad Kuh, 300 of whom formed a bodyguard to the
Shah in Tehran, with few possessions except his own sharp
wits by which he rapidly obtained promotion until he became a.
commander of the whole ‘ fauj ’ of Savad Kuh (1000 ‘ sarbaz ’
and 500 ‘sowars’), and was given the rank of Amir Tuman
by Muzaffar-ud-Din Shah. He was in the entourage of the
Shah and during the revolution of 1909 he started as a
“ Royalist,” but has since been alternately “ Royalist ” and
“ Constitutionalist ” according to his interest of the moment,
and the leading figure in the troubles in Mazandaran since the
revolution.
His cleverness and personal popularity won’ him the support
of the Savad Kuhis and he refused to give up the “ khaiiseh ”