Saad News: Join us with a short yet captivating and true video about the first king of the Qajar dynasty and the tragic fate of the daughter of Karim Khan Zand (the ruler of the Zand dynasty).
Saed News: According to the history service of Saad News, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar is one of the most important figures in modern Iranian history: he founded a dynasty that, despite many difficulties, lasted for more than a century. It seems that the only person who could save Iran from political chaos was one who had no personal life and spent most of his time, not on a royal throne or in a harem, but on horseback and under a tent.
Abbas Amanat, History of Modern Iran.
When Agha Mohammad Khan was engraving his name in blood on the pages of history in the East, a constellation of illustrious and grand names of those engaged in peaceful artistic works were shining in the West; Beethoven, Schubert, Goethe, George Washington, Carlyle, etc. While scholars in progressive countries were advancing towards progress and excellence, in Iran, skulls were piled up and, by Agha Mohammad Khan's orders, people’s eyes were gouged out to build mounds.
Agha Mohammad Khan’s rise to power was a disaster for the people of Iran. He was a vengeful and ruthless man who knew no bounds in killing, slaughtering, and torturing people. However, on the other hand, Agha Mohammad Khan succeeded in uniting Iran, which had been torn apart by tribal wars. After the death of Karim Khan Zand, the fragile balance of the agreements between various tribes broke down, and Iran became involved in the third major civil war that followed the fall of the Safavids. After Karim Khan's death, all the claimants to power rose, and after two decades of war, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar emerged victorious and took political authority.
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was the founder of the Qajar dynasty. The Qajars were a group of Turkic-speaking tribes from the Caucasus, and their lineage can be traced back to the Turkmen Ghaz tribe. During the Safavid era, the Qajars entered the civil service, and Shah Abbas the Great sent one branch of the Qajars to Merv and another to Gorgan to prevent them from gaining too much power. Those who went to Merv gradually assimilated into the local culture, but the group that settled in Gorgan maintained their Qajar identity and made Astrabad (modern-day Gorgan) their capital.
The Qajars gained considerable power in Astrabad and split into two main groups: "Ashaqi Bash" and "Yukhari Bash." The Ashaqi Bash family was known as Qoyunlu or shepherds, while the main family of Yukhari Bash was called Davali or horsekeepers. Agha Mohammad Khan's grandfather, Fath Ali Khan, was the leader of the Qoyunlu tribe. After his death, Agha Mohammad Khan's father, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, became the head of the Qoyunlus and initially fought with Nader Shah Afshar and later with the Zand dynasty.
Indeed, since the final days of the Safavid dynasty, the efforts of three generations of Qajar khans to gain power had been suppressed. The viceroy of Shah Tahmasp II, Fath Ali Khan Qajar, became a victim of Nader Shah, and a decade later, his son Mohammad Hassan Khan revived his family's claim to power and rebelled against Karim Khan Zand. After a series of unsuccessful advances, he eventually remained in Astrabad, where he died. (Several years later, his son, Hossein Qoli Khan Qajar, who was a ruthless and bold man, nicknamed "Jahansouz," was killed by his own forces.)
Agha Mohammad Khan was born in 1120 in the Iranian calendar. His father, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, had a great affection for him, and from a young age, Mohammad Mirza (later known as Agha Mohammad Khan) learned the art of war alongside his father and joined him in various battles. The last battle they fought together was against Adil Shah Afshar, the brother of Nader Shah Afshar. After the death of Nader Shah, the Qajars became one of the claimants to the throne.
Agha Mohammad Khan was castrated by Adil Shah, who, after defeating Mohammad Hassan Khan near Astrabad, spared his life but castrated him. Castration was a significant blow in a male-dominated society, eliminating his chances to rule.
Despite this, Agha Mohammad Khan's success in founding the Qajar dynasty disproves the assumption that only those with a healthy body deserve to rule. Castration had long been a common brutal practice, with rulers and power claimants frequently subjected to this act.
The psychological impact of being castrated was profound for Agha Mohammad Khan, and he became a vengeful and bitter ruler. Sir John Malcolm described Agha Mohammad Khan as having a weak body, looking like a 14-year-old boy from afar, with a wrinkled, hairless face resembling that of an elderly woman. However, when angry, his face would become terrifying, and he did not want anyone to look at him.
After Adil Shah's death, Agha Mohammad Khan returned to his family and, alongside his father, fought against Karim Khan Zand for power. Karim Khan treated Agha Mohammad Khan well during his captivity, even consulting him on matters of state. Agha Mohammad Khan spent 16 years in the Zand court, during which time he studied the strengths and weaknesses of the Zand tribes.
At the age of 36, Agha Mohammad Khan began his efforts to seize power. He first took control of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Zanjan, and soon added Kurdistan and Yazd. He engaged in lengthy battles with internal Qajar factions, ultimately defeating them and securing political control. In 1785, he crowned himself king and selected his nephew, Fath Ali Mirza, as crown prince.
Agha Mohammad Khan's struggles with Lutf Ali Khan Zand continued, and after a long and brutal battle, he defeated him, captured him, and cruelly executed him. His ruthless methods included gouging out the eyes of 20,000 people from Kerman, causing them to beg for the rest of their lives.
In 1795, after defeating all rivals, Agha Mohammad Khan became the ruler of all of Iran. His reign was marked by extreme cruelty, including executing enemies, mutilating bodies, and massacring civilians. However, in 1797, Agha Mohammad Khan was killed by two of his servants. The murder may have been planned in advance by his ambitious general, Sadegh Khan Shaghagi.
After his death, his successor, Fath Ali Shah, assumed the throne without opposition, and many hoped the country would be at peace. However, the consequences of Agha Mohammad Khan's brutal conquests, including attacks on Christian territories and massacres, soon caught up with Iran, as the Russian Empire became a formidable new enemy.
