He was the governor of Isfahan between 1820 and 1835 and contributed to its restoration after the damage it suffered during the civil war between the Zand dynasty and Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, rebuilding several Safavid pavilions and designing his own palace.

The later period of his governorship in Isfahan was marred by riots, banditry along the roads and his rivalry with Mohammad Bagher Shafti, a major Shi'ia clergy figure, which resulted in a Jihad being invoked against Sayf ol-Dowleh.

[4] When Fath-Ali Shah was making a royal tour of Isfahan in 1820, he demanded a that tax be paid by the governor, Ali Mohammad Khan.

[6] Until the end of his regency, Sayf ol-Dowleh improved his writing skills, spending time in a literary circle which included the philosopher Zayn al-Abidin Shirvani, the poet Nezam Vafa Arani, and Mohammad Bagher Shafti, an influential cleric of the time, who became the regent of Sayf ol-Dowleh after the death of Yusef Khan.

[6] It appears that Sayf ol-Dowleh eventually surpassed his brothers in the field of poetry, and wrote his first poems under the pseudonym "Sultan" at the age of sixteen.

Shafti and his guards lost the fight and took refuge with the plenipotentiary of the British Empire in Iran, John McNeil, who resided in Isfahan at the time.

[13] He built the Tekiyah of the Prince's mother in honour of his childhood wet nurse, Maryam and restored the Vank Cathedral in order to secure his popularity among the Armenian residents of the city.

[14] He ordered the addition of several fountains and gardens to the Char Bagh Palace, where in 1831 he married Bahar Khanum, daughter of a chief of the Shahsevan tribe.

[19] Sayf ol-Dowleh also revoked the harsh rules against Christians and restored their place in society, letting them practise their beliefs.

[22] In the same year, Fath-Ali Shah died on his way to Isfahan, leaving the realm facing rebellions from powerful princes such as Hossein Ali Mirza.

[22] Knowing that Ali Mirza could not resist the crown prince's forces, Sayf ol-Dowleh joined the latter's supporters and confronted Shafti with his troops with flags that declared them as "the Iranian army".

[23] Shafti, in counteract, called for the bandits of Saadatabad led by Abol Ghasem Bolandeh and Baba Qoli Chamelani who looted the northern parts of the city.

[26] As soon as news of Hossein Ali Mirza's defeat in Shiraz reached Isfahan, Shafti surrendered and lost all of his belongings.

[30] When the war ended, Sayf ol-Dowleh decided to settle with his mother in Najaf, where he bought land and began a mercantile career.

[29] In 1848 Naser al-Din Shah ascended the throne, and Sayf ol-Dowleh began a long journey which he recorded in a travelogue.

[33] He visited Mashhad, Isfahan, Kashan, and Qazvin, where he settled until 5 March 1872, when Naser al-Din Shah appointed him as the Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi.

[34] Sayf ol-Dowleh ordered the expansion of the Imam Reza Shrine library, adding extensive numbers of shelves made of pine wood.