Kader Abdolah - The King

The servants appeared with lit chafing dishes into which they threw fragrant herbs to ward off evil spirits. A group of musicians accompanied a young singer, who sang melancholy songs of farewell. The shah wiped away his tears with his handkerchief and waved to everyone.

Seven royal coaches stood at the ready. The government officials, members of the royal house, a delegation from the bazaar and the British and Russian ambassadors were all lined up at the gate to say goodbye. His mother had already wished him a good journey.

The shah nodded to a few of them, shook hands with others, had a friendly chat with the Russian ambassador and exchanged a few words with his British counterpart. The residents of Tehran also waved him farewell. The chamberlain stood beside the shah with a tray full of new coins, which the shah then tossed to the gathered throng. Never before had he distributed so many coins, but he did it mindful of the fact that these people would never forget him if he failed to return.

Once he had thrown out the last coins he raised his arm in the air and walked to his coach.

The shah had been gone for a few months and everyone really did believe he was on a long journey to the holy cities. When his stay lasted longer than anyone expected they speculated that he had gone to Mecca to take part in the annual hajj. As a wealthy believer you had to travel to Mecca at least once and participate in the traditional Sugar Feast.

The shah was now halfway through his travels, and he had sent a few brief letters to Tehran. To his mother he wrote:

Mother, we were received by our neighbour Russia like a great Persian king. They told us they still have fond memories of your visit to Moscow. They showed us a couple of portraits of you. You never told us that the royal artist had painted your picture. I asked if I could take your portrait with me. Alas, they like you so much that they want to keep the painting in their own collection.

To Taj Olsultan he wrote:

How I wish I had brought you with us. It is more a journey for you than for us. The women, the cafés, the bridges, the lamps, the churches, the bakeries and the theatres. But it doesn’t matter. You are still young, and we will send you to Moscow some day.

We miss our little Ahmad Mozafar, our crown prince. Take good care of him. Feed him with your own milk. Hold him close to your body and talk to him in complete sentences. Don’t tell him any foolish stories and don’t sing him any common lullabies. Read to him from Hafez. Teach him French songs.

Until we meet again. We are coming soon.

To keep the women of the harem from getting jealous he wrote one letter to all of them:

Wives! The shah misses his harem. We were duty bound to make this journey or we wouldn’t have done it at all. The distances are great, the roads are impassable and danger is lurking at every turn. Thank God we didn’t bring you with us or it would have been a miserable expedition. We ask you to pray for us. We are coming home soon.

To his vizier he wrote:

The way the people live and work here is completely different from anything we are used to. I keep wondering whether such a life is suitable for our subjects. I am afraid that if we were to adopt all the manners of these people we would end up neglecting our own religion, traditions and customs.

When I come back we will discuss this at length. It has certainly been a useful journey. We have bought cannons and ordered rifles for the country, and we have signed many contracts.

We received a short note from Eyn ed-Dowleh. He writes to us in no uncertain terms that the presence of the shah is essential, which is why we believe it is unwise to stay away any longer. We have decided to cut the trip short. As far as we can judge, we have achieved our goal. The next time we make this journey it will be much longer.

Vizier Mostovi Almamalek suspected he knew what Eyn ed-Dowleh’s short note was all about. He had probably told the shah that although everything in the country seemed peaceful, his opponents were busily building up a solid network.

Eyn ed-Dowleh had also warned the vizier: ‘You must not think they are gone, or that they have changed their way of thinking. By no means. I have proof that they are preparing to seize power at a suitable moment.’

Mostovi Almamalek had hoped to be able to carry out some of his plans in the shah’s absence, but it proved almost impossible to get anything done without royal approval. Eyn ed-Dowleh was a hundred times worse than the shah. He was the ideal watchdog. He had summed up the vizier’s position in a single sentence: ‘You are not to come up with any new ideas until the shah is back!’

Eyn ed-Dowleh had put together a special military unit to arrest or eliminate opponents in Tehran. He wanted to complete the mission with which he had been charged before the shah returned, but that, as he was gradually learning, would be no easy task. He even believed that Mostovi Almamalek was maintaining contact with the opposition. Almamalek did speak occasionally with Jamal Khan and Amir Nezam, but he was planning nothing against the shah. His purpose in doing so was to win the young intellectuals over to his ideas.

When the vizier had taken office the shah had asked to be shown all legal documents and contracts so he could study them. But because of the sheer volume involved, and because the shah simply didn’t want to be bothered most of the time, the papers tended to accumulate on his desk. The vizier had little patience with what he called the shah’s lack of responsibility.

Later he would be confronted with the mountain of contracts that the shah had signed unilaterally with European companies and merchants.

The members of the resistance committee had long been convinced that the shah was the biggest obstacle to real change, so they worked steadily on. At the last meeting of the resistance committee in Tehran, the following men were present:

Jamal Khan

Mirza Reza Kermani

Prince Malkum Khan

Abdolrahim Talebof

Haj Zeinolabedin Maraghei

Sheikh Ahmad Ruhi

Mirza Muhammad Hassan Ashtiani

Sheikh Abolhasan

Mirza Soleyman Khan

Mirza Yahya Dolatabadi

Mirza Muhammad Alikhan

Sheikh Ahmad Gherkhani

Mirza Mohsen Sadolama

Mirza Soleyman Khad Dehkade

Mirza Isa Ghaemmagham

Amir Nezam

Abolghasem Lahuti

Mostashar Aldoleh

Most of them were involved in culture, literature, politics or science. Some of them lived in Tehran and the rest came from the other large cities. Their meeting was something like a small national congress at which they attempted to combine their forces.

Jamal Khan opened the meeting.

‘Welcome, friends! I consider myself fortunate to see you all here. The fact that we are able to come together this evening is undoubtedly a gift from God. A number of you have travelled a few days to get here, and some of you a week. Once again, welcome.

‘Each and every one of you is important for our homeland. Sometimes I worry that our dream will never be fulfilled, that we are doomed to endless misery. But at other moments I feel a glimmer of hope in my heart.

‘My friends, I recently went to the south of the country to see what the British are up to. It was not possible to set foot in their territory, but I posed as an interpreter for one of the local officials. What is taking place there is a miracle. The British have erected new installations, machines, engines, appliances and pumps. They have built a long wall and have laid claim to everything, but that wall will not last long. Sooner or later they’ll have to work with our graduates and our workers. But right now, we ourselves are the biggest problem. What we need are laws, set down in a statute book. And the power of the shah must be drastically curtailed. We have a long way to go. But when I look at you now, I am looking at the future.