Zand Dynasty

<BODY><BASEFONT="Helvetica"> <H1>The Zand Dynasty</H1><HR> During this period the Bakhtiaris had placed a nephew of Shah Suleiman on the throne in Isfahan in 1750 under the title of <B>Shah Ismail III </B>(1750-1753). <B>Karim Khan</B> (1753-1779) had him arrested and ruled as <I>Vaqi</I>, or lieutenant of the kingdom. Karim Khan appears to have been a wise and just ruler and was greatly mourned on his death in 1779. He restored Shi'ism as the state religion, and made Shiraz his capital.<BR> A further period of turmoil followed his death, as his brother <B>Zuki Khan</B>, his second son <B>Abul Futteh Khan</B>, another brother <B>Sadegh Khan</B> and the latter's stepson <B>'Ali Murad Khan</B> violently succeeded one another. The latter, after ruling for four years as over-thrown by Sadegh Khan's son <B>Ja'afer Khan</B>, who was poisoned within three years and succeeded by his son <B>Lotf 'Ali Khan</B>. The latter was eventually tricked into losing Shiraz to the first of the Qajars, <B>Agha Mohammad Qajar</B> in 1794. He fled the area and after a series of daring adventures eventually set himself up as king in Kerman. Agha Mohammad gained the town by treachery, slaughtered or blinded every adult male in the city and granted 20,000 of the women and children as slaves to his soldiers. Even amidst all this carnage and bloodshed he failed to capture Lotf 'Ali who escaped. Lotf 'Ali was later betrayed into the hands of Agha Mohammad who tore out his eyes and had him sent to Tehran where he was finally executed.<BR> </BODY>