Jafar Khan Zand, ( fa, جعفر خان زند) was the seventh ''

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 ...

'' (king) 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 ...

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 ...

from 1785 to 1789. He was the son of

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 ...

, who was removed from the throne in

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 ...

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 an ...

, who had previously taken

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.

Biography

Early life

In February 1781, the Zand prince Ali Murad Khan put Jafar Khan's father Sadiq Khan Zand and all his brothers to death when he invaded

. Jafar Khan was the only one who was spared, because he privately had reached an agreement with Ali Murad Khan. While Ali Murad Khan was in northern Iran ( Mazandaran) in 1785, Jafar Khan took the opportunity to besiege

. Ali Murad Khan then marched towards the city in order to defend it, but died on 11 February at Murchakhur, a town near

Reign

Jafar Khan then crowned himself as the new Zand king in Isfahan. At the same time, 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 ...

warlord

Agha Mohammad 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, rul ...

marched towards

. Jafar Khan then sent his men to stop his advance towards the city, but they withdrew at

Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

without putting up any resistance. Jafar Khan then sent an even larger Zand army towards Agha Mohammad Khan, who defeated the army near

Kashan Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families. Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...

. Jafar Khan then fled to

. Agha Mohammad captured

and shortly afterwards arrived to

, where he discovered what was left of the Zand treasure and Jafar Khan's

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

. The Qajar troops then looted the city of Isfahan. In 1786, while Agha Mohammad Khan was in northern Iran, Jafar Khan quickly marched towards Isfahan and re-captured it. He then sent troops towards

and

, while he marched towards

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 ...

. He was, however, defeated by local tribal chieftains, such as a certain Khosrow Khan and Mohammad Hosayn Khan Qaragozlu. Jafar Khan then withdrew to Isfahan. When Agha Mohammad Khan heard about the Zand invasion of Isfahan and its surroundings, he quickly marched towards the city, which made Jafar Khan retreat back to Shiraz once again. In 1788, Agha Mohammad advanced closely to Shiraz, where he hoped to bait Jafar Khan out of Shiraz, which was strongly fortified, making it very hard to besiege. Unfortunately for Agha Mohammad Khan, Jafar Khan stayed in the city, which made Agha Mohammad Khan return to Isfahan, where appointed his brother Ali Qoli as its new governor, thus succeeding Jafar Qoli Khan. He then left for Tehran. With Agha Mohammad once again in the north, Jafar Khan began raising an army to prepare another attack against Isfahan and its surroundings. When Ali Qoli found out about it, he sent a group of tribesmen to a city south to Isfahan, named Qumishah. However, Jafar Khan managed to easily defeat them. Ali Qoli thereafter retreated to Kashan. Agha Mohammad Khan, learning of this, rapidly marched towards Isfahan, which made Jafar Khan withdraw to Shiraz once again. Agha Mohammad Khan, who was too unconfident to try and capture Shiraz, then went back to Tehran. Jafar Khan was murdered on 23 January 1789 by Ali Murad Khan's son

Sayed Murad Khan 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 ...

. After his death, a four-month civil war began between several Zand princes who fought for succession to the throne. 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 ...

emerged being the victor in this civil war in May.

Issue

Sons * Prince

Lotf Ali Khan Zand 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 ...

* Prince Khosrow Khan Zand * Prince Abbas Qoli Khan Zand * Prince Najaf Ali Khan Zand Daughter(s) * Princess Maryam Begum Zand

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Jafar Zand monarchs Year of birth missing 1789 deaths Murdered Persian monarchs 18th-century births 18th-century murdered monarchs