Aga Khan III

Aga Khan III, PC (November 2, 1877 – July 11, 1957), also known as Sultan Mahommed Shah, was born in Karachi (then India, now Pakistan) and was the only son of Aga Khan II, and succeeded him on his death in 1885, becoming the head of the family. Under the care of his mother, a daughter of the ruling house of Persia, he was given not only that religious and oriental education which his position as the religious leader of the Ismailis made indispensable, but a sound European training, a boon denied to his father and grandfather. This blending of the two systems of education produced the happy result of fitting this Muslim chief in an eminent degree both for the sacerdotal functions which appertain to his spiritual position, and for those social duties required of a great and enlightened leader which he was called upon to discharge by virtue of his position.

Additional reading

• Naoroji M. Dumasia, A Brief History of the Aga Khan (1903).