Zaki Khan Zand (died June 6, 1779) was an Iranian military commander and contender for the throne. A member of the
Zand Dynasty
The Zand dynasty ( fa, سلسله زندیه, ') was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later quickly came to expand to include much of the rest of ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, Zaki Khan, though he never became the ruler of Iran, managed to exert power over the country during the three months between the death of his half-brother
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 (Name of Iran, Persia) except for Khorasan Province, Khorasan. He ...
, on March 2, 1779, and his own brutal death.
Origins and early years
Zaki Khan was born into the
Zand tribe The Zand tribe is a Laki-speaking Kurdish tribe mainly populating the countryside of Khanaqin in Iraq and in the provinces of Kurdistan and Hamadan of Iran.
History
The Zand tribe is originally from the Khanaqin area and settled in Malayer near H ...
, who had been uprooted by
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
from their ancestral lands near
Hamadan
Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...
, in the central Iranian region of
Lorestan, and settled in Northern
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
. At Nader's death in 1747, the Zand returned to Lorestan, and their leader Karim Khan managed to gain vast political power, taking control of Isfahan in 1750, where they installed a puppet underage shah,
Ismail III
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 ruler Karim ...
. Karim Khan never took the title of shah but had himself addressed as "wakil" (deputy) even as he was the ruler over most of Central and Western Iran. Zaki Khan was doubly related to Karim Khan: he was his first cousin through their fathers, and his half-brother on the mother's side. The fortunes of Zaki Khan followed those of his half-brother and protector, and he was considered of his main generals.
First rebellion and years as a general (1763-1779)
However, Iranian sources note that Zaki Khan was by then already infamous for his cruelty and opportunism. In 1763, returning from the last campaign against
Azad Khan Afghan
Azād Khān Afghān (Persian, ps, آزاد خان افغان), or Azād Shāh Afghān () (died 1781), was a Pashtun military commander and a major contender for supremacy in western Iran after the death of Nader Shah Afshar in 1747.Perry, J. R. ( ...
in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, seemingly disappointed by a lack of recognition from the ruler, Zaki Khan seized the former
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
capital of
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
for himself, and exploited mercilessly its population. When Karim Khan learned of these exactions, he personally marched on Isfahan. Zaki Khan fled from him to Dezful, in
Khuzestan
Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
, recruiting
Bakhtiari warriors on the way, and then allying himself with the rebellious governor of
Dezful
Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popul ...
. After a year of unsuccessful fighting and negotiations, Zaki Khan eventually begged for the mercy of his brother, and received it.
During the next fifteen years, Zaki Khan remained one of the main generals of Karim Khan. He led forces to submit principalities on the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
coast, the main one a naval expedition against
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
in 1773, that ended in total failure and Zaki's disgrace. Two years later however, he was assigned a punitive expedition against the
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
stronghold of
Mazandaran, by the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
. There, he succeeded, and left a reputation of brutal terror.
Three months of power
Zaki Khan was a major participant in the struggles for political power that followed the death of Karim Khan on March 2, 1779. Karim Khan died naturally after a long illness, so Zaki Khan, as well as many others, was not caught off guard. He had managed in the previous years to marry his daughter to
Muhammad Ali Khan, Karim Khan's second son, who was still a child. By the time of Karim Khan's death, he was logically at the head of the faction pushing for Muhammad Ali to be proclaimed nominal ruler. The elder son,
Abol Fath Khan, only 13 years old, also had supporters among the main members of the royal family. However, as soon as Karim Khan was dead, Zaki Khan had most of them killed, and Abol Fath imprisoned. Among Abol Fath's supporters, only
Sadiq Khan Zand
Sadeq Khan Zand ( fa, صادقخان زند, d. 1781), also known as Mohammad Sadeq, was the fourth Shah of the Zand dynasty of Iran from August 22, 1779 until March 14, 1781.
Biography Background and early life
Sadeq Khan belonged to the ...
managed to escape the capital,
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
. Muhammad Ali was proclaimed nominal ruler,
[The young children of Karim Khan Zand were neither designated Shah nor Wakil, but called in Persian sources "Khan", in European sources "King"; cf Perry, Zand Dynasty] and Zaki Khan regent with full power over the Empire. But the children's mother intervened in favor of Abol Fath, and Zaki Khan, to win her support, had to accept that both sons of Karim Khan would be invested with the supreme honor.
The rule of Zadik Khan was contested from the start. First, the Qajar prince
Agha Muhammad Khan
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ( fa, آقا محمد خان قاجار, translit=Âqâ Mohammad Xân-e Qâjâr; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (, ), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran
...
, whom Karim Khan had retained as a hostage in Shiraz to prevent further rebellions from his powerful Northern clan, escaped and headed for his stronghold. To catch him, Zaki Khan sent his nephew,
Ali Murad Khan
Ali-Morad Khan Zand (died 1785) the fifth Shah of the Zand dynasty of Iran, reigned from March 15, 1781, until February 11, 1785.
Life
After the death of Karim Khan Zand, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar who was a hostage—in light of preventing a ...
. However, as soon as he reached Isfahan, Ali Murad Khan mutinied against his uncle and gave his allegiance to Abol Fath. Sadiq Khan was gathering an army in the South-East with a similar purpose. Zaki Khan decided to deal with Ali Murad Khan first, and led an army towards Isfahan.
Death and legacy
On his way to Isfahan, Zaki Khan committed the atrocities at the settlement of
Izadkhvast.
But this time, he went so far that even his own men were shocked. A group of tribal leaders among them eventually murdered him as he was resting in his tent still in the village of Izadkhwast.
After his elimination, the war would carry on between Sadiq Khan and Ali Murad Khan, who would both claim the throne in the following years.
His youngest son
Akbar Khan Zand, that he had left in charge of Shiraz, tried to pursue his father's career and ambition after Zaki Khan's death, but was blinded and killed in 1782 by his cousin, the future shah
Jafar Khan.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Zaki
18th-century Iranian military personnel
1782 deaths
Murdered Persian monarchs
Zand dynasty
Zand generals
18th-century murdered monarchs
1782 murders in Asia