Mohammad Vali Mirza

Mohammad Vali Mirza (Persian: محمدولی میرزا; 1789–1864) was a Qajar prince and governor in 19th-century Iran. He was the third or fourth son of Fath-Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834).

In 1799, he was appointed governor of the town of Semnan and later, in 1802, of the Khorasan province, where he successfully recaptured its provincial capital Mashhad from the rebellious Afsharid prince Nader Mirza Afshar in 1803. Mohammad Vali Mirza's governorship in Khorasan was marked by challenges stemming from limited financial and military resources. This required him to rely on local elites such as Eshaq Khan Qaraei-Torbati, the leader of the Qarai tribe, one of the several leaders who had carved a semi-autonomous domain after the political vacuum left by the decline of the Durrani Empire and the vulnerability of Mashhad's former Afsharid rulers. The autonomy of these local leaders limited the authority of Mohammad Vali Mirza's to the nearby areas of Mashhad, Nishapur, Sabzevar, and Torshiz.

Known for his hunting expeditions, Mohammad Vali Mirza used these and the granting of Khilats (robes of honour) to strengthen ties with local leaders. However, by the summer of 1813, their relations had fallen apart. In August 1813, the aristocrats rebelled under the leadership of Eshaq Khan, leading to the overthrow of Mohammad Vali Mirza on 7 September 1813. Although Eshaq Khan initially gained the support of the rebel factions, his humble origins quickly led to his rejection by other leaders in Khorasan, such as Reza Qoli Khan Zafaranlu and Najaf Qoli Khan Shadillu.