Hour 13:46 01 Sep 25

Fath-Ali Shah had appointed his eldest son, Abbas Mirza, as his crown prince and deputy. 
 
However, fate was not kind to this brave, intelligent, and capable prince, and Abbas Mirza passed away in 1833 CE (1249 AH) at the age of 44, before his father's death. Due to the Shah's affection for Abbas Mirza, after his sudden death, the Shah appointed his (Abbas Mirza’s) son, Mohammad Mirza, as the new crown prince. Shortly after Mohammad Mirza’s appointment, Fath-Ali Shah passed away, and thus his grandson, Mohammad Mirza, ascended the throne at the age of 28 with the royal title of Mohammad Shah Qajar.
 
However, 60 of Fath-Ali Shah’s sons, each of whom governed various provinces across the vast Qajar Empire, made a claim to the throne. They believed that being direct sons of the deceased monarch, older in age, and more experienced in matters of governance and administration, they were more deserving of the crown than their nephew.

At that time, the vizier of Mohammad Mirza was Mirza Abolghasem Qaem-Maqam Farahani the Second, a distinguished and wise statesman, unmatched in political wisdom. 
 
To prevent civil strife, he took the young Shah and set off toward Tehran, the capital. Along the way, he received the envoys of the rival princes, treating each according to his own standing—imprisoning some, promising others positions in the future government, and warning others of internal and foreign threats that could lead to the disintegration of the country.

Through this strategy, he kept all the royal claimants in a state of  both fear and hope, while also fueling a sense of rivalry among them, as some began to believe that making deals with Qaem-Maqam could help them avoid punishment and secure a place in the future government.

Another crucial strategy of Qaem-Maqam was to take the young Shah to the summer retreat of Niavaran, to protect him from plots by former courtiers of Fath-Ali Shah who might poison or deceive him. Thus, the modest palace built by Fath-Ali Shah in Niavaran became the center for planning the new reign of Mohammad Shah and the administration under Qaem-Maqam Farahani.

As the Shah settled in the Niavaran garden, enchanted by its lovely weather and beauty, he ordered the modest Fath-Ali era structure to be expanded. According to historians of the time, the resulting palace included a small upper floor and two chambers on each side of the main hall.

Niavaran became the place where some of Mohammad Shah’s fondest memories were formed—witnessing the chain of events that led to his kingship, from his father's untimely death to the elimination of 60 deserving rivals. Even part of the wedding ceremony of his son and heir, Naser al-Din Mirza (the future Naser al-Din Shah), was held in Niavaran due to the summer heat in Tehran.

His wife, Malek Jahan Khanom—later known as Mahd-e Olia (meaning “sublime cradle”) due to being the mother of the crown prince—also had a summer residence in the Niavaran village. As a result, before any journey or after returning from one, Mohammad Shah would first visit his wife in Niavaran.
 
His fondness for Shemiran and Niavaran led him to decide on building another summer palace nearby, outside of the lands owned by his wife. He had also been advised by physicians, due to his illness, to find a place with a good climate near Niavaran for this purpose.
 
With the counsel of his grand vizier, Haji Mirza Aqasi, lands in Asadabad to the west of Niavaran and Tajrish were chosen, and the Mohammadiyeh Palace was built there for him to spend his summers. Fearing that others at court—especially the Shah's mother, Mahd-e Olia, his long-time adversary—might seize the opportunity to gain influence over the Shah, Aqasi also constructed a summer residence for himself nearby, called Abbasiyeh (from his own first name, Abbas).
 
Even before the Mohammadiyeh Palace was half-complete, a sum equivalent to 100,000 tomans in gold had already been spent on its construction. In the summer of 1848 CE (1264 AH), due to illness and the summer heat, the Shah moved into the unfinished palace, where laborers were still working—only to pass away there after a few days.

Upon hearing of her husband's death, Mahd-e Olia rushed to the royal court in Tehran and took charge of state affairs until her son, Naser al-Din Mirza, could arrived from Tabriz. Meanwhile, Haji Mirza Aqasi fled in panic to areas in Tehran and Rey. Eventually, after securing a guarantee of personal safety through negotiations with the Russian and British embassies, he went to the holy cities in Iraq and died there a year later, in 1849 CE (1265 AH).