ʿAlīkhān Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm: A Narcotic Counter-History of a Death

Articles in Press

Document Type : Viewpoint/Perspective/Opinion

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Institute for History of Science University of Tehran

10.22059/jihs.2026.410806.371875

Abstract

In his article “The Historical Death of ʿAlīkhān Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm and His Mathematics” (published in the journal Mathematical Culture and Thought, 2025), Amir Hossein Asghari portrays the Qajar-era scholar as a tragic figure driven to a “self-chosen death” by the social pressures of his time. Asghari suggests that the fate of ʿAlīkhān’s textbooks is perhaps even more tragic than the man's own demise.

This note challenges that narrative, offering a starkly different perspective. Rather than a victim of his time, I present ʿAlīkhān as an individual who possessed immense familial advantages but ultimately succumbed to narcotic addiction. By reframing his death as a result of Opium abuse, I propose a counter-history that strips away the romanticism of his "historical death."

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Journal for the History of Science

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 February 2026

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