Āzād Khān Afghān (d. 1195/1781) was an important participant in the struggle to determine who should rule western Iran after the death of Nādir Shāh (d. 1160/1747, r. from 1149/1736 until his death), the ruler and conqueror who created an Iranian empire that stretched from the I…
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ʿĀdil Shāh (r. 1160–61/1747–48) was the regnal name of ʿAlī Qulī Khān, Nādir Shāh's nephew and immediate successor in the Afshārid dynasty of Iran (r. 1148–1210/1736–96). He was the eldest son of Nādir's brother, Ibrāhīm Khān (d. 1151/1738). In 1150/1737 he was made governor of …
ʿAlī Murād Khān Zand (r. 1195–9/1781–5) was the fourth ruler of the Zand dynasty, which dominated southern and central Iran in the late twelfth/eighteenth century (1163–1209/1750–1794). ʿAlī Murād became the nephew of the dynasty’s the first ruler, Karīm Khān Zand (r. 1164–93/17…
ʿAbd al-Karīm Kashmīrī (d. 1198/1784) was an Indo-Persian chronicler of the Turkmen ruler Nādir Shāh (r. 1147–60/1736–47) and a traveller in India and the Middle East. Little is known of his early life, including the year of his birth, but we do know that he was living in Delhi …
ʿ Abbās III (r. 1145–9/1732–6) was the last shah of the Ṣafavid dynasty. At first protected by Ṭahmāsp Qulī Khān (1100–60/1688–1747, the future ruler Nādir Shāh), ʿAbbas III was then deposed by Nādir Shāh and later murdered on the orders of his son. When he made the eight-month-…
Mahdī Khān Astarābādī (d. mid 1170s/early 1760s) was Nādir Shāh’s court historiographer and scribe, who achieved fame also as a lexicographer and scholar of the eastern Turkic Chaghatay language. Neither the dates nor the locations of his birth and death are known, but his name …
Luṭf ʿAlī Khān (b. c.1182/1769, d. 1209/1794), the last ruler of the Zand dynasty and great-nephew of its founder, Karīm Khān, inherited a realm in turmoil when he took power in 1204/1789. His five years of rule (1204–9/1789–94) marked the last phase of the unravelling of Zand r…
Karīm Khān Zand (c.1117–93/1705–1779), who ruled the western part of Iran from 1164/1751 to 1193/1779, was the first of the Zand dynasty, which lasted until 1209/1794. His choice of Shiraz as his capital reflects his leadership of the Zands. The Zands were a branch of the Laks, …
Ashraf Ghilzay ruled over a considerable portion of Iran as Ashraf Shāh from 1137/1725 until 1142/1729. Ashraf was the eldest son of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 1127-9/1715–7), a brother of Mīr Vays (the mayor of Qandahar who launched an Afghan uprising against the Ṣafavids in 1121/1709 a…
The Afshārids (r. 1149–1210/1736–96) were a Persian dynasty founded by Nādir Shāh Afshār, replacing the Ṣafavid dynasty. This dynasty drew strength from the tribal solidarity of the Afshār uymāq. This was a prototypical military tribal grouping of Turkish origin, held together b…