Sayed Morad Khan, was a '' Shah'' of Iran who reigned from January 23, 1789 until May 10, 1789. He was the eighth king of the Zand dynasty. His brief reign is indicative of the ruthless and brutal struggle for power that prevailed among members of the Zand family following the death of Karim Khan Zand in 1779. Ali Murad Khan zand court

Life

Sayed Murad Khan was a member of the court of his predecessor, Jafar Khan, in the Zand capital of Shiraz. It was apparently Jafar Khan's treatment of Sayed Murad Khan that led the latter to plot the king's overthrow. Sayed Murad Khan had been governor of Shiraz but was later confined with his family and, according to one account beaten on Jafar Khan's orders in an effort to force him to divulge his wealth.Malcolm, John, ''The History of Persia, Vol. II, Part 1'',1829 footnote, p. 106. In 1789 a group of individuals, led by Sayed Morad Khan conspired to poison Jafar Khan. A female slave was employed to carry out their wishes. Sayed Morad Khan and his followers overcame the weakened shah, killing him,

decapitating Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

him and throwing his head from the citadel. After the murder of

Jafar Khan Jafar Khan Zand, ( fa, جعفر خان زند) was the seventh ''shah'' (king) of theZand dynasty of Iran from 1785 to 1789. He was the son of Sadiq Khan Zand, who was removed from the throne in Shiraz by Ali Murad Khan, who had previously taken I ...

, Sayed Morad became the new Shah of Iran. Jafar Khan's son,

Lotf Ali Khan Lotf Ali Khan ( fa, لطفعلی‌خان زند; ) was the last Shah of the Zand dynasty. He ruled from 1789 to 1794. Early life Lotf Ali Khan Zand came to power after a decade of infighting among a succession of violent and inept Zand chiefs f ...

, then marched to Shiraz, where he was popular among the people. Sayed Morad Khan held out for a short while in the city's citadel, but after reigning for less than 4 months he was forced to surrender and was executed.

succeeded him on May 10, 1789.

References

Sources

*Perry, John R., ''Karim Khan Zand A History of Iran 1747-1779'', , Univ. of Chicago Press, 1979, pg. 299 *Waring, Edward Scott, "A Tour to Sheeraz by the Route of Kazroon and Feerozabad", , Elibron Classics, 2005.

External links

Rulers of Iran
Zand monarchs Year of birth missing Murdered Persian monarchs 1789 deaths 18th-century murdered monarchs 1789 murders in Asia {{Iran-royal-stub