Davallu cadet branch of the Qajar dynasty. The marriage, which took place in September 1819, was loveless. As a result of recurring deaths of their infants, Mohammad Mirza developed resentment towards Malek Jahan. Of their children, only Naser al-Din Mirza, who later became the crown prince and then king of Iran; and Ezzat ed-Dowleh, who married Amir Kabir, later the chief minister of Naser al-Din Shah; survived into adulthood. Early military career The Second Russo-Iranian War began with the declaration of jihad by Shiite scholars. During the war, Abbas Mirza sent Mohammad Mirza with an army consisting of the tribes of Khajevandi and Abdul Maliki to protect the fortress of Ganja. There, with the command of Amir Khan Sardar—Abbas Mirza's maternal uncle—Mohammad launched an attack on the Russian army. In the resulting battle, Amir Khan was killed and Mohammad was severely defeated and forced to retreat; he, however, was praised for his efforts during the war and was nicknamed as Gazi (warrior of Islam). After the war, Fath Ali Shah appointed Abbas Mirza to rule Khorasan and regulate the security of that area, which experienced constant raids by Prince Kamran, whom the Iranian government had previously appointed as the governor of Herat and now styled himself "Shah". Mohammad Mirza also accompanied his father on this trip. In one of his missions, Mohammad released nearly 20,000 Iranians held captive by Central Asian Sunni tribes; in honor of this victory, he named his newborn child "Naser al-Din" (defender of the faith). Abbas Mirza spent two years in Khorasan suppressing rebel khans; Khiva and Herat supported these revolts, and promised aid but Mohammad's victories discouraged them. In 1832, Abbas Mirza summoned Kamran Shah, the ruler of Herat, to pay tribute but Kamran sent his vizier Yar Mohammad Khan. Feeling insulted, Abbas Mirza sent Mohammad Mirza with an army to Herat. Mohammad Mirza advanced directly to Herat and began preparing for a siege while Abbas MIrza was bringing him an army of reinforcement when he suddenly died in Mashhad. Upon hearing of his death, Mohammad Mirza and Abol-Qasem Qa'em-Maqam, who was also a leading figure in the siege, were forced to negotiate with Kamran. It was agreed Kamran would accept the sovereignty of Iran, pay 15,000 tomans in gold and fifty Kashmir shawls, and release the Iranian prisoners who had been captured during the war. Mohammad appointed his brother Ghahreman Mirza the governor of