Hadji Hossein Agha Malek

Who was Hadji Hossein Agha Malek?

Hajj Hossein Malek was an Iranian philanthropist.

Malek was born of a Georgian mother and a Tabrizi father. He was the son of Hadj Mohammad Kazem Malek-ol-Tojjar, a title given to his father by Nasser ed Din Shah due to his importance as a 'tâjer" in the commerce in Tabriz and also between Iran and Russia. His father also constructed the first road from Astara to Moscow.

Malek studied Persian and Arabic under the tutelage of Sheikh Massih Taleghani and later Mirza Abolhassan Jelveh, the most prominent scholars of the period. From a very early age he became interested in books and fascinated by literature, history, Islamic law and religion as well as numismatics and art.

He was fascinated by rare books and started collecting from a very early age. This interest led to the creation of an incredible collection of manuscripts and printed books. It eventually became the Malek National Library and Museum, one of the most important cultural institutions in the Middle East. The library holds a magnificent collection of over 20,000 and 42000 volumes of printed books from early the Islamic period to the present. Mr Malek was also interested in other media and collected paintings, prints, farmans and decrees, penboxes, lacquer, metalwork, coins, stamps, carpets and textiles.