From time to time photos of this woman appear on the internet and always become famous in a short time. They are usually accompanied by an explanation that she is a Persian princess from the beginning of the 20th century who was considered the greatest beauty of her time, because of which as many as 13 men were killed, which she refused. None of this is true!
Princess Fatemah Kanum Esmet al-Dowleh, daughter of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar, the Persian ruler and one of his official wives, Taj al-Dowleh. Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar was a Persian shah who ruled in the mid-19th century. Like most of the rulers of that time, he had many wives (there were 84 of them in his harem alone). At least a dozen official wives should be added to this number, so that it is clear how many women chess had at their disposal at any given moment.
And as securing offspring was the main priority of every ruler, Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar also had a real "buljuk" of children - 21 children, 11 princes and 10 princesses were recorded.
Beauty" with a mustache!
Fatemah Kanum Esmet al-Dovleh is today considered one of the most photographed women at the chess court. Most of the photos were taken by her father, who was a passionate photographer, so it can be assumed that this daughter was his sweetheart.
In the scarce historical data that exist about it, there is no mention anywhere that she is "the most beautiful woman of her time" or that 13 young men were allegedly killed because she rejected them. As, like all women of that time, she spent her earliest youth in a harem, surrounded exclusively by women, it is unlikely that Esmet had the opportunity to talk, let alone refuse as many as 13 men.
In addition, Esmet was married when she was 9 or 10 years old. The marriage was arranged, so it is unlikely that the princess had ever seen men who were not her relatives before.
The only thing that is partly true in the story circulating on the internet is that the princess’s appearance in Persia at the time was considered desirable.
The princess was short and, to put it mildly, pleasantly filled. Her head and neck were covered with a richly decorated scarf, her main trump card was joined eyebrows and a dark, very pronounced mustache. At first glance, it seems like it’s about a man!
As we can see from the photos we have today, Esmet was anything but the beauty of the enchanting curves that Westerners imagine today when the harem is mentioned.
Yet the criteria of beauty at the time were such, especially in the high class. The stronger and fatter the woman, the more beautiful she was, and this was especially true of the women of the ruling dynasty. They ate the best food and were not allowed to move too often.
The masculine look, which included that the woman was strong and hairy, thus became a kind of symbol of beauty in 19th-century Iran.
Foreign statesmen, photographers and artists could often be seen at his father's court. If they were accompanied by their wives, the more important ones were given the opportunity to meet members of the Shah's family.
The wife of a certain Belgian ambassador met Princess Esmet in 1877 and after that she wrote in her diary that she was "horrified".
- Above her upper lip, the princess has a clearly visible black mustache that gives her a masculine look.
The fact that Princess Esmet is mostly talked about with ridicule today is sad, because she was actually a very important person at the time she lived. Contrary to tradition, she learned to play the piano and is considered the first Iranian to do this.
She herself, probably at her father's urging, became a photographer and had a small studio in her house. She photographed her husband and her children. The couple had five.
Her father seems to have had a lot of confidence in her because he allowed her to be a constant companion of the European ladies who visited the court. This leads to the conclusion that she almost certainly spoke at least one foreign language.
In the end, even the time stated next to the photos of this princess is wrong, because she lived most of her life in the 19th century, and not in the 20th, as it is stated.
It is recorded that Fatemah Kanum Esmet al-Dovleh died in 1905 (thus, at the very beginning of the 20th century). She was only 41 years old and was buried next to her beloved father.
She went on to become a photographer with her very own private studio in her home. Her half-sister, Zahra, would hold literary salons at her house every week and helped establish The Society of Women’s Freedom.