The Ispahani family, also known as the House of Ispahani, are a Perso-Bengali business family. In Bangladesh, they own and manage M. M. Ispahani Limited, one of the country's leading conglomerates. Originally hailing from Isfahan, Iran, the family have been settled in the Indian subcontinent for more than two centuries.

History

Mirza Abu Talib Ispahani visited England in 1799, and the family have maintained a presence and properties in Richmond, London. In 1820, Mohammed Hashim (1789–1850) moved from Isfahan in Qajar, Iran to Bombay and established the Ispahani Group business. In the 1830s, the business extended to Calcutta in Bengal. Hashim was notable as the first Muslim of the Assam Tea Company's Calcutta Committee. The family business also expanded from Madras in the south and Burma in the east. Many of their descendants were educated at English private schools and top universities in UK. Hashim's grandson, Mirza Mehdy (1841–1913) made Madras as the business's headquarters. He spent twelve years in Cairo, Egypt trading Indian produce such as leather, tea, turmeric, tamarind and peanuts amongst others. In 1888, he established a branch in Dacca. Mirza Mohamed Ispahani was the son of Mehdy and was born in 1871. Mohamed established the Calcutta office of M.M Ispahani & Sons in 1900. In the same year, a branch office was also established in London. Mohammed died in 1925. Mirza Ahmad Ispahani (1898–1986), the eldest son, joined the partnership in 1918. He established the private limited company, M.M. Ispahani Limited in 1934 in Calcutta along with his younger brothers Abul Hassan Isphani and Mirza Mahmood Ispahani. The final move of headquarters was made in 1947 with the shifting of the corporate headquarters to Chittagong where it stands today. The company continued to operate as a foreign company in Calcutta until 1965 when its operations in India were taken over by the Government of India. It was under the visionary leadership of Ahmad that the company rapidly expanded its business. By 1947, M.M Ispahani Limited was a leading exporter in shellac, kapok, hessian, jute bags, tea and chemicals. In 1948, Mirza Ahmad Ispahani left the family business for public service. When the family moved to East Pakistan after the Partition of India, they purchased a vast swathe of land in Dhaka's Maghbazar area. The area was named the Ispahani Colony and continues to serve as the family's estate in Dhaka. Mirza Ahmad Ispahani's son, Mirza Mehdy Ispahani (1923–2004) was made chairman of M.M. Ispahani Limited in 1949 and remained in that post until he died, when his son Mirza Ali Behrouze Ispahani was elected chairperson of M.M. Ispahani Limited. The company now has corporate offices in Chittagong, Dhaka and Khulna where it employs over 20,000 people in many sectors such as tea, textile, real estate, crisps, poultry, shipping and internet services.

Family members