Mirza Melkum Khan - Joseph (Hovsep) Melkumyan (1834 - 1908), also spelled as Melkum Khan, was a prominent Iranian modernist, preoccupied with the transformation of Iran into a modern state. Armenian state figure, diplomat, enlightener, writer and publicist in Iran. Mirza Melkum Khan is well-known as social reformer and enlightener. He is the first Christian who has adopted the title of «MIRZA» in Persia. The most remarkable aspect of his work was his promotion of law, to bring about an orderly society in which royal power was subjected or Conditioned (Mashrut) to checks and regulations. He developed these ideas in a number of works, but most importantly in his newspaper Qanun (Law), which had a wide readership among Iran's modernists. As such, he can be considered one of the fathers of the