Set Khan Astvatsatourian
Set Khan Astvatsatourian (c. 1780–1842) was an Iranian–Armenian businessman, Iran's ambassador to Great Britain, envoy to the Ottoman empire, military advisor to Fath-Ali Shah, the second Qajar shah (king) of Iran. Set Khan played a leading role in the modernization of the Persian military, working with close friend Abbas Mirza, the Crown Prince of Iran, to reform the military during The Great Game.[1] Set Khan is immortalized in stone holding his Ottoman-jeweled dagger within the "Asia Group" statuary at the Prince Albert Memorial in London's Hyde Park.
Set Khan
Early life[edit]
Set was born to a family that was among the well-known Armenian and Georgian families brought to Iran during the reign of Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar, and dispersed throughout Iran for political reasons.[2] Set learned the Armenian and Persian languages in the private school of the Armenian Church in Bushire.[3] After receiving an education and learning the Armenian language, Set was sent at the age of thirteen to be educated in English at a school in Bombay, where he also learned Hindi. After completing his education, he worked for an English merchant in India.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Set was a close friend of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza, who affectionately referred to him as "Brother Set."[1] In The Immortals by Alice Navasargian, it is noted that Set Khan wore beautifully tailored clothes, sported a thick beard and a well groomed appearance, and was known by the highest elements of British society, being associated with royalty and dignitaries.[6] Set Khan and his wife Lady Zizi had a son named Tsatur Khan, and a grandson named Alexander Khan.
Death[edit]
The death of the Crown Prince in 1833 was a personal blow to Set Khan, who lost a dear friend. He suffered increasingly hard times during the 1830s and died in Tehran in 1842. After the death of Set Khan and Abbas Mirza, military reforms in Qajar Iran were virtually halted for the next half-century.[1] Firuz Kazemzadeh characterizes the next fifty years of development, "Under the rule of Mohammad Shah, the Persian army lost whatever effectiveness it had possessed in the previous reign."[8]