Shah Qajar and the magic box; Mozaffaruddin Shah’s royal entertainment with Iran’s first gramophone

Muzaffar al-Din Shah Qajar may not have been a powerful king; But he was undoubtedly one of the most curious travelers in the history of Iran. Fascinated by the glamor of Farang, he was looking for something beyond politics in his expensive trips to Europe; He was hungry for technology and of course entertainment. Among the many strange purchases of the king, from the fire carriage (car) to the cinematograph camera, the gramophone caused the most noise in the Qajar court.

In a historical picture, Muzaffaruddin Shah Qajar is seen with his courtiers enjoying the sound of a gramophone in one of the balconies of Golestan Palace. The arrival of the gramophone in the Golestan Palace did not remain just a royal entertainment. This device, which initially terrified the courtiers, soon made its way to the homes of nobles and nobles.

If it wasn’t for Muzaffaruddin Shah’s desire to buy, perhaps the voice of the great singers of the Qajar period would never have reached the ears of our generation. That “magic box”, which was once the king’s toy, transformed the listening memory of a nation and brought Iranian music from the home to the public arena.