Reign (1789–1797) Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar

1 reign (1789–1797)

1.1 war lotf ali khan, family disputes, , first invasion of azerbaijan

1.1.1 first attack on shiraz , dispute jafar qoli khan qajar
1.1.2 invasion of azerbaijan

1.1.2.1 conquest of fars




1.2 final conquest of azerbaijan
1.3 reconquest of georgia , rest of caucasus
1.4 coronation
1.5 conquest of khorasan

1.5.1 torture of shahrokh shah


1.6 rest of reign
1.7 assassination

reign (1789–1797)
war lotf ali khan, family disputes, , first invasion of azerbaijan
first attack on shiraz , dispute jafar qoli khan qajar

now zand dynasty no longer under rule of jafar khan zand, agha mohammad khan saw opportunity capture shiraz once , all. marched towards city, , neared it, attacked lotf ali khan. battle fought on 25 june 1789, ended in lotf ali khan withdrawing shiraz while agha mohammad khan followed him , besieged city. siege lasted until 7 september. set encampment , returned tehran, stayed until end of ensuing nowruz. on 17 may 1790, agha mohammad khan once again marched towards shiraz. when reached fars, governor of bihbahan acknowledged authority. lotf ali khan once again left shiraz in order stop agha mohammad khan s advance, qajar ruler withdrew qazvin , surroundings, had resolve problems. agha mohammad khan later quarreled jafar qoli khan, saw himself best heir of qajar dynasty. agha mohammad had him executed, believed necessary having seen in zand family how dynasty decline due disputes on throne.

invasion of azerbaijan

while lotf ali khan having problems kerman, agha mohammad khan freely focus on azerbaijan. appointed baba khan governor of persian iraq , marched azerbaijan in spring of 1791. stopped @ tarum, , sent relative suleiman khan qoyunlu make talysh khanate acknowledge qajar authority. agha mohammad khan thereafter went sarab, forced sarab khanate submission. went ardabil, subdued ardabil khanate , visited city s shrine. went qarajadagh, brought end resistance against him. appointed donboli noble hosayn qoli donboli governor of khoy , tabriz.

conquest of fars

painting of agha mohammad khan (right) , grand vizier hajji ebrahim shirazi (left)

while agha mohammad khan conquering azerbaijan, lotf ali khan used opportunity attack isfahan. hajji ebrahim shirazi, popular governor of shiraz, used lotf ali khan s absence city stage coup, while brother mohammad-hosayn shirazi, zand ruler s general, mutinied along many other troops. lotf ali khan rushed shiraz, when arrived @ city, inhabitants refused open gates. went mountains , raised army big enough capture shiraz. hajji ebrahim sent emissary agha mohammad khan, asking him become ruler of fars, offering give him 3,000 mares if accepted, did. when agha mohammad khan arrived @ fars, appointed hajji ebrahim governor of whole province, , sent 1 of men take lotf ali khan s family tehran, , take possessions of zand family. furthermore, ordered baba khan establish garrison nearby shiraz prepared hajji ebrahim if needed.

battle between agha mohammad khan , lotf ali khan.

in meantime, lotf ali khan had defeated men sent hajji ebrahim , had captured stronghold of kazerun. marched countryside outside shiraz , prepared starve city. time later, qajar army nearby garrison attacked lotf ali khan s men , winning—until lotf ali khan himself decided participate in battle, , qajar army defeated. when agha mohammad khan found out this, sent 7,000 horsemen reinforce hajji ebrahim s forces, , ordered surviving qajar forces nearby garrison same.

lotf ali khan let reinforcements arrive shiraz, expecting forces of hajji ebrahim strengthened, come out of shiraz, , overhelmed in open battle. correct in prediction—a battle shortly took place west of shiraz, lotf ali khan defeated united forces of hajji ebrahim , qajar reinforcements. took place in late 1791, or 1792.

agha mohammad khan s capture , sack of kerman

the inhabitants of shiraz faced extremely hardship siege, , questionable if able endure. large parts of fars ravaged warfare, , 3–4 years pandemic had spread around landscape. albeit lotf ali khan s forces had gone through difficulty forces of hajji ebrahim, of latters forces had begun desert zands. agha mohammad khan raised large army , marched fars. on 5 june 1792, lotf ali khan, small force of men, made bold night raid on agha mohammad khan s encampment near persepolis.

at first, choice seemed in lotf ali khan s favor—he qajars routed, made him in delight let men spread around , rest night, find out @ daybreak agha mohammad khan still held ground. lotf ali khan fled tabas through neyriz. agha mohammad khan set foot in shiraz on 21 july 1792, , stayed there month, maintaining retinue in bagh-e vakil. before leaving shiraz, appointed hajji ebrahim governor of fars, , had body of karim khan zand exhumed , reburied in tehran, went after stay in shiraz.

two years later, after battle of krtsanisi brought eastern georgia , other principal territories in north caucasus , south caucasus within iranian domains, proclaimed himself shahanshah (king of kings) on mughan plain, nader shah had done sixty years earlier.

final conquest of azerbaijan
reconquest of georgia , rest of caucasus

the country of georgia had been under iranian vassalage first time in modern era in 1502, , under intermittent iranian rule , suzerainty since 1555, had been de facto independent after disintegration of iranian afsharid dynasty.

for agha mohammad khan, resubjugation , reintegration of georgia iranian empire part of same process had brought shiraz, isfahan, , tabriz under rule. viewed, safavids , nader shah before him, territories no different territories in mainland iran. georgia province of iran same way khorasan was. cambridge history of iran states, permanent secession inconceivable , had resisted in same way 1 resist attempt @ separation of fars or gilan. therefore natural agha mohammad khan perform whatever necessary means in caucasus in order subdue , reincorporate lost regions following nader shah s death , demise of zands, including putting down in iranian eyes seen treason on part of wali of georgia.

finding interval of peace amid own quarrels , northern, western, , central iran secure, iranians demanded georgian monarch heraclius ii renounce treaty russia , reaccept iranian suzerainty, in return peace , security of kingdom. ottomans, iran s neighboring rival, recognized iran s rights on kartli , kakheti first time in 4 centuries. heraclius ii appealed theoretical protector, empress catherine ii of russia, pleading @ least 3,000 russian troops, not listened to, leaving georgia fend off iranian threat alone. nevertheless, heraclius ii still rejected khan’s ultimatum.

in august 1795, agha mohammad khan crossed aras river 70,000-strong army. force divided in three: left wing sent in direction of erivan, right 1 parallel caspian sea mughan across lower aras towards dagestan , shirvan, while shah headed centre force himself, advancing towards fortress of shusha in karabakh khanate, besieged between 8 july , 9 august 1795. right , left wing forced khans of ganja , erivan alliance respectively. having abandoned siege of shusha due stiff resistance, further aided georgian crown prince aleksandre, khan of karabakh, ibrahim khan, surrendered mohammad khan after discussions, including paying of regular tribute , surrender hostages, though qajar forces still denied entrance shusha. since main objective georgia, mohammad khan willing have karabakh secured agreement now, , army subsequently moved further. while @ ganja, having secured shirvan, joined javad khan qajar , rest of right wing contingent. @ ganja, mohammad khan sent heraclius ii last ultimatum, received in september 1795:

your highness knows past 100 generations have been subject iran; deign amazement have attached russians, have no other business trade iran... last year forced me destroy number of georgians, although had no desire @ our subjects perish our own hand...it our great you, intelligent man, abandon such things... , break relations russians. if not carry out order, shall shortly carry out campaign against georgia, shed both georgian , russian blood , out of create rivers big kura....

according author of fārsnāma-ye nāṣeri, Ḥasan-e fasāʼi, contemporary qajar era historian, agha mohammad khan had declared in letter:

shah ismail safavi ruled on province of georgia. when in days of deceased king engaged in conquering provinces of iran, did not proceeed region. of provinces of iran have come our possession now, must, according ancient law, consider georgia (gurjistan) part of empire, , appear before our majesty. have conform obedience; may remain in possession of governship (wali) of georgia. if not this, treated others .

his advisors divided, heraclius ii ignored ultimatum, but, sent couriers st.petersburg. gudovich, sat in georgievsk @ time, instructed heraclius ii avoid expense , fuss , while heraclius ii, solomon ii , imeretians headed southwards of tbilisi fend off iranians.

the capture of tbilisi agha mohammad khan. qajar-era persian miniature british library.

agha mohammad khan @ same time marched directly on tbilisi, half of army crossed aras river with, though other estimations mention 40,000 instead of 35,000, , attacked heavily fortified georgian positions of heraclius ii , solomon on southwestern limits of city. abandoned several of nobles, heraclius ii managed mobilize around 5,000 troops, including 2,000 auxiliaries neighbouring imereti under king solomon ii, member of georgian bagrationi dynasty , distantly related heraclius ii. georgians offered desperate resistance , succeeded in rolling series of iranian attacks on september 9 , 10. after that, said traitors informed iranians georgians had no more strength fight , qajar army cancelled plan of going iran, had. on september 11, agha mohammad khan led all-out offensive against georgians. amid artillery duel , fierce cavalry charge, iranians managed cross kura river , outflanked decimated georgian army. heraclius ii attempted mount counterattack, had retreat last available positions in outskirts of tbilisi. nightfall, georgian forces had been exhausted , destroyed. last surviving georgian artillery briefly held advancing iranians allow heraclius ii , retinue of 150 men escape through city mountains. fighting continued in streets of tbilisi , @ fortress of narikala. in few hours, agha mohammad khan in full control of georgian capital sacked , population massacred. iranian army marched laden spoil , carrying off 15,000 captives. georgians had lost 4,000 men in battle, iranians 13,000; third of total force.

an eye-witness, having entered city several days bulk of iranian troops had withdrawn, described saw:

i therefore pursued way, paved were, carcases, , entered tiflis gate of tapitag: consternation on finding here bodies of women , children slaughtered sword of enemy; nothing men, of whom saw more thousand, should suppose, lyind dead in 1 little tower! (...) city entirely consumed, , still continued smoke in different places; , stench putrefying, heat prevailed, intolerable, , infectious.

coronation

conquest of khorasan

agha mohammad shah focused on khorasan, under rule of nader shah s blind , old grandson shahrokh shah, had earlier been vassal of durrani ruler, ahmad shah, after latters death in 1773 had become pawn of chieftains had taken control of surrounding cities , towns of afsharid capital of mashhad. prominent of these chieftains eshaq khan, preserved torbat-e heydarieh center of operations. in eastern parts of alborz, kurdish chieftains ruled on several fortresses, such bojnord, quchan, dargaz, , kalat.

the imam reza shrine in mashhad.

agha mohammad shah first marched astarabad, , penalized turkmens had been pillaging city , surroundings. continued mashhad, local chieftains, knew of hopelessness resist, swiftly acknowledged rule. agha mohammad shah demanded these local chieftains dispatch him hostages, sent tehran. when agha mohammad shah reached mashhad, shahrokh, along prominent mujtahid named mirza mehdi, went qajar encampment. there warmly received agha mohammad shah s nephew hossein qoli khan.

shortly afterwards, agha mohammad shah sent force of 8,000 soldiers under suleiman khan qajar, followed mirza mehdi, conquer mashhad , affirm citizens of shah s generosity. day later, agha mohammad shah, followed customary of famous iranian shah abbas great, , entered mashhad foot pilgrim imam reza shrine, whilst being teary eyed , kissing ground. pilgrimage continued 23 days, seemed unaware of politics of country.

the torture of shahrokh shah

however, things instantly changed after that—agha mohammad shah ordered digging of nader shah s corpse, , had sent tehran, reburied alongside karim khan zand s corpse. forced shahrokh give riches belonged nader shah. shahrokh vowed did not possess more of nader shah s riches. agha mohammad shah, ruthless , revengeful, , desire treasures, disbelieved him, , had him hurt severely confess hidden locations of last gems had passed down him grandfather—shahrokh, however, refused speak. number of shahrokh s servants, struck misery previous monarch, sent admired mullah of city make emotional appeal agha mohammad shah in support of shahrokh. shahrokh sent mazandaran family, died @ damghan due injuries had suffered torturers.

rest of reign

agha mohammad restored iran unity had not had since karim khan. reunited territory of contemporary iran , caucasus region, latter had been part of concept of iran 3 centuries. was, however, man of extreme violence killed threaten hold on power, trait showed in several of campaigns. year after mohammad khan re-subjugated caucasus, captured khorasan. shah rukh, ruler of khorasan , grandson of nader shah, tortured death because agha mohammad thought knew of nadir s legendary treasures.

in 1778, agha mohammad moved capital sari in home province of mazandaran tehran. first iranian ruler make tehran — successor great city of ray — capital, although both safavids , zands had expanded town , built palaces there. 1 of main reasons noted moving capital farther north remain in close reach of azarbaijan , iran s integral caucasian territories in north caucasus , south caucasus, @ time not yet ceded imperial russia, fate in course of 19th century. formally crowned in 1796 , founded qajar dynasty.

although russians briefly took , occupied derbent , baku during expedition of 1796 under command of count valerian zubov, agha mohammad khan expanded iranian influence caucasus, reasserting iranian sovereignty on former dependencies in region. was, however, notoriously cruel ruler, reduced tbilisi ashes, while massacring , carrying away christian population, had done muslim subjects. based strength on tribal manpower in mould of genghis khan, timur , nader shah.

assassination

agha mohammad s successful reign short-lived, assassinated in 1797 in tent in city of shusha, capital of karabakh khanate, 3 days after had taken city, , less 3 years in power. according hasan-e fasa s farsnama-ye naseri, during agha mohammad s stay in shusha, 1 night quarrel arose between georgian servant named sadeq , valet khodadad-e esfahani. raised voices such pitch shah became angry , ordered both executed. sadeq khan-e shaghaghi, prominent emir, interceded on behalf, not listened to. shah, however, ordered execution postponed until saturday, happened evening of friday (the islamic holy day), , ordered them duties in royal pavilion, unfettered , unchained, awaiting execution next day. experience, however, knew king keep had ordered, and, having no hope, turned boldness. when shah sleeping, joined valet abbas-e mazandarani, in plot them, , 3 invaded royal pavilion , dagger , knife murdered shah.

his nephew, crowned fath-ali shah qajar, succeeded him.