This photo shows images of two different women who belong to the Qajar dynasty of Persia - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 16, 2022
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the person in the photo is a Persian princess named Qajar. The post even claims that 13 young men killed themselves because she rejected their proposals. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Persian princess Qajar; 13 young men killed themselves because she rejected them.
Fact: The photo has images of two different women. The bigger image shows Princess Fatemeh Khanum “Ismat al-Dawlah” (1855-1905) who was the second daughter of Nasar al-Din Shah Qajar, the King of Persia. The smaller image on the bottom is of Princess Zahra Khanum “Taj al-Saltanah” (1884-1936) who was the 12 daughter of Nasar al-Din Shah Qajar. These women belong to the Qajar dynasty, hence each one is generically called, Princess Qajar. There is no evidence that confirms that there were 13 young men who killed themselves because one of the Princess Qajar had rejected them. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
There are two images in the viral photo. When reverse image search is done on the images, it was found that they were two different people.
The bigger image shows Princess Fatemeh Khanum “Ismat al-Dawlah” (1855-1905). She was the second daughter of Nasar al-Din Shah Qajar, the King of Persia.
The smaller image on the bottom is of Princess Zahra Khanum “Taj al-Saltanah” (1884-1936). She was 12 daughter of Nasar al-Din Shah Qajar.
Couple of Blogs/ articles (here and here) were written on this viral photo, confirming that there are historical inaccuracies. According to these articles, this claim is being shared as a viral meme which is quite inaccurate. As these women were born in the Qajar dynasty, generically, they were known as Princess Qajar; but there were several of them, not one.
We could not find any evidence that confirms that there were 13 young men who killed themselves because one of the Princess Qajar had rejected them.
Princess Zahra Khanum “Taj al-Saltanah” was a writer of the Qajar Dynasty in Persia. She is said to have been a pioneer in Women’s rights in Iran (erstwhile Persia).
To sum it up, this photo shows images of two different women who belong to the Qajar dynasty of Persia.