'The ferocity of Tartar blood' in a Persian prince
Editorial contextDescribing the Shah's eldest son, Mohammad Ali Mirza, Jaubert notes that he was born of a Khwarazmian slave woman and says 'the ferocity of Tartar blood' had shown in him since childhood, though he was also precociously brave. Here 'Tartar' marks a mother from Khwarazm, south of the Aral Sea, and carries the old stereotype of Tartar savagery.
Mohammad Ali Mirza, whom the partisans of his rival call Mir Ali Khan, eldest son of Fath Ali Shah, was born of a Khwarazmian slave woman; and the ferocity of the Tartar blood that flows in his veins showed itself in him from childhood.
Working translation
Original wording
Mehemed-Aly-Mirza, que les partisans de son compétiteur appellent Myr-Aly-Khan, fils aîné de Feth-Aly-Chah, est né d'une esclave khouarezmienne; et la férocité du sang tartare, qui coule dans ses veines, s'est fait reconnaître en lui dès son enfance.
About Qajar court; Khwarazmian (Turkic) slave mother
Keep in mind
Court gossip dressed in a racial stereotype; the Qajar dynasty was itself of Turkic origin.