Zand dynasty
Zand dynasty | |||||||||||
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1751–1794 | |||||||||||
Lotf Ali Khan Zand (last) | |||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1751 | ||||||||||
• Qajar conquest | 1794 | ||||||||||
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History of Iran | |
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Baradostian culture | c. 36,000–18,000 |
Zarzian culture | c. 20,000–10,000 |
Shulaveri–Shomu culture | c. 6000–5000 |
Zand dynasty | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1751–1794 | |||||||||||
Lotf Ali Khan Zand (last) | |||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1751 | ||||||||||
• Qajar conquest | 1794 | ||||||||||
|
Part of a series on the |
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History of Iran | |
BC | |
Baradostian culture | c. 36,000–18,000 |
Zarzian culture | c. 20,000–10,000 |
Shulaveri–Shomu culture | c. 6000–5000 |
Safavid Iran | 1501–1736 |
(Hotak dynasty) | 1722–1729 |
Afsharid Iran | 1736–1796 |
Zand dynasty | 1751–1794 |
Qajar Iran | 1789–1925 |
Pahlavi Iran | 1925–1979 |
Iranian Revolution | 1979 |
Interim Government | 1979 |
Islamic Republic | 1979–present |
The Zand dynasty (
The reign of its most important ruler, Karim Khan, was marked by prosperity and peace. With its capital at
As noted by
The dynasty was founded by
Karim Khan declared
By 1760, Karim Khan had defeated all his rivals and controlled all of Iran except Khorasan, in the northeast, which was ruled by
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.
Karim Khan's death in 1779 left his territory vulnerable to threats from his enemies. His son and successor
The biggest enemies of the Zands, the
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.
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
The Zand era was a time 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. From 1765 onwards Karim Khan promoted art and architecture at his capital Shiraz.[14] 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.[15] Painting thrived under Karim Khan, and notable paintings from this era include Muhammad Karim Khan Zand and the Ottoman Ambassador which was created c. 1775.[14] The most important painter of the Zand era was Mohammad Sadiq.[14] 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 and Zand art became the foundation of Qajar arts and crafts.[6] Following Karim Khan's death, the Zand dynasty became embroiled in disputes over succession and other intrigues, which put a halt to further significant patronage of the arts.[14]
Karim Khan's first architectural considerations were focussed on defense and he therefore rebuilt the city walls of Shiraz in 1767.[14] He decorated Shiraz with new buildings including the Arg of Karim Khan, the Vakil Bazaar and the Kulah-e Farangi and grouped these around a public square (maidan in Persian).[6][14] Zand-era architecture is notable in Iranian history for "its revetments in carved marble and overglaze-painted tiles with flowers, animals and people".[14] The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture notes that some themes employed by Zand architecture were knowingly revived from the nearby ancient Achaemenid and Sasanian sites, such as Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rostam.[14]
According to the Italian scholar Alessandro Bausani: "The eighteenth century, which in Europe (and partly also in India, for example) was a ferment of renewal, is the darkest and most sterile period in Persian literature and culture." Scholars of Persian literature have also made a similar conclusion. John Perry commented on these statements: "While regrettably true of literature, this view is somewhat too sweeping to be fair to the fine and applied arts." Like Nader Shah, Karim Khan was uninterested in poetry panegyric and had no more than a passing tolerance for history. He supported the court artisans and artists, albeit in an indifferent manner.[16]
The numerous artists active during Karim Khan's time who were born in or educated in Isfahan, many of whom carry the surname "Esfahani," can be considered as representations of the lengthy political and cultural traditions of the Safavid court; they account for at least seventeen of the twenty-seven identified by Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari. In the 1750s, some people—including the poet Hazin Lahiji—had immigrated to India. Others, like Vafa of Qom, departed for India under Nader Shah's rule but later came back to Iran under Karim Khan. During the interim period, a large number of people, primarily in the central region of Isfahan, Qom, and Kashan, remained in Iran. These people included Moshtaq, Azar Bigdeli, Hatef Esfahani, and Rafiq. Shiraz largely took up Isfahan's role as the patronage hub.[17]
Seven calligraphers, including Mohammad Hashem Zargar, and least as many poets, including Azar Bigdeli, and the doctor Mirza Mohammad Nasir left Isfahan to settle in Shiraz.[17] One of the factors behind Isfahan's loss as the literary center of Iran is reported by Abd al-Razzaq Beg Donboli.[17] The city's poets, including Azar Bigdeli, were actively supported by the governor Mirza Abd ol-Vahhab Musavi. However, after the latters death in 1759/60, the governorship of Isfahan was given to the tyrannical figure Hajji Agha Mohammad Ranani. In 1763/64, disgruntled poets and other prominent individuals sent a delegation to Karim Khan in which they attempted to have Hajji Agha replaced. After their efforts were unsuccessful, some of them relocated to Shiraz.[18]
The distinguishing quality of Karim Khan's leadership came from his refusal to exercise royal authority independent of nominal Safavid sovereignty. However, his decision to continue serving as vakil al-dowleh ("deputy of the state") marked a subtle change from his previous role as the regent of a prince distantly related to the Safavid dynasty and of no importance. Moreover, he appears to have tacitly changed his authority from Safavid kingship to that of representing the people by using the title of Vakil ol-Ra'aya ("deputy of the people"). The subtle change reflected Karim Khan's standing among his subjects, particularly the urban people. He also drew on Iranian monarchy traditions that were directly related to the Fars province in order to distance himself from the distressing events of recent times.[19]
Karim Khan attempted to recreate the territorial Iran of the Safavid era, just like Nader Shah and Agha Mohammad Khan.[20] A common reference for consecutive rulers was Nader Shah's mention of Iran's established borders during the Safavid dynasty. Karim Khan made use of the same justification for similar land dispute resolutions.[21]
When compared to the complex structure of hierarchy and ceremony that distinguished the Safavid court, Karim Khan's household in Shiraz was smaller, simpler, and more focused on real administrative and military requirements than on the lavish display of the Safavid shah.[22] The Zand nobility was a remnant of the Safavid nobility and was later almost entirely absorbed into the Qajar nobility.[23] As with previous dynasties, the official language and court literature was in Persian, and the majority of the chancellors, ministers, and bureaucrats were well-educated and talented Persian speakers.[24]
The central government was under the complete control of Karim Khan. Historical documents do contain occasional references to the established Safavid court offices and protocols under the Zands, but nothing suggests that the chief minister (etemad ol-dowleh, sadr-e azam) and resident court
The vazir-e divan was Karim Khan's direct subordinate in the bureaucracy. The first to occupy that office under him was Mirza Aqil Esfahani, who was executed in 1763 and succeeded by Mirza Mohammad Ja'far Esfahani. The office of mostowfi ol-mamalek was almost equally important and was held by Mirza Mohammad Borujerdi and Mirza Mohammad Hossein Farahani in succession. Karim Khan treated the people holding these senior administrative and senior fiscal positions as nothing more than secretarial assistants, treating them more like friends than colleagues.[27]
Karim Khan might have been anticipated to seek the
Religious officers typically selected by the crown got degrees and set payments from Karim Khan, such as the guardian of the
Both Karim Khan in 1764 and Ali-Morad Khan in 1781 issued farmans (royal edicts) that ensured freedom of residence, worship, and trade to Christian missionary groups in Iran, including the Carmelites, Benedictines, Jesuits, Capuchins, Augustinians, and others. The only requirement was that they behaved in a manner that did not anger the Shia and its supporters.[30]
Roughly between the 1730s and the 1780s, hundreds of literate and renowned Iranians escaped to India due to the devastating circumstances. Many of them, including Abol-Hasan Golestaneh, expressed regret. The latter was a hostage in Karim Khan's entourage during the struggle for supremacy in western Iran, but in 1756 he managed to escape to the Shia shrine city of Najaf and subsequently to India, where he reunited with his family. Three of his uncles had served Nader Shah, but two of them fell out of favor and fled to India. His Mojmel al-tavarikh, a comprehensive history of the early Zand period, was written there in Murshidabad in 1782.[31] Native Jews, Armenians, and other Christians, who were frequent targets of extortion and persecution, also migrated in very large numbers. Between 1742 and 1758, refugees settled in Mughal India, Bengal, Ottoman Iraq and Yemen, giving rise to a new generation of Iranians and Armenians. Baghdad and the adjacent shrine towns were home to an estimated 100,000 Iranian refugees, and Basra was claimed to be two-thirds occupied by refugees.[32]
While European and Iranian emigrants eagerly scanned the horizon for signs that "Persia would soon be reunited under one chief, which would undoubtedly lead to the reestablishment of trade, so long interrupted," rumors of Karim Khan's victories and of his fair rule started to spread in the mid-1750s, which convinced many refugees to come back. By 1760, every day refugees were returning to Iran. Thousands of them from all social classes arrived along the now-secure caravan routes.[32]
The population of Isfahan had decreased to perhaps 20,000 by 1750 from what may have been between 250,000 to 500,000 during the Safavid era. It increased to an estimated 40,000–50,000 by 1772. Even though Shiraz appeared to be "demolished and destroyed... altogether depopulated and empty of Christians" in 1756, refugees from Isfahan, especially Armenians from the suburb of New Julfa, were already making their way there every day. According to John R. Perry; "There are no contemporary estimates of the population of Shiraz under the Vakil, but it seems reasonable to assume that between 1759 and 1779 it grew at a much faster rate than Isfahan, reaching roughly the same population as the latter, though within a much more compact urban area."[33]
Shiraz lost around half of its population following its sack by Agha Mohammad Khan, numbering 20,000. Other cities in central Iran, like Qom, reportedly experienced a revival under Karim Khan's rule after suffering under the Afghans, Afsharids and the Zand-Qajar conflicts.[33]
Many of the Armenians of New Julfa and Peria who had fled Iran, returned to the country by settling in Shiraz, which welcomed their return. The Armenian population in Shiraz, whose quarter was located in the western corner by the Kazerun Gate, was primarily engaged in viticulture and wine trade. They also had their own mayor, and the government promoted their settlement by granting them villages around the capital. Mkrtic Vardapet, the Armenian prelate, divided his time between New Julfa and Shiraz every year for six months. Shiraz became the largest Jewish hub in Iran as a result of the return of many Jews, whose population may have decreased by about 20,000 between 1747 and 1779. They paid a special tax in exchange for being given their own section of land west of the bazaar. Although they seemed to be struggling financially in 1765, they were not the target of any persecution until after Karim Khan's death in 1779.[34]
Various anonymous or semi-anonymous currencies were struck by Karim Khan and his successors, but the abbasi of 4.6 gram and the rupee of 11.5 gram seemed to be the most common.[35] Isfahan, Kashan, Yazd, Shiraz, Tabriz, Qazvin, Rasht, Mazandaran, and the court mint were the main coin mints under Karim Khan. There was no monetary unity in Iran even though Karim Khan was acknowledged as the overlord of the majority of the country after 1763, as many regions remained independent or semi-autonomous. This was especially true for the semi-autonomous local khans that controlled the Caspian and Caucasian regions, as well as Khorasan, which was ruled by the Durranids and Afsharids.[36]
A number of these khanates, including
As noted by
Budaq Khan | Bay Agha | Inaq Khan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allah Morad Khan | Bay Agha II | Zaki Khan Zand | Karim Khan Zand 1751–1779 | Sadeq Khan Zand 1779–1781 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Koda Morad Khan | Ali-Morad Khan Zand 1782–1785 | Akbar Khan Zand | Abol-Fath Khan Zand 1779 | Mohammad Ali Khan Zand 1779 | Jafar Khan Zand 1785–1789 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sayed Morad Khan 1789 | Rostam Khan Zand | Lotf Ali Khan 1789–1794 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Zands were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern Lurs, who spoke Luri, a Western Iranian language.
The founder of the dynasty was Moḥammad Karim Khan b. Ināq Khan (...) of the Bagala branch of the Zand, a pastoral tribe of the Lak branch of Lors (perhaps originally Kurds; see Minorsky, p. 616) (...)
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— Royal house — House of Zand Founding year: 1760 Deposition: 1794
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Preceded by | Ruling house of Iran 1760–1794 |
Succeeded by |