Zand Dynasty

Zandian Dynasty

سلسله زندیه ، زندیان

The Zand dynasty, also known as the Zandian or Zandieh dynasty ruled southern and central Iran for 44 years (1750–1794) after the collapse of the Afshar Dynasty.
The Zand dynasty was founded by Karim Khan Zand, chief of the Zand tribe which was Lor migrants. He became one of Nader Shah's generals. Nader Shah moved the Zand tribe from their home in Lakestan (Historical residence of Lak peoples north of Lorestan) in to the eastern steppes of Khorasan. The strategic reason behind such forced migrations of Kurdish tribes to northeast regions of the Greater Khorasan was to keep away wandering Turkic bandits.
After Nader Shah’s death, some of the Zand tribe, under the guidance of Karimkhan, went back to their original land. After Adel Shah was made king Karimkhan and his soldiers defected from the army and along with Ali Morad Khan Bakhtiari and Abolfath Khan Haft Lang, two other local chiefs, became a major contender but was challenged by several adversaries. Abolfath Khan was the Prime Minister, Karimkhan became the army chief commander and Ali Morad Khan became the regent. Karimkhan declared Shiraz his capital.
Karimkhan gained control of central and southern parts of Iran during 16 years of war. In order to add legitimacy to his claim, Karimkhan placed the infant Shah Ismail 3rd, the grandson of the last Safavid king in 1757 on the throne. Ismail was a figurehead king and real power being vested in Karimkhan. Karimkhan chose to be the military commander and Ali Mardan Khan was the civil administrator. Soon after Karimkhan managed to eliminate his partner as well as the puppet king and in 1760, founded the Zand dynasty. He refused to accept the title of the king and instead named himself Vakil ol Raaya (The Advocate of People)
By 1760 Karimkhan had defeated all his rivals and controlled all of Iran except Khorasan, in the northeast, which was ruled by Shahrokh. His foreign campaigns against Azad Khan in Azerbaijan and against the Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia brought Azerbaijan into his control. His brother Sadegh Khan took Basra in 1775 and secured Iranian control over Bahrain and southern islands of the Persian Gulf.
But he never stopped his campaigns against his arch enemy, Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar, the chief of the Ghovanloo Qajars. The latter was finally defeated by Karimkhan and his sons, Agha Mohammad Khan and Hossein Gholi Khan, were brought to Shiraz as hostages.
Karimkhan's death in 1779 left his territory vulnerable to threats from his enemies. His son and successor Abolfath Khan was an incompetent ruler who was heavily influenced by his half uncle (and Karimkhan's commander), Zaki Khan. Other rulers such as Ali Morad Khan and Jafar Khan also failed to follow the policies of Karimkhan and soon, the country was under attack from all sides.
The biggest enemies of the Zands, the Qajar chiefs, led by the eunuch Agha Mohammad Khan, advanced against the declining kingdom. Finally, in 1789, Lotfali Khan, a grand-nephew of Karimkhan, declared himself the new king. His reign (until 1794) was spent mostly in war with the Qajar Khan. He was finally captured in the fortress of Bam, putting an effective end to the Zand Dynasty.
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 the Zand was the only dynasty whose names on public places and monuments were not removed by the new Republican government.
A union was formed to bring peace between the Zand and the Qajar tribes: Karim Khan's granddaughter, Bolour Khanum Zandieh married Mohammad Shah Qajar and bore him two daughters, Princess Ozra and Princess Effatoddowleh.
The Zand era was an era of relative peace and economic growth for the country. Many territories that were captured by the Ottomans in the late Safavid era were taken back and Iran was once again a coherent and prosperous country. A special school of painting took shape during the Zand era in the 17th and 18th centuries. The art of this era is remarkable and despite the short length of the dynasty, a distinct Zand art had the time to emerge. Many Qajar artistic traits were copied from the Zand examples.
In foreign policy, Karimkhan attempted to revive the Safavid era trade by allowing the British to establish a trading post in the port of Bushehr. This opened the hands of the British East India Company in Iran and increased their influence in the country. The taxation system was reorganized in a way that taxes were levied fairly. The judicial system was fair and generally humane. Capital punishment was rarely implemented.
Rulers of the Zand dynasty:
1. Karim Khan Zand (1750–1779)
2. Zaki Khan (1779)
3. Mohammad Ali Khan (March, 6 1779-June, 19 1779)
4. Abolfath Khan (June 19, 1779-August 22, 1779)
5. Sadegh Khan (1779–1781)
6. Ali Morad Khan (1781–1785)
7. Jafar Khan (1785–1789)
8. Sayed Morad Khan (1789)
9. Lotfali Khan (1789–1794)
After the fall of the Zand Dynasty, the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan began assimilating the Zand family taking his revenge because he was castrated by Karimkhan when he was young.
(Wikipedia) - The Zand dynasty (Persian: u0633u0644u0633u0644u0647 u0632u0646u062Fu06CCu0647 ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. Zand dynasty

Zand dynasty سلسله زندیه

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1750–1794

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Coat of arms

Capital

Shiraz

Language(s)

Persian (official)

Government

Monarchy

Shah

- 1750–1779

Karim Khan Zand (first)

- 1789–1794

Lotf Ali Khan Zand (last)

History

- Zand dynasty begins

1750

- Qajar dynasty begins

1794

History of Iran

ANCIENT
Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 BCE
Elam 2700–539 BCE
Mannaeans 850–616 BCE

IMPERIAL
Median Empire 678–550 BCE
(Scythian Kingdom 652–625 BCE)
Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BCE
Seleucid Empire 312–63 BCE
Parthian Empire 247 BCE–224 CE
Sassanid Empire 224–651

MIDDLE AGES
Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258
Ziyarid Dynasty 928–1043	Saffarid Dynasty 867–1002
Buyid Dynasty 934–1055	Samanid Dynasty 875–999

Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186
Great Seljuq Empire 1037–1194
Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231
Ilkhanate Empire 1256–1335
Chobanid Dynasty 1335–1357	Muzaffarid Dynasty 1335–1393
Jalayirid Dynasty 1336–1432	Sarbadars 1337–1376

Timurid Empire 1370–1405
Qara Qoyunlu 1406–1468	Timurid Dynasty 1405–1507
Agh Qoyunlu 1468–1508

EARLY MODERN
Safavid Empire 1501–1736
(Hotaki Dynasty 1722–1729)

Afsharid Empire 1736–1747
Zand Dynasty 1760–1794	Afsharid Dynasty 1747–1796


Qajar Empire 1796–1925

MODERN
Pahlavi Dynasty 1925–1979
Interim Government 1979–1980
Islamic Republic 1980–present
Related articles Timeline of Iranian history Economic history Education history Military history Naval history
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The Zand dynasty ( Zand (help·info)) (Persian: سلسله زندیه‎), formally known as the Zandieh dynasty, ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. The dynasty was of Iranian origin.

Contents

1 History
- 1.1 Karim Khan Zand
- 1.2 Decline and Fall
2 Culture
3 Zand Benevolent
4 Order of Zand
5 Rulers / Kings of the Zand dynasty
6 Family tree
7 External links
8 See also
9 References

History Karim Khan ZandMonument of Karim Khan in Shiraz

The dynasty was founded by Karim Khan, chief of the Zand tribe, which is a tribe of the Kurdish people and is considered to be either Luri in origin. He became one of Nader Shah's generals. Nader Shah moved the Zand tribe from their home in Lakestan to the eastern steppes of Khorasan. After Nader’s death, the Zand tribe, under the guidance of Karim Khan, went back to their original land. After Adil Shah was made king Karim Khan and his soldiers defected from the army and along with Ali Morad Khan Bakhtiari and Abolfath Khan Haft Lang, two other local chiefs, became a major contender but was challenged by several adversaries. Abolfath Khan was the Prime Minister, Karim Khan became the army chief commander and Ali Morad Khan became the regent. Karim Khan declared Shiraz his capital. He gained control of central and southern parts of Iran. In order to add legitimacy to his claim, Karim Khan placed the infant Shah Ismail III, the grandson of the last Safavid king in 1757 on the throne. Ismail was a figurehead king and real power was vested in Karim Khan. Karim Khan chose to be the military commander and Alimardan Khan was the civil administrator. Soon enough Karim Khan managed to eliminate his partner as well as the puppet king and in 1760, founded his own dynasty. He refused to accept the title of the king and instead named himself The Advocate of the People.

By 1760, Karim Khan had defeated all his rivals and controlled all of Iran except Khorasan, in the northeast, which was ruled by Shah Rukh. His foreign campaigns against Azad Khan in Azerbaijan and against the Ottomans in Mesopotamia brought Azerbaijan and the province of Basra into his control. But he never stopped his campaigns against his arch-enemy, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, the chief of the Ghovanloo Qajars. The latter was finally defeated by Karim Khan and his sons, Agha Mohammad Khan and Hossein Quoli Khan, were brought to Shiraz as hostages.

Karim Khan's monuments in Shiraz include the famous Arg of Karim Khan, Vakil Bazaar, and several mosques and gardens. He is also responsible for building of a palace in the town of Tehran, the future capital of the Qajar dynasty.

Decline and Fall

Karim Khan's death in 1779 left his territory vulnerable to threats from his enemies. His son and successor Abu al-Fath was an incompetent ruler who was heavily influenced by his half uncle (and Karim Khan's commander), Zaki Khan. Other rulers such as Ali Morad and Jafar Khan also failed to follow the policies of Karim Khan and soon enough, the country was under attack from all sides.

The biggest enemies of the Zands, the Qajar chiefs, led by the former hostage, Agha Mohammad Khan, were advancing fast against the declining kingdom. Finally, in 1789, Lotf Ali Khan, a grand-nephew of Karim Khan, declared himself the new king. His reign (until 1794) was spent mostly in war with the Qajar khan. He was finally captured and brutally killed in the fortress of Bam, putting an effective end to the Zand Dynasty.

Politically, it is also important that the Zands, especially Karim Khan, chose to call themselves Vakilol Ro'aya (Advocate of the People) instead of kings. Other than the obvious propaganda value of the title, it can be a reflection of the popular demands of the time, expecting rulers with popular leanings instead of absolute monarchs who were totally detached from the population, like the earlier Safavids.

After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 the Zand was the only dynasty whose names on public places and monuments were not removed by the new Republican government. Interestingly, a union was formed between the Zands and the Qajars in so far as Karim Khan's grand daughter, Bolour Khanum Zandieh married Mohammad Shah Qajar and bore him two daughters, Princess Ozra and Princess Effat ed-Dowleh.

CultureZand era art sample, dated 1790.

The Zand era was an era of relative peace and economic growth for the country. Many territories that were once captured by the Ottomans in the late Safavid era were retaken, and Iran was once again a coherent and prosperous country. After Iranian painting reached its height at the end of the 17th century, a special school of painting took shape during the Zand era in the 17th and 18th centuries. The art of this era is remarkable and, despite the short length of the dynasty, a distinct Zand art had the time to emerge. Many Qajar artistic traits were copied from the Zand examples.

In foreign policy, Karim Khan attempted to revive the Safavid era trade by allowing the British to establish a trading post in the port of Bushehr. This opened the hands of the British East India company in Iran and increased their influence in the country. The taxation system was reorganized in a way that taxes were levied fairly. The judicial system was fair and generally humane. Capital punishment was rarely implemented.

Zand Benevolent

Esteemed academic, John Perry -- the leading English authority on Karim Khan Zand's era -- writes of a forward thinking and notably popular leader, Karim Khan Zand, who he described as a man "before his time" and who -- by opening up international trade, employing a fair fiscal system and showing respect for existing religious institutions -- succeeded in creating a peaceful and prosperous state in a particularly turbulent epoch of history.

The Zand Benevolent Trust (dedicated to humanitarism and charity) has been set up by a number of Karim Khan Zand's descendants, including Nazanin Khajeh-Noori and Michael-Mehrdod Khan-e Zand Khajeh-Noori (aka Michael Khajeh-Noori), both great grand children of Princess Bolour Khanum Zandieh, the grand daughter of Karim Khan Zand, who married the Qajar King, Mohammad Shah Qajar. The Zand Benevolent Trust is a global charity dedicated to bringing hope and relief to children and the vulnerable.

Order of Zand

The Most Noble Order of Zand, founded in 2009, has been set up to, among other things, bestow companionship each year on a handful of unsung heroes to the honorary Most Noble Order of the Zand (which may include a cash award). True to the spirit of the man described by Sir John Malcolm as "though born of an inferior rank, obtained power without crime, and who exercised it with a moderation that, for the times in which he lived, was as singular as his humanity and justice" nominees for consideration for selection are taken from a list proposed by any member of the public from any country in the world.

George Hosking, Founder, Chief Executive and Research Co-ordinator of The WAVE Trust (Worldwide Alternatives to ViolencE) has been one of the first to be bestowed with companion membership of the order in recognition of his remarkable efforts and reflecting the enormity of his contribution to the humane development of mankind and the creation of a truly peaceful society for us and our children to live in. George Hosking has been singularly key in founding and progressing The WAVE Trust's work to prevent violence and child abuse by tackling it at its roots and making headway at a government and international level and the path to making compassion, empathy and peace the norm rather than an idealistic goal paid lip service by the many but heed by the few.

Rulers / Kings of the Zand dynastyVakeel mosque, Shiraz. Karim-khan Zand, and Lotf-ali Khan Zand are remembered well by the people of Shiraz.