Naser al-Din was in Tabriz from Qajars tribe when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the Sun Throne with the help of Amir Kabir.

Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government.
With his sanction, thousands of Babis were killed after a few Babis, acting alone, made an attempt on his life.
This treatment continued under his prime minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of  the Báb – regarded as a manifestation of God to Bábí's and Bahá'ís, and to historians as the founder of the Bábí religion.

Unable to regain the territory in the Caucasus irrevocably lost to Russia in the early 19th century, Naser al-Din sought compensation by seizing Herāt, Afghanistan, in 1856.
Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to British India and declared war on Persia, forcing the return of Herāt as well as Persia's recognition of the kingdom of Afghanistan.

Naser al-Din was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw.
During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry.
He was the first Persian monarch to be so honoured.
His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages, including Persian, German, French, and Dutch.

In 1890 Naser al-Din met British major Gerald F. Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of the Persian tobacco industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a fatwa that made farming, trading, and consuming tobacco haram (forbidden).
Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized 'Talbet' company represented foreign exploitation, so for that reason it was deemed immoral.
It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.

This was not the end of Naser al-Din's attempts to give concessions to Europeans; he later gave the ownership of Persian customs incomes to Paul Julius Reuter.
Naser al-Din was in Tabriz from Qajars tribe when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the Sun Throne with the help of Amir Kabir.
Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government. With his sanction, thousands of Babis were killed after a few Babis, acting alone, made an attempt on his life. This treatment continued under his prime minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of  the Báb – regarded as a manifestation of God to Bábí's and Bahá'ís, and to historians as the founder of the Bábí religion.
Unable to regain the territory in the Caucasus irrevocably lost to Russia in the early 19th century, Naser al-Din sought compensation by seizing Herāt, Afghanistan, in 1856. Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to British India and declared war on Persia, forcing the return of Herāt as well as Persia's recognition of the kingdom of Afghanistan.
Naser al-Din was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Persian monarch to be so honoured. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages, including Persian, German, French, and Dutch.
In 1890 Naser al-Din met British major Gerald F. Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of the Persian tobacco industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a fatwa that made farming, trading, and consuming tobacco haram (forbidden). Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized 'Talbet' company represented foreign exploitation, so for that reason it was deemed immoral. It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.
This was not the end of Naser al-Din's attempts to give concessions to Europeans; he later gave the ownership of Persian customs incomes to Paul Julius Reuter.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar