Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari
Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari was an Iranian Lor Bakhtiari revolutionary and activist of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.
As a military commander, she played a distinguished role when Bakhtiari forces, with the help of modern arms from the German Empire, successfully captured Tehran in 1909 as part of the revolutionary campaign to force the central government to establish democratic reforms.
Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari, a valiant woman of the Constitutional era and the First World War, was the first Iranian woman—and the only woman in the world—to receive the highest German military decoration by order of Wilhelm II, in recognition of her protection of the life of the German chargé d'affaires during the First World War.
Life
Bibi Maryam was one of the foremost women's rights activists and pioneers of freedom movements in the constitutional movement in Iran. Because of her lifestyle, Bibi Maryam was skilled in shooting techniques and craftsmanship. A separate account of Qajar-era fortifications in the province also attributes the Surshajan castle to Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari. ISNA reports that German agents and diplomatic figures sought refuge in Surshajan during World War I, and that a German imperial medal was presented to her in a formal ceremony there.Role in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
Bibi Maryam was one of the main proponents of Sardar Asad Bakhtiari, to conquer Tehran. Through several letters and telegraphs, as well as lectures, she prepared tribal forces to fight against Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar's Minor tyranny. Before the liberation of Tehran by the Constitutionalist forces in 1909, she moved to Tehran accompanied by some skilled Bakhtiary warriors and stayed in her father's house for guerrilla planning.When Sardar Asa'd's forces reached Tehran, she and her husband's warriors joined the constitutionalist forces against Mohammad Ali Shah's troops. She personally took the gun and fought against the cossacks alongside the Luri warriors. Due to her bravery in the fight and the technical skills in disarming the ruling troops, her popularity increased so that she was given the honorary rank of sardar, and then she became famous as Sardar Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari.