1897 Vladikavkaz to St.Peterburg, to Mirza Riza Khan Arfa od Dovla

1.1.1897 -> 4.1.1897 Vladikavkaz, Caucasus to St.Peterburg, to Persian envoy to Russian Empire Mirza Riza Khan Arfa od Dovla.

7 kopeck stamp.

Letter is included.

Mirza Riza Khan Arfa od Dovla (1846-1937) was a prominent Iranian statesman, political figure and writer. He was fluent in French and Russian.
He was a member of the High Society of the Principality of Monaco. He was Persian envoy to Russian and Ottoman Empires. His diplomatic career began in Tiflis, where he worked at the Iranian Consulate in the Caucasus. He was an interpreter and adviser to the embassy in St Petersburg, later appointed Consul General of Persia in Tiflis and Persian envoy to St Petersburg from 1895 to 1901. Then he served for several years in Constantinople. Mirza Riza Khan lived for a time as a private citizen in his own villa in Monaco, and then he served as Minister of Justice and then Minister of Education in Persia from 1912-1914. In 1899 he took an active part in the Hague Peace Conference. In 1904 and in 1933-1937 he was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mirza Riza-khan is widely known in Iran for his literary and educational activities. He signed his poetic works with the pseudonym «Danish». He also reformed the alphabet of Persian language by adapting and supplementing the Arabic alphabet. For this, he received the title of Prince, becoming one of the few people in Iran who carried this title without being related to the ruling dynasty.

Source:hermitagefineart.com