Hasan Ali Khan Garrusi

• Honorific Prefix — Amir Nezam • Name — Hasan-Ali Khan Garrusi • Born — 1820 • Birthplace — Garrus, Qajar Iran • Died — January 1900 • Burial Place — Shah Nematollah Vali Shrine, Mahan • Occupation — Officer, diplomat, statesman, and writer • Relatives — Mohammad-Sadeq Khan (father)

A member of the Kurdish Kabudvand tribe, Hasan-Ali was born in 1820 in Garrus (present-day Bijar). For a long time, his family had occupied positions within the government. His father Mohammad-Sadeq Khan was the governor of Garrus. His mother was a former concubine given to his father by Fath-Ali Shah Qajar as a reward. His father and grandfather were part of the court of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza in Tabriz, which was influenced by the literary network of Abol-Qasem Qa'em-Maqam. This influence may have been the reason behind Hasan-Ali's education. His studies, which included Arabic and Persian literature, history, calligraphy, and possibly theology, were unusually extensive for a man of his origin. As part of the Garrus regiment, Hasan Ali participated in the Herat campaign of 1837/38 and was later assigned to the Tabriz garrison and to pacify the Kermanshah region in 1841/42. He was then summoned to the capital and chose to leave Bijar for the Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine near Tehran following the suspicious death of his father. He was charged with patricide but the accession of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar to the throne opened new opportunities for Hasan Ali who was reinstated as commander of the Garrus regiment. He went on to become an important figure in quelling riots against the central government including the Salar revolt between 1847 and 1851. He died in January 1900. He was buried in the Shah Nematollah Vali Shrine in Mahan.