Ethnicity, Identity, and the Development of Nationalism in Iran

2. Iskandar Khan Setkhanian

47 2 Iskandar Khan Setkhanian a t h r on g of mour n er s crowded Tehran’s Armenian church in April 1953 to pay their respects to the family of retired General Iskandar Khan Setkhanian, who had served in the military under four of Iran’s Qajar shahs. Among the mourners were numerous government officials and military officers representing the Pahlavi regime. Following the religious ceremony at Surb Astvatsatsin Church, priests, military officers , and government officials gathered on the stairs outside to publicly extol the virtues of a man who, like his forebears, had long served in the military of Iran. During the eulogy, mourners were reminded that Iskandar Khan had been a respected citizen from a prominent Armenian family that had served the country for more than one hundred years and that he had admirably served three decades in the military. A military spokesman apologized to the family for the small number of officials in attendance, explaining that the current political turmoil made their attendance difficult.1 The homage paid to the retired general and his family was a reflection of the high esteem in which he was held for a lifetime of service to Iran. During his career, Iskandar Khan had directly participated in significant events that had paved the way for the governing regime. It is also of significance that he had been a close friend to Reza Shah, who had once been his subordinate in the Cossack Brigade. Iskandar Khan’s casket was draped in the Iranian tricolor flag as it left the church and was carried on the shoulders of a military honor guard. At the beginning of Naderi Avenue, a military band stood at attention, 48 | Experiences with Iranian Nationalism and the streets leading to the Armenian cemetery were lined with hundreds of uniformed soldiers as the procession passed by. Iskandar Khan’s eldest grandson and a nephew carried his military decorations as they walked beside the casket toward Doulab Cemetery and his final resting place.2 The medals and regalia were but a small part of Iskandar Khan’s extensive collection of treasured memorabilia, documents , photographs, and artwork that detailed his military career and life in Iran.3 To fully understand the life of Iskandar Khan Setkhanian of the Persian Cossack Brigade and his place in Iranian history, it is necessary to consider the family into which he was born in 1865 and the development of the family’s relationship and role in the service of the Qajar rulers and Iranian military during the nineteenth century. 2. Funeral of Iskandar Khan Setkhanian, Tehran, 1953. Unknown photographer . Courtesy of Mara Setkhanian-Martin. Iskandar Khan Setkhanian | 49 The Setkhanian Family in Nineteenth-Century Iran The Setkhanian family name and many of its family traditions began with Set Astvatsatourian, who was born in Bushire around 1780.4 Bushire , a port city of the Persian Gulf, was an important center of trade for Armenian merchants of Isfahan, Julfa, and India.5 Armenian tradesmen had trading houses, distribution centers, and overseers in the seaport. It is believed that the Astvatsatourian family had moved to Iran and become part of the middle class involved in this trade during the reign of Agha Muhammad Shah Qajar (1794–97).6 After receiving a rudimentary education and studying the Armenian language with the priest of Bushire’s Armenian church, Set Astvatsatourian was sent at the age of thirteen to be educated in English at a school in Bombay.7 When his education was completed, he worked for an English merchant in India. He returned to Bushire a few years later, by which time his father had died. Owing to the rarity of educated multilingual individuals in earlynineteenth -century Bushire, Set Astvatsatourian became a translator for the ambassador of Great Britain, who was traveling through Bushire to be received by the court of Fath Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834) in the new Qajar capital, Tehran. From that time, he was given the honorific title khan and was thus known as “Set Khan.” In Armenian tradition, his sons were later known as “Setkhanian,” sons of Set Khan. Set Khan was employed in the civil service of the Qajar court, and in 1810 he made his first trip to London, most probably as a translator, in the company of the Persian ambassador to Great Britain. After returning to Iran and working for the next decade in the...