'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎211r] (426/610)

Atabak. His chief distinction is to have married a daughter
of Muzaffar-ud-Din Shah. He has held some Court appoint
ments and accompanied Muzaffar-ud-Din Shah to Europe in
1905.
In 1909 he was appointed Postmaster General, but proved
unsatisfactory, and in July 1916 he was a member of the Joint
Financial Commission. He owns large estates in Gilan and has
the reputation of being a most oppressive landlord. As the
result of a petition against him by his “ ra’ayat ” to the Jan-
galis he was kidnapped from his property at Lashtinishah in
Gilan in the summer of 1917, held to ransom for 100,000 tumans
and released in the autumn on payment of 75,000.
He speaks French fluently.
No. 69. AMIN-UL-MULK, Dr. Ismd'il Khan.
Born about 1872. He is a native of Rasht, who spent many
years in Paris studying medicine and is said to be a skilful
oculist. In 1906 he was assistant 1 mihmandar to Sir G. Spring
Rice and travelled with him from Gilan to Tehran in 1906,
where he rendered great service to him during the early days
of the Constitutional movement and as a deputy used his
influence in the first Majlis on the side of moderation.
He was Minister of Posts and Telegraphs and. Public Works
in ’Ain-ud-Dauleh’s Cabinet of 1915, and in Vusuq-ud-Dauleh’s
Cabinet of 1916. He was a partisan of ’Ain-ud-Dauleh (No. 6)
and accompanied him as Vice-Governor to Tabiiz in 1920,
where he quarrelled with him. He was Minister of Finance in
Sipahdar’s Cabinet November 1920. He speaks French fluently,
is a pleasant man, and has always been friendly with the British.
No. 70. HAJI AHMAD, Jang all.
Born about 1865. A native of Kasma and petty trader,
who became a wealthy merchant and was engaged in the silk
trade. He was anti*-Russian and became one of the first parti
sans of Mirza Kuchik Khan (No. 75), his financial support was
essential to Kuchik Khan’s success, and he controlled the funds
of the Jangali Ittihad-i-Islam of which Kuchik Khan was the
active organizer and leader. In 1918 relations between them
were strained as Haji Ahmad was accused of taking the lion’s
share for himself, and in 1919 when the Cossacks entered
Gilan, Haji Ahmad with 500 men surrendered to them and was
granted a pardon, “Taminnameh ”, on condition of surrender
ing all his arms and of good behaviour in future. He professed