Abu Torab ( fa, ابوتراب), better known by his dynastic name of Ismail III (), was a Safavid prince, who reigned as a figurehead under the authority of Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari briefly from 1750 to 1751, and then under the

Zand Zand may refer to: * Zend, a class of exegetical commentaries on Zoroastrian scripture * Zand District, an administrative subdivision of Iran * Zand Boulevard, in Shiraz, Iran * Z And, a variable star As a tribal/clan and dynastic name * Zand tr ...

ruler

Karim Khan Zand Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Ca ...

from 1751 till his death in 1773.

Biography

Abu Torab's father was Mirza Morteza, who was a former court official, and his mother was a daughter of the former Safavid king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

) Sultan Husayn (r. 1694-1722). On May 1750, the Chahar Lang chieftain Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari and the

chieftain

Karim Khan Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Cau ...

stormed the gates of Isfahan—its governor

Abu'l-Fath Khan Bakhtiari Abu'l-Fath Khan Bakhtiari ( fa, ابوالفتح خان بختیاری, Abōlfatḥ Khān-e Bakhtīārī ) was the Bakhtiari supreme chieftain (''ilkhani'') of the Haft Lang branch. Biography He was the governor of Isfahan at the time of the ...

and other prominent residents assembled to protect the fortress of the city, but agreed to surrender and collaborate with them after Ali Mardan's reasonable proposals. Abu'l-Fath, together with Ali Mardan and Karim Khan, formed an alliance in western Iran under the cover of restoring the Safavid dynasty, appointing the 17 year old Abu Torab as a puppet ruler—on June 29, Abu Torab was declared shah, and assumed the dynastic name of Ismail III. Ali Mardan then took the title of '' Vakil-e daulat'' ("deputy of the state") as the head of the administration, while Abu'l-Fath maintained his post as governor of Isfahan, and Karim Khan was appointed commander (''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been ...

'') of the army, and was given the task of conquering the rest of Iran. Ali Mardan eventually broke the alliance by killing Abu'l-Fath and extracting heavy tax on the inhabitants. In January 1751, Karim Khan returned to Isfahan and restored order in the city. A battle shortly occurred between him and Ali Mardan in Luristan—during the battle, Ismail III and Zakariya Khan (who was now his ''

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

''), together with several prominent officers, deserted Ali Mardan and joined Karim Khan, who eventually emerged victorious, forcing Ali Mardan and the remains of his men, together with the governor of Luristan, Ismail Khan Feyli, to retreat to Khuzestan. After Karim Khan's accession as ''vakil'' (regent) in the same year, Ismail was kept in safe custody at the stronghold of Abadeh, where lived till his death, in 1773.

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Biography

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Further reading