Mostowfian Ashtiani family were a Persian family during the Zand period who came to power in the Qajar dynasty and retained power until the middle of the Pahlavi dynasty. Their family occupation was land ownership, but after in Qajar introduced the position of Mostowfi into the Iranian bureaucracy, the family began to work as Mustawfis and took their name from this title. Mostowfian Ashtiani became known as the "Hezar Famil" () because of their influence and power in the Qajar bureaucracy.
Aqa Mohsen Ashtiani was the ancestor of Mostowfian Ashtiani and one of Karim Khan Zand's contemporaries, who owned a lot of property in Ashtian district, traditionally belonging to Tafresh County, and ran a kind of local government. His stronghold at Ashtian, parts of which still stand, was 20,000 square meters in size and included a fort, a courtyard, a water tank, stables, a kitchen, a crew section, and an interior and exterior. It is known that Aqa Mohsen sheltered him in this fort when Karim Khan Zand was trying to gain power and was in pursuit with his enemies, and Khan Zand recruited his three children to serve in the court to compensate for this help. From the three sons of Aqa Mohsen Ashtiani, three branches of the Mostofian Ashtiani family were formed. From then on, the members of this dynasty were directly present in the bureaucracy of the Zand dynasty and then the Qajar dynasty, and held positions ranging from secretaries to princes and nobles to Mustawfi to the prime minister.
The six members of this family who became the Prime Minister of Iran and were well-known figures in the field of politics in the contemporary history of Iran are: Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani, Mostowfi ol-Mamalek, Vossug ed Dowleh, Ahmad Qavam, Mohammad Mosaddegh and Ahmad Matin-Daftari. The family names of Mostowfi, Daftari, Matin-daftari, Mossadegh, Maykadeh, Vossugh, Qavam, Shokooh, Dadvar, Farhad, Farhad Motamed and Moghtadar are related to Mostowfian Ashtiani family.
History
Early Qajar rule
There are not many sources about the life of Aqa Mohsen Ashtiani and how he came to power. What is known is that Aqa Mohsen Ashtiani was one of the great landowners of his time. He had three sons named Mirza Aghasi Bey, Mirza Hashem and Mirza Kazem, from whom three branches of the Mostowfian Ashtiani family were formed. Mostowfian Ashtiani family, although they were supporters of the Zand dynasty, were not angered by Agha Mohammad Khan and even retained their positions. Mirza Kazem, the son of Aqa Mohsen Ashtiani, accompanied Agha Mohammad Khan during the wars in Georgia and was killed during the siege of Shusha fortress. Mirza Mohammad Taqi Qavam al-Dawla Ashtiani, son of Mirza Hashem, participated in the war of 1823-1821 with the Ottoman Empire and received the title of Qavam al-Dawla on behalf of Fath Ali Shah. Throughout the reign of Fath Ali Shah, this family maintained its small role in the bureaucracy and never rose above the position of Mostowfi ol-Mamalek.
Naser al-Din Shah era
Mirza Mohammad Qavam al-Dawla, a descendant of Mirza Hashem, married one of the daughters of Mirza Hassan Mostowfi ol-Mamalek Ashtiani, the son of Mirza Kazem, thus strengthening the family relationship. During the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, Qavam al-Dawlah led an army to capture the Turkmen insurgent bases, but was severely defeated and humiliated on his return to Tehran and imprisoned for some time. In order to discredit Qavam al-Dawla, Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani, who was the brother-in-law of Qavam al-Dawla, presented 100,000 Tomans in a gold tray to Nasser al-Din Shah and demanded the release of Qavam al-Dawla. Nasser al-Din Shah freed Qavam al-Dawlah and gave him the position of pioneer of Fars province. After that, the influence of the Mostowfian Ashtiani family with the Qajar kings increased. Mirza Yousef Ashtiani held a position equal to the government of Tehran and the director of real estate. He appointed one of his relatives named Mirza Musa Ashtiani as the deputy of Khorasan. Mirza Musa himself was later appointed Minister of Military Affairs and Finance in the cabinet of Mirza Hosein Khan Moshir od-Dowleh.
Mirza Yousef Ashtiani also granted a position to his cousin, Mirza Hideyatu'llah Ashtiani, during his time as prime minister. Although Mirza Hideyatu'llah held the position of secretary since the time of Amir Kabir, he was appointed Minister of Finance during the reign of Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani. Hideyatu'llah was the father of Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was appointed prime minister during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.