In September 1848 CE, Mohammad Shah Qajar, suffering from severe gout and the scorching heat of Tehran, sought refuge in his unfinished palace—Qasr-e Mohammadiyeh—in Asadabad, west of Shemiran. His condition was so painful that he spent nights in agony, often expressing a desire for death. The continuous movement of courtiers signaled preparations for the Shah’s final days. Haji Mirza Aghasi, the Shah’s prime minister, stayed by his side constantly, aided by the proximity of his own summer residence in Abbasieh near Tajrish.
One night, the Shah summoned Hossein Ali Khan Mo’ayer-ol-Mamalek, the treasurer of the court and the official responsible for verifying minted coins. So profound was the king’s trust in him that he charged Mo’ayer-ol-Mamalek with ensuring that Crown Prince Nasereddin Mirza (later Naser al-Din Shah) would ascend the Peacock Throne. Mo’ayer-ol-Mamalek fulfilled this final wish, despite later falling out of favor during Amir Kabir’s administration and living away from Tehran for a period.
Mo'ayer-ol-Mamalek was renowned for his legendary wealth–it was said that he owned half of Tehran. While Mohammad Shah struggled to finance his palace, which was ultimately demolished after his death due to its ill-omened reputation, Mo’ayer-ol-Mamalek completed a magnificent mansion nearby. Because it stood in the Ferdows Garden district, it came to be known as “Ferdows Garden Mansion.” Even the lands of Asadabad had originally been his property, which he had gifted to the Shah.
The Story of Bagh-e Ferdows and Its Iconic Mansion
Bagh-e Ferdows stands in Tajrish, Shemiran, built along a steep slope descending from northwest to southeast. The gradient is so pronounced that the first floor of the mansion aligns with the southern garden, while its roof is level with the northern section. To manage the steep terrain, the southern grounds were transformed into seven terraced platforms, each several meters higher or lower than the next.
Historical accounts describe the garden as consisting of two parts:
• The outer garden, the area known today as Bagh-e Ferdows, and home to the surviving mansion.
• The inner garden, situated to the southwest and likely built during the same era.
The garden’s pools increased in size as they extended away from the mansion. The fountains, viewed from the second-floor terrace, created a striking and uplifting panorama. These pools were later removed, likely to accommodate new roads built across what was once the garden’s grounds.
Records indicate that Bagh-e Ferdows originally had seven entrances: two on the north, three on the south, one to the east, and one to the west. Given its proximity to Mohammadiyeh Palace, the main entrance was likely on the northern side, just two hundred steps from the royal palace. Two qanat outlets, one in the north and one in the south, supplied water to the garden.
The Buildings of Bagh-e Ferdows
Throughout its history, Bagh-e Ferdows has housed several structures.
The earliest building was a two-story mansion constructed during Mohammad Shah’s reign by Hossein Ali Khan Mo’ayer-ol-Mamalek in the traditional fil-gush (elephant-ear) style. Located on the northern side of the garden, this mansion fell into neglect after a second, grander residence was later built by Dost Ali Khan Nezam-od-Dowleh—the mansion that still stands today.
After the Constitutional Revolution, the surviving mansion deteriorated until it was purchased by Sepahsalar Tonekaboni, who restored the estate, revived the qanat, created tiered pools and fountains, and added a majestic gateway at the qanat’s outlet (today’s central courtyard of Bagh-e Ferdows). Because of his debts to the Tumanian Trading House, he later relinquished the property, which was then transferred to the government of Reza Shah.
In 1937, the Ministry of Education purchased the property, restored the mansion, and established Shapur High School of Tajrish on its grounds. By 1971, the building had been converted into a cultural and exhibition center. After the 1979 Revolution, it came under the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Meanwhile, in 1937, philanthropist Mahmoud Afshar Yazdi purchased the inner garden and its buildings—about 6,000 square meters—and gradually expanded the property to 12,000 square meters. He endowed the entire estate for cultural and educational purposes in 1958. By 1973, parts of the estate were allocated to the Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute and the Archaeology Institute of the University of Tehran, both of which remain active today.
Since September 2002, the historic Bagh-e Ferdows mansion has been home to the Cinema Museum of Iran, open to the public year-round.