Mozaffar ad-Din was born on 23 March 1853 in
Tehran, the capital of Iran. He was the fourth son of
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (). His mother was
Shokouh al-Saltaneh, a daughter of Fath-Ali Mirza and a granddaughter of the second Qajar shah
Fath-Ali Shah (). Mozaffar al-Din was named crown prince and sent as governor to the northern province of
Azerbaijan in 1861. His father, Naser al-Din Shah ruled Iran for close to 48 years. Mozaffar al-Din spent his 35 years as crown prince in the pursuit of pleasure; his relations with his father were frequently strained, and he was not consulted in important matters of state. Thus, when he ascended the throne in May 1896, he was unprepared for the burdens of office. At Mozaffar al-Din's accession, Iran faced a financial crisis, with annual governmental expenditures far in excess of revenues as a result of the policies of his father. During his reign, Mozzafar ad-Din attempted some reforms of the central treasury; however, the previous debt incurred by the
Qajar court, owed to both
England and
Russia, significantly undermined this effort. He furthered this debt by borrowing even more funds from Britain,
France, and Russia. These later loans were used to pay earlier loans rather than create new economic developments. In 1901, Mozzaffar ad-Din signed the
D'Arcy Concession, granting
William Knox D'Arcy, a British subject, the exclusive rights to oil in most of the country. In 1908, oil was finally discovered at a site in
Masjed Soleyman. Like his father he visited Europe three times. During these periods, on the encouragements of his chancellor
Amin-os-Soltan, he borrowed money from
Nicholas II of Russia to pay for his extravagant traveling expenses. During his first visit he was introduced to the "
cinematographe" in Paris, France. Immediately falling in love with the silver screen the Shah ordered his personal photographer to acquire all the equipment and knowledge needed to bring the moving picture to Iran, thus starting
Persian cinema. The following is a translated excerpt from the Shah's diary: Additionally, in order to manage the costs of the state and his extravagant personal lifestyle Mozaffar ad-din Shah decided to sign many concessions, providing foreigners with monopolistic control of various Persian industries and markets. One example was the
D'Arcy Concession. Widespread fears amongst the aristocracy, educated elites, and religious leaders about the concessions and foreign control resulted in some protests in 1906. These resulted in the Shah accepting a suggestion to create a
Majles (National Consultative Assembly) in October 1906, by which the monarch's power was curtailed as he granted a constitution and parliament to the people. He died of a heart attack 40 days after granting this constitution and was buried in
Imam Husayn Shrine in
Kerbala. == Personality and health ==