Karim Khan
| Karim Khan Zand | |
|---|---|
| 'Vakil-or-Ra'aayaa وکیل الرّعایا (Representative of the People) |
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| Vakil-or-Ra'aayaa of Iran | |
| Reign | 1751 – 1 May/March 1779 |
| Successor | Mohammad Ali Khan |
| Born | c. 1705 |
| Died | 1 May/March 1779 Zand Palace, Shiraz |
| Burial | Pars Museum, Shiraz 29°36′57.63″N 52°32′42″E / 29.6160083°N 52.54500°ECoordinates: 29°36′57.63″N 52°32′42″E / 29.6160083°N 52.54500°E |
| Dynasty | Zand dynasty |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (Persian: کریم خان زند, also Romanized as Mohammad Karīm Khān-e Zand), was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some Caucasian lands and occupied Basra for some years.
He is renowned for his just rule.
Karim Khan belonged to the Zand tribe, a Kurdish tribe of Lak or Lur origin. Karim Khan was born ca. 1705 somewhere in western Iran. In 1732, Nader Shah, who was the de facto ruler of the Safavid Empire, moved thousands of Bakhtiaris and several Zand families to Khorasan, Karim Khan and his family being one of them. Later in 1736, Nader Shah deposed the Safavid ruler Abbas III and assumed the throne for himself, thus starting the Afsharid dynasty. However, Nader Shah was later murdered in 1747 at the hands of his own men, which gave the Bakhtiaris under the leadership of Ali-Mardan Khan and the Zands under Karim Khan the opportunity to return to their former lands in western Iran.
Some time later, Karim Khan, Ali Mardan Khan and another Bakhtiari chieftain named Abulfath Khan Bakhtiari reached an agreement to divide the country among themselves and give the throne to the Safavid prince Ismail III. However, the cooperation ended after Ali Mardan Khan invaded Isfahan and killed Abulfath Khan. Subsequently, Karim Khan killed Ali Mardan Khan and gained control over all of Iran except Khorasan, which was ruled by Shahrukh, the grandson of Nader Shah. Nevertheless, Karim Khan did not adopt the title of Shah for himself, preferring the title, Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Representative of the People).
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Wikipedia