Zand dynasty

Guarded Domains of Iran
ممالک محروسهٔ ایران
Guarded Domains of Iran ممالک محروسهٔ ایران
1751–1794
	Flag Emblem
	The Zand dynasty at its zenith under Karim Khan in 1776.
Capital	Shiraz
Official languages	Persian
Religion	Twelver Shi'ism
Government	Monarchy
Vakilol Ro'aya (Advocate of People)
• 1751–1779	Karim Khan Zand (first)
• 1789–1794	Lotf Ali Khan Zand (last)
History
• Established	1751
• Qajar conquest	1794
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Azad Khan Afghan
	Afsharid Iran
Qajar dynasty

The Zand dynasty (Persian: دودمان زندیان, romanized: Dudemāne Zandiyān) was an Iranian dynasty,^[1] founded by Karim Khan Zand (r. 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 contemporary Iran (except for the provinces of Balochistan and Khorasan) as well as parts of Iraq. The lands of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were controlled by khanates which were de jure part of the Zand realm, but the region was de facto autonomous.^[2] The island of Bahrain was also held for the Zands by the autonomous Al-Mazkur sheikhdom of Bushire.^[3]

The reign of its most important ruler, Karim Khan, was marked by prosperity and peace. With its capital at Shiraz, arts and architecture flourished under Karim Khan's reign, with some themes in architecture being revived from the nearby sites of the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sasanian (224–651 AD) era's of pre-Islamic Iran. The tombs of the medieval Persian poets Hafez and Saadi Shirazi were also renovated by Karim Khan. Distinctive Zand art which was produced at the behest of the Zand rulers became the foundation of later Qajar arts and crafts. Following the death of Karim Khan, Zand Iran went into decline due to internal disputes amongst members of the Zand dynasty. Its final ruler, Lotf Ali Khan Zand (r. 1789–1794), was eventually executed by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797) in 1794.

As noted by The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, "Karim Khan Zand holds an enduring reputation as the most humane Iranian ruler of the Islamic era".^[4] When following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 the names of the past rulers of Iran became a taboo, the citizens of Shiraz refused to rename the Karim Khan Zand and Lotf Ali Khan Zand streets, the two main streets of Shiraz.^[5]

^ "ZAND DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
^ Perry, John R. (14 May 2015). Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-66102-5.
^ Floor, Willem M. (2007). The Persian Gulf: The Rise of the Gulf Arabs : the Politics of Trade on the Persian Littoral, 1747-1792. Mage Publishers. ISBN 978-1-933823-18-8.
^ Esposito, John L., ed. (2003). "Zand Dynasty". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512558-0.
^ Frye, Richard N. (2009). "Zand Dynasty". In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530513-5.

[1] "ZAND DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

[2] Perry, John R. (14 May 2015). Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-66102-5.

[3] Floor, Willem M. (2007). The Persian Gulf: The Rise of the Gulf Arabs : the Politics of Trade on the Persian Littoral, 1747-1792. Mage Publishers. ISBN 978-1-933823-18-8.

[ODoI-4] Esposito, John L., ed. (2003). "Zand Dynasty". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512558-0.

[OxfordIslam-5] Frye, Richard N. (2009). "Zand Dynasty". In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530513-5.

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