Aqa Baygum

Aghabaji Qarabaghi, Agha Biygum (d. 1832), daughter of Ibrahim Khan Javanshir and granddaughter of Panah 'Ali Biyg Sarujilu-yi Javanshir. A poet, with the title Aghabaji, and a consort of the Qajar Fath'ali Shah. Her grandfather was a distinguished general of the Afsharid Nadir Shah whose intimacy with the king was a source of concern for other generals and they made the king suspicious of him. Being informed of the situation, Panah Khan fled to Qarabagh in 1737, when his 15-year-old son, Ibrahim Khalil Khan was in Khurasan. Nadir Shah strove to arrest him, but it was of no avail. Ibrahim Khalil Khan joined his father after a while and was, on the orders of Karim Khan Zand, was appointed the khan and governor of Qarabagh in 1760. The Qajar Agha Muhammad Khan overthrew the Zand rule and called the khans and dignitaries of Azerbaijan to Tehran, his seat of government, to further stabilize his power. Nonetheless, Ibrahim Khalil Khan who held sway in the region declined the call. In response, Agha Muhammad Khan decided to suppress the governor of Qarabagh and other rebellious governors in Caucasus in 1794. His engagement against Ibrahim Khalil Khan led to transient truce. The khans of Caucasus joined Russia once again and he had to conduct a military campaign against the region and engaged with Ibrahim Khalil Khan. This time the Shisha Castle was conquered and Ibrahim Khalil Khan Javanshir fled from his seat. Agha Muhammad Khan did not find any opportunity to confront the other khans of the region since his servant murdered him five years after residing at the castle; as a consequence, his troops fled from Shisha. Ibrahim Khalil Khan returned to his seat of government and on his orders the dead body of the Qajar king was reverently, though temporarily interred. A short while after Fath'ali Shah's accession, the Qajar Husayn Qulikhan 'Izz al-Din Luyi was dispatched by the king to bring back Agha Muhammad Khan's corpse and Ibrahim Khalil Khan Javanshir, aiming at making peace with the court, returned it with due ceremony, as a response, the king sent him a robe and a sword of honor and the edict of the government of Qarabagh. To show his gratitude and as a token of loyalty, the Khan of Qarabagh sent "his beloved child" Agha Biygum in 1798 to Persia to become the consort of the Shah. She entered Persia with great pomp and ceremony, but since the king had four consorts in permanent marriage, she became his consort in temporary marriage. A short while after the death of the Qajar Asiya Biygum, one of the king's permanent consorts, Aghabiygum who had received the title Aghabaji, married him permanently. However, this marriage was merely formal and Ibrahim Khalil Khan's daughter was formally Fath'ali Shah's consort. The temporary marriage had no impact on her particular prestige and whenever she entered the chamber of the king, his other consorts moved to make room for her. Sir Gore Ouseley became the British ambassador in Persia in 1811, but his wife was also appointed to meet with the queen of Persia. Aghabaji, "the Chief Consort of the Shah", the "Lady of the Harem" and "the Queen of Persia" was appointed with "bejeweled crown and diadem" to receive the ambassador's spouse. In the course of the meeting, the latter presented a precious ambergris necklace on behalf of the Queen of England. Further, epistles were dispatched, on the orders of the king and on behalf of Aghabaji as the Queen of Persia, to her counterparts who responded to her epistles. She did not favor the company of the other wives of the Shah nor the people of the harem. Therefore, she lived in a palace in Imam Zadih Qasim, built by the Shah as his summer residence and Fath'ali Shah granted her the proceeds from the city of Qum. She settled in Qum after a while with her adopted children the Shah traveled to Qum to meet her. During her residence in the city, he had mosques, schools, and public bathhouses built there. She could not have any children sired by the king, but was in charge of the education and upbringing of two of his children, Kavus Mirza and Murassa' Khanum who later married her nephew and niece. Thus, she had a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law at the swarming court of the Shah. She died in Qum in 1832 and was buried there. She was educated and composed poetry and her nom de plume was Tuti ("Parrot").

Asar-afarinan (1, 39-40).