Fath Ali Shah Qajar
A Many Splendored King
Patron of the Arts
"The Shah of Persia was the principal
rival of the Ottoman Sultan among the monarchs of the Middle East. Both were called zill-ullah
(shadow of God,) and the Shah had even grander title than the Sultan: Shahanshah (king of kings,)
as opposed to padishah (great king.) They also had more concrete causes for
rivalry: territorial disputes in the Caucasus and Mesopotamia, and the ancien religious
antagonism between Sunni and Shia Muslims".
Extracts from the work of Philip Mansel "Sultans
in Splendor," published by the Vendome Press, New York and Paris.
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