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Chapter IIII
Il-Khans
After Ghinghis died, his successors divided the captured territory between themselves. The Great Khan Ogodei (Oktai Ghaa-aan) got the mainland Mongolia and China, Batu Nevian, Ghenghis’ grandson, got Russia, and Hologu (Holaaku Khan), other grandson of Ghenghis, got Iran. Hologu named his dynasty “Il-Khan”(1256). During the reign of Hologu and his son Abaqa, Iran was still officially a part of Mongol Empire and under the power of Great Khan, first Ogodei, then Manguk. But when Hologu’s brother, Qubilei, became the Great Khan, he gave Il-Kahns their independence.
Geikhatu(1291-1295), Abaqa's successor, was the first independent Il-Khan. During his reign, the country became bankrupt. Geikhatu’s advisers told him to publish the “paper money”, and he did, but people did not accept that. This first use of paper money failed in the east, but hundred of years later showed the world that this is the way to do business.
After Geikhatu, Arghoon and then Ghazan became Il-Khans. Ghazan was the first khan to accept Islam as his religion. Geikhatu and Arghoon were both Christians. After Ghazan came Sultan Mohammad Khodaabandeh, El-Jaito(1304-1316). El-Jaito was a Shi’it muslim, the first one to rule Iran after the death of Samaa’al Doleh Deilami (see chapter II). After him came Abusaid Bahador Khan(1316-1333). He was a very weak ruler, thus during his reign, the power shifted to his Army Commander in Chief, Amir Choopan. He forced Abusaid to marry his daughter and after awhile, he deposed him and declared the end of Il-Khans. Still, after Abusaid's death, several of his reletives gained the power for a short while, until the Il-Khans broke up completely in 1343, after the death of Suleyman.
After Il-Khans, several of their subjects began new dynasties. The most famouse one of them are: Choopanian (Amir Choopan’s descendants), and Jalaayerian (1336-1411,descendants of Hassan the Great, one of Abusaid’s Army Commanders).
Tatar Attack, Timurid Dynasty(1370-1449)
Around this time, in north eastern Iran, descendants of Ghenghis’ third son, Choghtei, were ruling. Their kingdom was divided to several smaller principalities. In 1370 AD, Teymur (or Tamerlane) became king of Samarghand. He soon began conquering his neighboring territories and soon enough he was king of all Khaarazm( present day Ozbakestan and Tajikestan). Then around 1380’s he turned toward Iran. He conquered all of the country except Lorestan which was between two great mountains. Then he went to Turkey and defeated Ottoman Sultan, Ildurum Bayzit (Bayzit the Thunder). Teymur ruled his vast territory with power till his death in 1405. He was a cruel and wicked ruler. He killed his opponents without mercy and made tens of “Kalle-Menaars”, towers made out of cut off heads of his enemies. The interesting thing is that he also was a very religious and he new the whole Qoran from his memory.
After Teymur’s death his sons Miranshah and Sharokh became kings, but it was obvious that without Teymur’s cruelty and his terrifying power, his empire would not last very long. Soon after Ulugg Beg's death in 1449, the Timurid empire was divided between tens of other smaller Dynasties.
Other cescendants of Teymour continued to rule their petty kingdoms in Khurasan or Transoxania until 1507.
The Era of Chaos
Two of the most important dynasties that came after Teymur were the Turkish Dynasties of Ghara Ghouyounlu (‘the owners of black ships’)(1380-1469) and Aagh Ghouyounlu (‘the owners of white sheep’)(1403-1508). These two dynasties ruled mostly in the western parts of the country, the eastern sections were still under the Teymurid rulers.
Ghara Yousof was the founder of Ghara Ghouyounlus, he and his father were subjects of Jalayerian(see above). He was once imprisoned by Teymour when he conquered Azerbaijan, but escaped after his death and regained power. He conquered Azerbaijan and then Kurdestan(1407) and Baghadad(1412). After him, his kingdom was devided to two sections, the Azerbaijan section and Baghdad section, which were ruled by Ghara Yousof's sons.
Ghara Osman was the founder of Aagh Ghouyounlus. Like his Ghara Ghouyounlu cousin, he started conquering western Iran. At first he established his kingdom in Diyar Bekr in present day Turkey, but after Teymour's death, he started attacking the east and finnaly got most of Azarbaijan. Most famouse of Aagh Ghouyounlu rulers was Ozoun Hassan(Hassan the Tall, 1452-1478), he fought three wars against Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and captured a lot of lands in eastern Turkey. He was finnaly defated by the Ottomans and died in 1478.
Both of these dynasties became very weak after the death of their founders and both of them left the mallest possible impact on Iranian history and society.
These two dynasties were the last of Iranian principalities. After the death of Alvand(1504) the last ruler of Aagh Ghouyounlus, Iran became a united country, and never again experienced division. This unification came with a man who is called Cyrus of the Islamic Iran, Shah Ismail Safavi.
Safavid Dynasty
Shah Ismail
Around the time of Teymur’s attack, there was a clergy man named “Sheikh Safi al-Din” living in the city of Ardebil in north-western Iran. He had a lot of followers that loved him and were devoted to him. He also was a “shi’a” meaning he belonged to another section of Islam: Shi’ism. This was unusual, because in that period, Iran as a well as other Islamic countries was a Sunny country. After Sheikh Safi died, his son and then his grandson replaced him as the head of his “Sufi” sect. His great-grandson, Sheikh Jonayd was the first of his family to claim the throne after “Ozoun Hassan’s” death. Jonayd was killed in a war and his son “Shaikh Heydar” replaced him. Heydar was a very bold and ruthless warrior, he organized a little guard for himself that eventually evolved into a very strong army. It was called “Ghezel Baash”, meaning “ the red hats”, because they were wearing a big, red turban. Heydar fought in a lot of wars, he gained control of most of the north-western Iran, and finally got killed in a war with Yaghoob Aagh Ghouyounlu, Ozoun Hassan's son.
When Heydar died in(1499), Yaghoob improsoned his three children: Ali, Ismail, and Ebrahim. The followers of Sheikh Heydar elected Ali as their new “Morshed”(leader), but Ali, who was a weak person, was not ready for this heavy responsibility and after a while, he disappointed all of his father’s followers. In this period, the future of Sheikh Safi al-Din’s family was in danger, so Ismail, the middle brother, acted fast. He got control of the “Ghezel Baash”, and organized a movement against Agh Ghouyounlus, he killed Yaghoob Aagh Ghouyounlu in a war(1502), and became the only ruler in north and west of Iran.
Ismail named his dynasty Safavid after his great-great grandfather Sheikh Safii. Immediately after gaining control in the north and west, he started moving further east. He conquered most of Iran and reached the borders of India from the east and Ottoman Empire from the west. He soon was the ruler of most of what we know as Iran. He also began spreading his family's religious beliefs, the Shi’ism. This action caused him a lot of trouble because at that time Shi’its were considered as heretics in most of the Islamic territories. Shi’its had to hide their true beliefs just to avoid getting killed by Sunnies. Now, Shah Ismail was declaring Shi’ism as the official religion of his country.
At this time, the greatest enemies of Iran were Uzbaks in Central Asia and Ottoman Empire on the Asia Minor and they were both Sunny muslims. Uzbeks were descendants of Ghenghis Khan’s first son, Juchi and they were living a Nomadic lifestyle. Ottoman’s were on the north west of Iran and they were at the height of their power at this time. Their empire spread from the borders of Iran on the east to the gates of Vienna on the west. When Sultan Salim heard about Shah Ismail and his Shi’it state, he thought he found a good reason to finally invade Iran and add it to his territories. So he declared war on Shah Ismail and the two armies faced each other in Chaldoran plateau(1514). This war was a disaster for the young Safavi dynasty and Iran both. Iranians were fighting with sword and bow and arrows, but Ottoman’s had Cannons and guns. So they scared Iranians and defeated them in a totaly unequal battle. Ottoman’s invaded the North Western part of the country and they even came close to Ismail’s capital, Tabrizl. Immediately, Ismail turned to the east and gathered another army and faced the Ottomans again. This time he was successful and he pushed them out of the country and regained control. Of course he never gained all of the lost territories; Diyar Bakr and most of what is today Iraq stayed in Ottaman hands.
Although this was a victory, it actually started a series of battles between two countries that lasted throughout the reign of Safavids. This battles can be compared to the endless wars of Iran and Rome during the reign of Sasanid’s. On the other side, Uzbeks were also attacking Iran from the east and tried to do the same thing as their Ottoman
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Chapter V
Safavids After Shah Ismail:
Reign of Shah Tahmasp:
After the death of Shah Ismail in 1522 AD(930 HG), his oldest son Saam Mirza became king. He called himself Shah Tahmasp. Shah Tahmasp lacked his fathers abilities to conquer and organize new territories. Althought he reigned for over 50 years, he was not very important in Irans history. He was a lazy and irrisponsible king, and he loved wine and women more than military life. on the other hand, his reign brought stability ti the country, and because of length of his reign, he established the dynasty of Safavids in Iran.
During the fifty years of Tahmasps rule over Iran, there were several more attacks from Uzbeks and Ottomans on Iran. In one of these attacks, Uzbeks captured a karavan of Royal family and threatened to kill the whole family, but they were defeated by a small army of Ghezelbash soldiers.
The most important chapter of Tahmasp's reign began when his oldest son, Ismail, was accused of conspiracy. Tahmasp imprisoned Ismail in Ghahghahe fort and kept him there for over 10 years. During his time in jail, Ismail, who was very much like his name sake grandfather, found himself a strong army of supporters who were tired of Tahmasp's slow and un-eventful reign. in 1575, Tahmasp escaped from the prison and went to the western Iran (around Kurdestan). He was palnning and attack on Ghazvin(the capital) when he heard the news of his father's death, so he went to Ghazvin to capture the throne.
Ismail II and Mohammad I Khoda-Bande:
In Ghazvin, a group of Ismail's supporters lead by his sister Parikhan-Khanom welcomed Ismail to the palace. Ismail took the control and immidiatly began a reign of terror. He captured and blinded all of his close reletives, and killed anybody whom he thought maybe dangarous to his throne. His first victime was Soleyman Mirza, his third brother, then the rest of his family, with the exception of Mohammad Khoda-Bande, his second oldest brother. Mohammad and his family were in Harat, in the eastern side of Iran(now in Afghanistan), and because Mohammad was already half blind (birth defect), Ismail did not think of him as a threat, and his children, Heydar 11 and Abbas 8 were too young to be considered dangarous.
After Ismail wiped his hands from the blood of his reletives, he got married. In 9 months he had a child whom he called "Shah Shoja" (the brave king). He was now sure of himself and was planning to change the capital abck to Tabriz, and make a new palace for himself. By this time the Ghezelbash soldiers were tired of this blood thirsty king, so they sent a messanger to Harat and asked Mohammad to send his oldest son Heydar to them so they can declare hin as the new king. Instead of sending the boy, Mohammad decided to go to the capital. When Ismail heard the news, he immidiatly sent someone to blind Mohammad and both of his sons. When the executioner reached Semnan(mid way between Harat and Ghazvin), he found out that only Mohammad himself is there and his sons had fled the scene with their mother and are in their way to Kerman, in southern Iran.
Ismail sent some soldiers to capture his nephews, and orderd the executioner to blind the Mohammad any way. When the soldiers got to Kerman and tried to capture the yuong boys, they faced an unexpected problem: Heydar, the older son, and some of his followers attacked the soldiers! They did not let the soldiers to succeed and stayed free.
After this minor victory, Heydar's mother encouraged him to begin a revolt against his tyrant uncle. Heydar found enough soldiers to stand in front of the Ismail II's army. On the other hand, in Ghazvin, people and courtians were becoming angry about Ismail's madly behaviour, so they started to support the Heydar's army in secret.
Heydar defeated Ismail's army in several occasions, but unfortunately he got killed mysteriously in one of the battles. Nobody was able to find out who killed him. This great los could have been the end of Mohammad's family, but something happened at this time that changed everything. Abbas, heydar's younger brother got the control of his brother's army and began moving toward the capital. When this news reached Ghazvin, a revolt broke out and like a thunder, it reached the royal palace. Whithin hours, the palace was in fire. After everything calmed down, people found the dead bodies of Ismail II and his child. They have been killed by an unknown person.
In General, this era can be called an era of revolt, anarchy, and complete unrest in the country. Ismail II can be called the Caligula of Iran. He was very brutal, he killed most of his family and just like Caligula he thought of himself as the greatest of the kings. Nobody, not even his sister Parikhan Khanom cried for his death, and he remains one of the most horrible kings in the history. His reign lasted for less than two years.
After Ismail's death, Ghezelbash guard decided to declair Abbas as the king, but because he was too young, they called upon his blind father to capture the throne of Shah Tahmasp.
Mohammad Khodabande was a weak man. In his life, he never accepted any real responsibility, and he never finished a job. Even his father did not see him fit for the throne of "Moshed-e Kaamel"(official title of the Safavid kings). During his 10 years on the throne, he had very little influence. We can call his reign the pre-face for the reign of one of the most glorious kings of Iran, Shah Abbas Bozorg (king Abbas the Great).
Shah Abbas the Great
If Shah Ismail is considered the Cyrus of Iran's post-Islam era, Shah Abbas was certainly it's Darius. During his reign, Iran regained its international place and became a center of trade and business in the near east. Shah abbas made his capital, Isphahan, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, he patronized art and architecture. He financed several scientist and help them achieve their goals. It was during his time that Shi'it Islam really found it's roots and became the official religion of the country. He was a great man with a very open mind, so much that he even attended church with his christian subjects for the christmass celebration.
Shah Abbas suceeded his father in a very hard time. The whole country was engaged in controversy about the furture king. It was not very easy for a 17 year old prince to rule the country. The first thing Abbas did was to calm the Qazvin court. He convinced everybody of his rightfulness to the throne. Then he headed east to defeat the rebels. His next action was to move the capital from Qazvin to Isphahan, a city in the central parts of Iran that was not close to the borders.
At this time, foreign powers, mostly Uzbecks and Ottoman's, were attacking the country. Abbas knew that he can not fight on two wars at once, so he made peace with Ottomans. Then he attacked Uzbeks and in a very long and bloody battle, defeated their armies and captured their leader, Abdulmomen Khan. Abbas executed the Uzbek Khan and this put an end to the Uzbek attacks. His next action was to resume the old war with Ottomans. This time he was in luck! The Ottoman emperor at this time was himself engaged in a lot of internal comflicts, so he was not able to raise and army strong enough to defeat Abbas' well trained soldiers, so Abbas destroyed the Ottoman powers and restored Iran's rule to the parts of the country captured by Ottomans.
Golden Era of Shah Abbases Reign
Shah Abbas began his reign in 1587 and he was on the throne till 1629. His era can be considered as the first time that Iran saw peace after the Arab attack a thousand years earlier. Abbas, unlike his father, wasa strong and tough person. He was quick in decision making, and stubborn in carying out his commands. One of the first thing that he did when he sat on the throne was to move the capital from Ghazvin to Esphahan, a move important in two ways. One was the fact that Ephahan was located in the central iran and it was far from the possible attacks of both Ottomans and Uzbeks, and the other that it was far from Ardebil, the centre of sufism and Ghezelbaash forces. Abbas wanted to rule ina different way than his ancestors. He disbanded the Ghezelbaash's and re-created a force from all of the best soldiers and called them Shaahsavans(servants of the king). He trained these froces to become the best and strongest soldiers in the country, much alike the Javidan(immortal) forces of Achaemenid kings!
Other than being a strong military commander and a great statesman, Shah Abbas was a patron of arts, especially architecture. He transformed the city of Esphahan to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The palaces, streets, mosques, bridges, and fountaines that he built made Esphahan so beautiful that it got the nick name of 'Nesf-e-Jahan' (half of the world!). He had his royal painters painting the walls of Alli Ghapou palace with the most beautiful of Iranian miniature works. It was during his time that the Iranian art began to grow after a thousandyears of decline. Painters like Reza Abbasi, Agha Mirak, Kamal al-Din Behzad,...Also great caligraphers like Mir Emad or Alireza Abbasi. Shah Abbas also ordered the architects to build roads in the whole country, and he ordered Inns to be erected in these roads to make it easier for the travelers to travel through the country. Some of these roads and inns are masterpieces of architecture that are still standing today, and are signs of Abbas' glorious reign.
Shah Abbas was a patron of science and scientific achievements as well as of arts. Some of the greatest philosophers of Iran were living under his rule, Mollasadra, Mirdamad, or Moghaddas Ardebili. There also was Sheikh Baha al-Din Ameli, or Sheikh Bahai who was a great philosopher and scientist. He created a system of heating in a public bath that would provide enough warm water for people to bathe with the power of a single candle! he also wrote several books in philosophy, logic, stories, and general subjects. Also in the time of Shah Abbas there were several craftsmen that started new factories, mainly to produce weapons. Only one of them has left his name in history, and he was called Hassan-Moussa and he was a producer of a very good and reliable kind of gun that became famouse for their length and precision.
In general, time of Shah Abbas was an era of peace and blessing for Iran, although not with some problems of course. At the last few years of his reign, Shah Abbas grew suspicious of his courtians and even his own family, this suspicious grew to the extend that he executed his oldest son, Safi Mirza, for the wrong acusation of treason. Finnaly Shah Abbas died while leaving the country to Safi Mirza's son, Saam Mirza.
Reign of Shah Safi, Abbas II, and Soleyman I
Saam Mirza, Safi Mirza's son, was a strange person. His mother was a Georgian lady and his father Safi mirza was a lonely and feeble person. Saam Mirza grew up in the atmosphere of his grand fathers suspicion, and he grew suspicious himself. When he recieved the throne in 1629, his first thought was to destroy anybody that could cause him trouble. This lead to one of the most terrible blood baths in the history of Iran. He killed his uncles, and some of his cousins. He ordered some to be blinded, and exiled some others for life.
After he was sure that there is no other claim to the throne, Saam Mirza coronated himself as Shah Safi I. Safi was not a patron of arts or sciences as his glorious grandfather was, and he was not as wise as a ruler. His whole reign was mixed with fear, and when he died in 1642, it was peace for the people, most speially for his courtians.
Abbas II, Safi's son, was a calm person. He did not have his father's sense of suspicion, and he was very much interested in arts and sciences. He patroned some other artists and added more buildings to his capital. What Abbas II lacked was his great-grandfathers power and statesmanship. Abbas II was not a good politcian, he was not able to maintain the peace and prosperity of his territory, and he could not manage his whole vast territory wsely, like Abbas I did. During his reign, there was some revolts from Shahsavan forces, and some unrest in the eastern fronts of the country, and these unrests and revolts finnaly set the base for the destruction of Safavids.
Abbas II died in 1666, and his son, Safi II became king. He changed his name to Soleyman I in 1668. Soleyman I was a rather incapeable, feeble, and self-indulgent person. He brought invalidity to the court and corruption to the whole government. His era was and era of decline, and it was the time that started all of the unrests in the country. People were tired of Soleyman's over spendings, and they wanted him gone, but he was destined to stay on the throne and give way to his son, Shah Soltan Hossein, the ultimate corrupt!
Soltan Hossein and the Afghan Invason
Shah Soltan Hossein became king in 1694. He grew up in a corrupt enviroment filled with self indilgence and invalidity. Soltan Hossein was the worst person to become king at that time. The country was on the edge of an explosion, and certainly Hossein's lifestyle and governing did not help to calm the people. His overspendings, outragious parties and more than 200 wives became a talk of the people. This was when a storm that destroyed him came from the east.
Hossein was unaware of the problems in eastern part of the country, in what is now Afghanistan, still part of the Safavid empire. In there, a tribal chief named Mahmud was getting ready to come to the capital, and he was bringing with him a great force! Mahmud attacked first Khorasan on the west of Afghanistan, and then continued his way to Esphahan. The Shahsavan forces were so weak at this time that they could not stop his fresh forces for more than a short while, and the most amazing thing was the reaction of the king! He said that is god is destined Mahmud to capture the throne, so thee is nothing he can do to stop that! Mahmud continued his way to the capital, and finnaly in 1622, he reached a town north of Espahahan called Murche-Khort. There he had a great battle with the remains of the Shahsavan forces, and he destroyed them completely. Shah Soltan Hossein came out of the gates of the city barefeet and brought mahmud his throne, and even called him his son!!!! But Mahmud could not be fooled! He imprisoned the old monarch, and killed the rest of the royal family, with the exception of Tahmasp, Hossein's eldest son who escaped before Mahmud came to Esphahan.
Mahmud declaired himself king, and sat on the throne as Mahmud I. He was a rotten ruler who could only keep his power by terror. When Mahmud died three years later, his equally brutal cousin, Ashraf became king and this time, he ordered the execution of the old Shah Hossein, but Hossein died before the executioners can reach him.
End of the Afghan Rule and Tahmasp II
By this time, people realized the truth about the Afghan's brutal style fo government, so they started supporting the still-popular Safavids, most importantly Tahmasp, Soltan Hossein's son. Tahmasp, who was now calling himself Tahmasp II, with the aid of two of his commanders Nader Khan Afshar and Fathali Khan Qajar, attcked Ashraf's forces. In some hard and bloody battles, finnally Tahmasp II's forces defeated Afghan forces. Tahmasp took up the throne and crowned as Tahmasp II.
Although he defeated his opponents, Tahmasp II was not much better ruler than his father or his grandfather. He had the same degree of corruption in his blood, and not surprisingly, he continued his fathers lifestyle. In the governing affairs, he was only s puppet in the hands of his commanders, mostly Nader Khan, who was by now knows as Tahmasp-Gholi Khan (the slave of the Tahmasp!). Although he showed a great deal of respect for the Morshed-e-Kaamel (the perfect leader, a title for the Safavid kings), Naders tue goal was to become king himself.
Nader deposed Tahmasp II and put his infant son Abbas III as the king. Under Naders complete control, Abbas III reigned from 1632 to 1636. During this period, Nader took his time to remove his greatest enemies. He killed Fathali Kahn Qajar and executed Sohrab Khan-e Gorji, two of his most powerful opponennts. Then he allied himself with all of the great powers around him. When he was sure that he has a strong base for taking up the throne, he deposed Abbas III, and declaired himself king. |
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Chapter VI
Nader's Rise to Power:
Nader Gholi Afshar Gharakhlou, son of a cloak tailor from the Khorasan province in the north east of Iran, was born on 1688 in Daregaz. His father died when Nader was very young and the young boy had to support his mom. He was once kidnapped by Uzbek bandits along with his Brother Ebrahim and his mother. Nader spent four years in the Uzbeks jail, but he escaped with his brother when their mother died on captivity.
Nader began his career by joining the army of Baba Ali Beyg Koose Ahmadlou Afshar. In his army, Nader started showing his military abilities and was soon promoted as a general and married Goharshad, Baba Ali's daughter. He took over the power and wealth of Ali Beyg Koose after he passed away. At this time, Shah Tahmasp II Safavi, who declared himself king after the defeat of Afghans, heard of Nader's growing power and decided to take advantage of this new power. He sent Hossein-Ali Beyg Bastamy to invite Nader to join his army. Nader saw the opportunity and joined Tahmasp II's growing number of commanders.
Very soon nader became the second most powerful person in Tahmasp II's court, and he soon decided that he has to get rid of the most powerful person, Fath-Ali Khan Qajar Qovanlou. Fath-Ali Khan, who was older and more experienced than Nader, felt the danger and started his struggle to escape Nader's trap, but he lost the game to him and was killed soon after.
Shah Tahmasp II, weak and careless like his father and grandfather, was happy with the peace in his court and did not care about who really controls his divided and anarchic country. When Nader became the ultimate strong man, Tahmasp awarded him with the title of “Tahmaspgholi Khan”, meaning “The Servant of Tahmasp”. A title with which Nader was known until his election as king.
At this time, the country was under chaos. Afghans, headed by Ashraf, controlled the eastern and central parts of the country, Tahmasp II was just claiming the country, without any actual territories. Ottomans, taking advantage of this situation, attacked and invaded the western sections of the country and captured Hamedan. Nader, both for his own ambitions and also patriotism, decided to throw the enemies out of the country.
For the beginning, he faced Ashraf and his Afghans twice, once in Mehmandoost near Semnan, and then in Moorche-Khort on north of Esphahan. Both times Ashraf was defeated and pushed back to Shiraz, there, in a final battle, Nader destroyed Ashraf’s army. Ashraf, escaping to Laarestan, was killed by a servant of his cousin, Mir Hossein, and his head was sent to Nader.
After finishing the Afghan business, Nader looked to the west (1733). In several battles with Ottoman’s, Nader defeated Ottomans and pushed them back to the older boundaries. Then he continued his attacks on Mesopotamia. He conquered Soleymania, Samera, and Karkouk, but was defeated behind the walls of Baghdad when Toupal Osman Pasha sent more forces to support Ahmad Pasha, the Ottoman governor of the city. Nader did not give up and came back with greater forces and this time put Ottomans under such pressure that they agreed to give the cities on the west of Aras river to Iran, in addition to Karbala and Basra on southern Mesopotamia. At this time, Russians, also getting afraid of this new strong man, gave back the cities of Yervan and Tephlis that they had taken away during the time of chaos.
When Nader went back to the now safe capital of Esphahan in 1736, he saw the weak Safavi king living in wealth and comfort and enjoying the goods of life. Nader, being aware of kings behavior, planned a trap for the king so that courtiers can see kings behavior with their own eyes, then he started a plot to depose Tahmasp and elect his 9 months old son, Abbas as Shah Abbas III. Nader became the sole ruler of the country, but finally he invited all of the governors of different provinces to a council in Moghan, north east of Azerbaijan.
In the council of Moghan, pressured by Nader’s army, but also deciding partly on their own observations, the nobles unanimously chose Nader as the new king. Abandoning his “Tahmasp-Gholi Khan” title, Nader crowned as Nadershah I.
The Reign of Nadershah
When Nader became king, his first action was to pursue his ultimate goal of gaining more money and more territories. He turned to the sure place, India! For the start, he had to secure his back, thus still operating from Esphahan, Nader headed for Ghandehar and Haraat, the eastern most parts of the country. He invaded Ghandehar and Haraat just opened the gates to the ruthless warrior. Nader’s eldest son, Reza Gholi, captured Balkh, then with the support of Balkh’s governor, Nader conquered Bokhara, Samarghand, and then the rest of the Transoxania.
Now, being sure that his northern neighbors would not have the power to rise against him, Nader turned his attention to Kabul, then part of Mongol Empire of India. Nader invaded Kabul and did not waste anytime to continue to the south, he invaded Lahour and Karachi, and reached the gates of Delhi (then Shah Jahan Abad) in 1738. Mohammad Shah, taken by storm, was incapable of defending his falling empire, so he just opened the doors of the city. Indians, upset by their kings weak reaction, started killing Nader’s soldiers, despite the orders to stop the fight. Nader, always fast tempered, ordered massacre of residents and only stopped after Mohammad Shah’s request and offers of money.
After emptying Mohammad Shah’s treasury from all of the precious stones and money, Nader spoke in public and expressed his support for the reign of Mohammad Shah and ordered the coins with his name to be changed back to Mohammad Shah’s name. Then he made a deal with the emperor to provide him with a hefty amount of money each year and promise of support and help. Next, Nader turned back home, this time looking for a good place to store the treasures. He found the perfect place in Kalat mountains, just north of his birthplace in Dareggaz. Then he changed the capital from Esphahan to Mashhad, the biggest city in Khorasan.
From then he started again to conquer Transoxania, he killed the king of Kharazam and appointed Khan of Bokhara as the ruler of all of Transoxania. Then he decided to go to Mesopotamia and conquer that section, but he got the news of his brothers death in Caucasia in the hand of Lezgi (present day Daghestani) tribes. Nader reached Caucasia in 1741, and fought with Lezgis, with no real results, this war ended in peace and a treaty of cease-fire. This was the place that Nader first meat Dr. Bazin, a French friar who became his personal physician.
Next, Nader headed to Mesopotamia and fought with Ottomans and in a treaty agreed to occupy Najaf and leave the rest of the Mesopotamia alone. He then went to Shiraz and then back to Mashahad. For some times, he lived in peace, but once again he had to head out to war with some tribes that rebelled. One night, in 1747, near Damghan in north east of the country, two of Naders commanders decided to kill Nader, so they entered his tent and cut his head with a sword, this was the end of life one of Iran’s greatest and cruelest kings.
Although a great conqueror, Nader can not be considered as a good or wise king. He did nothing to organize the war stricken country. He did not consider will of the people in his reign. All of the money that he gained from his conquest, he put on a treasure in Kalat. At the end of his life, he grew so suspicious of others that he even blinded his own son Reza Gholi Mirza in charge of treason. Nobody was safe from his anger. His death was both bitter and sweet. It marked the end of a period of golden conquests and national pride, but it also was full of murder and suspicion. All in all, Nader is considered as a great and influential king, but never reaching the level of Kourosh with his unusual open minuends or Shah Abbas for his creation of a united and powerful country.
Iran After Nader’s Death
Almost immediately after Nader’s murder in Damghan, the country fell into anarchy. All of Nader’s commanders started collecting forces and declaring themselves kings. The first one was Ahmad Khan Ebdali, one of Nader’s Afghan commanders. Ahmad Khan invaded Kabul, Ghandehar and Mazarsharif and declared himself king of Afghanistan, he later captured Harat for a short period of time.
At the same time, Nader’s nephew, Ali Khan declared himself king as Adel Shah (the Just King). The first action of this “Just” ruler was t kill all of his cousins! He killed reza Gholi Mirza, Emam Gholi Mirza and all of other descendants of Nader who could be a problem for him. As you can expect, he did not enjoy his “just!” actions for a long time and was soon killed by his own brother who became Ebrahim Shah. Ebrahim Shah also gave his place to other adventurers.
Next, the nobles elected Shahrokh, the teenage son of Reza Gholi Mirza, Nader’s blind son, as the new king, but it was not long until a new person came along, Shah Soleyman III. This man, originally called Mirza Mohammad, was the son of Shah Soleyman I Safavis daughter and a clergy man in Mashhad. Encouraged by some nobles, he called himself the true heir to the throne and captured and blinded Shahrokh. In his own term, he did not last a long time (1749-1750). He was captured and blinded, and Shahrokh returned to the throne, with blind eyes! His “reign” continued 1796, when he was imprisoned by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (see next chapter).
At the other side of the country, three local chiefs tried to gain the power. They were Ali Morad Khan Bakhtiari, Karim Khan Zand, and Abolfath Khan Haft Lang. They found a grandson of Shah Soltan Hossein and called him Ismail III. Under the name of protecting the “rightful” king, these three gained power. Abolfath Khan became the Prime Minister, Karim Khan got the job of the army chief commander and Ali Morad Khan became the regent. The three friends, as they came to be known, conquered all of the country with the exemptions of Azerbaijan (ruled by Azad Khan Afghan), Mazandaran (controlled by Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar) and Khorasan (still under the power of Shahrokh). Then, as long as some people are smarter than others, Karim Khan and Ali Morad Khan got rid of Abolfath Khan, and then Karim Khan just illuminated Ali Morad Khan! In the process, “Shah” Ismail III just was not important any more!!! So, Karim Khan, becoming the only “regent”, decided to do the better thing and called himself, well, not king, rather “The Servant of the People” (Vakil Al-Melleh). |
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Chapter VII
Reign of Kareem Khan
Kareem Khan, chief of Zands, a tribe of Lors in western Iran, was only known as Khaloo Kareem before becoming an important figure in the country’s politics. When Kareem Khan was young, Nadershah moved the Zand tribe form their home in Lorestan to the eastern steppes of Khorasan. After Nader’s death, the Zand tribe, under the guidance of Kareem, went back to their original land.
Kareem Khan, who was a very sharp and wise person with nationalist ideas, decided to organize the country after the civil wars that was caused by Nader’s assassination. As we said before, He and two other local tribes chose a grandson of Shah Soltan Hossein as Shah Esmail III and began to rule under his name, after a while, Kareem Khan managed to become the only ruler. He was not very much interested in the royal costumes and unnecessary court etiquette’s, so he did not accept the title of king and only called himself “Vakil Ol Melle”(Agent/Deputy of the People).
When Kareem Khan managed to conquer and organize the central parts of the country, he appointed Shiraz as his capital. At this time, Kareem Khan’s biggest opponents were Azad Khan-e Afghan in Azerbaijan, Shahrokh Shah in Khorasan, and Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar in Mazandaran. Kareem Khan did not try to depose Sharokh Shah out of respect for Nader. Azad Khan was a strong and wise opponent, he had a strong military and also some popular support. Kareem Khan sent his greatest commanders, Ali Mardan Khan and Allah Gholi Khan Zand to invade Azerbaijan, those two, after several battles and some occasional defeats, finally managed to capture Azad Khan and bring him to Shiraz. Kareem Khan made him promise to be loyal and then set him free and gave a him a government job. Azad Khan, a man of his word, stayed loyal and lived in Shiraz until he died.
The strongest and biggest enemy of Kareem Khan was Mohammad Hassan Khan. Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar Ghovanlou was son of Fath-Ali Khan, commander and regent of Shah Tahmasp II who was executed after Nader’s rise to power. In the period of anarchy, Mohammad Hassan Khan decided to restore the power that Nader took away from his father, so he gathered a relatively large army and invaded Mazandaran, Eastern Khorasan, Gilan and even Tehran (then only a small town). By growth of his power, Kareem Khan became rightly worried, because soon Mohammad Hassan Khan declared his desire to conquer Esphahan and possibly Shiraz. Kareem Khan once again sent his commanders, but the Qajar Khan was far more experienced than Azad Khan. So the Zand army was defeated , and Mohammad Hassan Khan came closer to Kareem Khan’s territory. Finally, after several years of battles, in one battle near Gonbad, one of Mohammad Hassan Khan’s commanders betrayed him. Mohammad Hassan Khan was killed and his family were captured. His head was sent to Kareem Khan along with two of his eldest children, Agha Mohammad Khan and Hossein Gholi Khan as hostages. The rest of the Kareem Khan’s reign was spent ina relatively peaceful state. The only war after the defeat of Qajar Khan was a battle with Ottomans in which Kareem Khan invaded Basra, a city in south eastern Mesopotamia. Kareem Khan started construction works in his capital of Shiraz and founded Vakil Bazar, Vakil Public Bath, and several Vakil palaces in different cities, all named after the title “Vakil Ol- Melle”.
The Successors of Kareem Khan and Rise of Qajars
Kareem Khan lacked the futuristic view of educating a good heir. When he died in 1779, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abol Fath Khan. This son was not a sharp and courageous ruler like his father, but rather lazy and weak. His whole reign was over shadowed by his powerful uncle, Zakki Khan. Zakki Khan, half brother of Kareem Khan, was a symbol of corruption and political mischief. His administration as the chancellor of the And territories led to the anarchy of next 20 years.
Abol Fath Khan died of a heart attack. He was succeeded by three of his cousins and also his brother. These four rulers governed the country on and off for twenty years. It seemed almost like the Zand dynasty has ran out of brave and wise rulers, until Lotf Ali Khan came along.
Lotf Ali Khan, grandson of Kareem Khan’s youngest brother, Sadegh Khan, was a very brave, patriotic and handsome warrior. There are countless number of accounts about his looks. He was also very brave and master of fighting arts. One thing that he lacked was political knowledge. Unlike his granduncle, he did not became the ruler as a result of his own hard work, he just inherited it! He was brave, but he did not know how to get close to his subjects and be friendly to them, a gift that Kareem Khan was master of.
Lotf Ali Khan faced a great problem when he became Vakil Ol Melle. This problem was called Agha Mohammad Khan. It was not a form of rare disease like cancer, or any kind of epidemic, but it was equally life threatening. Agha Mohammad Khan was the eldest son of Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, murdered chief of Qajars and Kareem Khan’s sweared enemy. When his father died, he and his younger brother Hossein Gholi Khan were sent to Kareem Khan’s court as hostages to ensure peace. Agha Mohammad Khan was castrated when he was very young, possibly by Aadel Shah Afshar, who was of course mad! In that time, seemed like he has no chance of re-gaining his fathers lands, but Agha Mohammad Khan never stopped planning. He counted seconds for the time of Kareem Khan’s death, and when he died, he fled Shiraz and did not stop until he reached Estar-Aabad, his birth place and traditional seat of Qajars. His brother, Hossein Gholi Khan was murdered earlier when he was sent to Ghoochan as the governor.
When Agha Mohammad Khan got to his hometown, the first thing he did was to gather all of his brothers (there were quite a few of them) and the remainder of his father’s army. Qajars were so excited that they did not notice Agha Mohammad Khan’s lack of, well...manhood! He invaded Mazandaran in the first month of his arrival, then continued to the south and captured Qazvin and Tehran. His brother, Abbas Gholi Khan conquered Gilan, and this was when he noticed the obvious, why not he himself as the chief? Why should it be Agha Mohammad Khan? He began a rebellion against his older brother, and god knows that Agha Mohammad Khan never wasted anytime in calming rebellions. The result of this “calming” was around 50 corpses, one of them Abbas Gholi khan’s. With the help of his now faithful remaining brothers, notably Jafar Gholi Khan, a tall, fierce, and dumb commander who was famous for cutting horses in half! Agha Mohammad Khan conquered most of northern Iran and came as far south as Isphahan.
This was where he faced Lotf Ali Khan. They fought, as you can say, not once, but close to ten battles. The last of them just outside the gates of Shiraz. Here, Lotf Ali Khan got the dagger in the back. He did not make sure of whom he is living in charge inside the city, and the person he left was not a big icon of faithfulness. This person, called Ebrahim Khan Kalantar, drew the conclusion that his master would loose the battle to the Qajar Khan, so he just did not open the gates when Lotf Ali Khan tried to come back to the city to get re-enforcement. Lotf Ali Khan did not have time to fight two enemies, so he and twenty of his followers went to Kerman, around 300 Km east of Shiraz. Agha Mohammad Khan of course followed him, and when he captured Kerman, he did some of the cruelest things in the history of humankind. He arrested the Zand Khan, after several street fights in which all of Lotf Ali Khan’s followers got killed. He ordered some unspeakable things to be done to him, and then he killed him. After this, he ordered each of his soldiers to bring him the eyeballs of twenty Kermani citizens. With this, he put his name up in the list with some of other famous evil guys such as Ghenghis Khan, Teymour, and Alexander. Kerman was known four years as the city of blinds. |
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