Abol-Fath Khan Zand

Abol-Fath Khan Zand
Shah of Iran
Reign	1779-1779
Predecessor	Mohammad Ali Khan
Successor	Sadeq Khan Zand
Born	c. 1755
Died	1787 Zand Palace, Shiraz
Dynasty	Zand dynasty
Father	Karim Khan
Religion	Shia Islam

Abol-Fath Khan Zand (Persian: ابوالفتح خان زند‎‎ Abol-Fatḥ Khān Zand; 1755/1756 – 1787) was the third Shah of the Zand dynasty, ruling from March 6, 1779, until August 22, 1779.

After the death of Karim Khan in 1779, two factions emerged, one supporting Abol-Fath, one his younger brother Mohammad Ali Khan Zand. Both were still children, and were pawns in the game of power. Karim Khan's brother Zaki Khan managed to proclaim Mohammad Ali Khan, his own son-in-law, as shah of the Zand dynasty but soon after, he also made Abol-Fath joint ruler of Iran. Both Mohammad Ali and Abol-Fath only held nominal power during their reigns, as their uncle was the effective master of the government. As another brother of Karim Khan, Sadeq Khan Zand, had left Shiraz, then the capital, and was gathering an army in Kerman ostensibly in support of Abol-Fath Khan, Zaki Khan even had Abol-Fath imprisoned.

To add to the political trouble, right after the death of Karim Khan, the Qajar prince Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who had until then been a hostage in Shiraz, in order to prevent an outbreak of war between the Qajars, who still dominated the North of the country, and the Zands, escaped promptly and reached his stronghold of Mazandaran. Subsequently, he took command of his tribe in Astarabad, and declared independence from the Zand Shah. To counter that move, Zaki Khan dispatched the Iranian army under the command of his nephew, Ali-Morad Khan Zand against the Qajar lord. Soon however, it appeared that Ali-Morad Khan had rebelled against him and captured Isfahan. On the other hand, Zaki Khan had levied high taxes on the landlords and put to death and tortured anyone who had resisted. Subsequently, his own army rebelled and killed Zaki Khan as he was marching on Isfahan, on June 6, 1779.

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