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Local
Dynasties Between the Mongols and Timur
After the death of Abu Said Bahadur in 736/1335, the last of the Il -Khans
of Iran, a number of local dynasties came to power in various parts of the
country:
1. The Chupanids in Azarbaijan, Arran and Eraq - e - Ajam, from 738/1338
to 758/1357. Their capital was Tabriz.
2. The Jalayirids or Ilakanids in Iraq, Eraq - e - Ajam, Azarbaijan and
Sharvan, from 740/1239 - 40 to 838/1434 - 5. Their capital was Baghdad and
Tabriz.
3. The Muzaffarids in Fars, Kerman, Isfahan and Khuzestan, from 718/1318
to 795/1393. Their capital was Shiraz. The Atabegs of Yazd, the Al - i
Inju in Shiraz, the Shabankara kings, the kings of Hormuz, the rulers of
Lar and the Great and Small Atabegs of Lor were either overthrown by the
Muzaffarids or continued to rule as their vassal states.
4. The Karts, who came to power in 643/1245 - 6 in the eastern part of
Khorasan and retained their position for some time.
5. The Sarbadars, who ruled from 737/1337 to 783/1381 in the western part
of Khorasan.
6. Taghatimur and his descendants, who were in possession of Gorgan and a
part of northern Khorasan and for a time Damqan, Semnan and Firuzkuh and
who ruled from 737/1337 to 812/1409 - 10.
7. Amir Arghun - Shah, who ruled for a time over the cities of Tus, Nesa,
Abivard and Sarakhs.
8. Various local princes, known as the Paduspanids, the Ispahbads of
Bawandids, the Marashi Sayyids, the Kiyas and the Ishaqwand family, ruled
over Mazandaran, Rostamdar, Lahijan and Gilan.
The Timurids the Period of Shahrukh
Although Timur had chosen Pir Muhammad ibn Jahangir as his successor,
after his death in 807/1407 Khalil Sultan, another of his grandsons and
the son of Miran Shah, occupied Samarqand, the capital city, with the
backing of the princes of the realm, declared himself king. At this time
Shahrukh, the fourth son of Timur, has consolidated his position in
Khorasan, the center of his rule, and added Gorgan and Mazandaran to his
domain. As a result of differences among the princes, Khalil Sultan was
deposed in 812/1499, Shahurkh conquered Transoxania as well. Thus he ruled
for nearly a half century (from 807/1404 to 850/1447) as
Timur's successor in Iran and Transoxania. In the southeast his territory
reached to the Indus River and the Soleyman Mountains and in the northeast
to the farther side of the Jaxartes River, In the West Azarbaijan, Arran
and Mesopotamia were ruled by Jahan - Shah Qara - Qoyunlu under Shahrukh's
aegis.
The Successors of Shahrukh and the Aq - Qoynlus
After the death of Shahrukh, differences arose among the various Timurid
princes. As a result Jahan - Shah Qara - Qoyunlu achieved independence in
Azarbaijan and Arran. In 857/1453 he conquered Eraq - e - Ajam, Fars and
Kerman and extended his territory as far as the Oman sea. In 861/1458 he
occupied Harat, the Timurid capital. Afterwards he concluded a treaty
according to which he entrusted the rule of Khorasan, Gorgan and trusted
the rule of Khorasan, Gorgan and Kerman to Sultan Abu Said, the claimant
to the Timurid throne, and went to Tabriz. At this time his territory
included all of Azarbaijan, Arran, Eraq - e - Ajam, Iraq, Fars, Kerman and
Armenia. But at the same time Uzun Hasan Aq - Qoyunlu, known as Uzun Hasan,
had gained a degree of power, and in a war that occurred between him and
Jahan - Shah the latter was killed. Thus Uzun Hasan took possession of
Jahan - Shah's territories and became the immediate neighbor of the
Timuird
domian. Sultan Abu Said, who governed all of Transoxania as well as the
provinces of Kabol, Zabol, Khorasan and Mazandaran, invaded Iraq and
Azarbaijan in 872/1468 to war against Uzun Hasan. However in the following
year he was killed in battle. His successor, Sultan Husayn Mirza, found no
opportunity to win back his inherited territories from Uzun Hasan because
of the opposition of the Timurid princes to his rule. After Sultan
Husayn's death in 911/1506 the Timurid dynasty came to an end. Uzun Hasan
extended his domain west to the borders of the Ottoman Empire, Qaraman
(ancient Cilicia) and the territory of the Mamluk dynasty and north to
Georgia, and at the same time he made the king of Shirvan his tributary.
After Uzun Hasan's death in 882/1478 the Aq - Qoyunlu dynasty gradually
weakened. It was finally overthrown by Shah Ismail the Safavid.
The Safavids
Shah Isma'il I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, mounted the throne at
Tabriz in the year 907/1502. In 908/1503 he conquered Hamadan and in
909/1504 Shiraz and Kerman. In 914/1508-9 the city of Baghdad
and the surrounding areas fell into his hands. These continued to be under
Safavid control until the year 941/1534-5 when Sultan Sulayman Khan Qanuni
occupied the city. In 1033/1623-4 Shah 'Abbas I retook
Baghdad from the Ottomans but in 1048/1638-9 Iraq fell into Ottoman hands
once and for all. In the year 913/1507-8 Deyar-e Bakr and Arzanjan were
occupied by Shah Isma'il, but these two provinces were lost by the Safavid
in 921/1515 and continued under Ottoman control. The ,local rulers of
Sharvan were subservient to Safavid rule from the first appearance of the
dynasty until 945/1538-9 when Shah Tahmasb I
took over absolute control of the province. Sharvan fell into Ottoman
hands in 985/1577 but Shah 'Abbas reoccupied it in the year 1016/1607-8.
Baku, Darband, Ganja, Qarabagh, Chukhursa'd (Iravan) and part of Georgia
were Safavid territory, although several times they came under the control
of the Ottomans during their invasions of Iran. From 913/1507-8 to
939/1532-3 Bedlis of Betlis and from 913/1507-8 to 955/1548 Van were
occupied by Iran. Bahrain was Iranian territory and even Basra was
sometimes under Iranian control. Khorasan fell into Sahah Isma'il's hands
in 916/1510-11 and in addition the ruler of Balkh and Marv, who also
governed Andakhud, Shebarghan, Jijaktu, Meymana, Faryab and Gharjestan,
was appointed by him. In 916/1510-11 the Oxus River was defined as the
border between Iran and the Uzbaks. In 922/1516 Balkh and in 932/1525-6
Marv were taken from the Safavid but in the year 1007/1598-9 Marv once
again came under their control. Harat was in Safavid hands from
916/1510-11 and although it fell to the Uzbaks many times during the
Safavid control. Qandahar come under Safavid rule during the reign of Shah
Tahmasb and from 965/1558 to the end of the Safavid period it continued in
Safavid hands, although from 1000/1591-2 to 1031/1622 and 1047/1637-8 to
1059/1649 it was under the control of the Mogul dynasty of India.
Nadir Shah Afshar
Nadir Quli, the son of Imam Quli, was a member of the Qarakhlu clan of the
Afshar tribe. He was born in Muharram 1100/ November 1688. The details of
his childhood years are not known, but from the time he was
a young man he occupied himself with the life of a soldier. At the age of
31 he married and afterwards he established himself as ruler over the
stronghold of Kalat, a natural fortress in Khorasan. At 39 he joined the
service of Shah Tahmasb, the son of Shah Sultan Husayn, who was attempting
to win for himself the crown which had been worn by his father. In this
period, during four years and four major battles (those of
Mehmandust, Damqan; Sardara - ye Khar, Tehran; Murcha - khurt, Isfahan;
and Zarqan, Fars) Nadir exterminated the Afghans, and during at least
three other great campaigns and small battles he forced the
Ottomans, who were in possession of the major part of the west and
northwest of Iran, to evacuate their occupied territories.
As a result of the influence of the king and his own genius, Nadir gained
for himself a tremendous degree of power. In 1145/1732 he deposed his
benefactor and in the year 1148/1736 at the Council of the Plain of
Moghan, at the junction of the Kor and Arax Rivers, he was elected by the
nobles of Iran to the kingship; on 24 Shawwal March of the same year he
was crowned. From the plain of Moghan Nadir headed for eastern Iran with
the aim of conquering Qandahar, and after
accomplishing this he set out for India. In Dhu'l - Qi'dah 1151/February
1739 he defeated Muhammad Shah the Mogul at the Kernal Plain and on 3
Safar 1152/15 May 1739 he called together as assembly of the nobles
of India and bestowed the rule of India once again upon Muhammad Shah. In
return for this noble gesture, the Indian emperor presented his treasuries
to Nadir and in addition entrusted to him the kingdoms on the other side
of Tibet and Kashmir to the point where the latter river joins the Indian
Ocean as well as the provinces of Tatta and the ports and fortresses of
Batu. After returning from India and arriving at Kabol, Nadir set out in
pursuit of Khudayar Khan 'Abbasi, the ruler of Sind, and went as far as
Omarkut. Then he turned towards Transoxania, and on 19 Jumada'l - thani
1153/11 September 1740 Abu'l - Fadhl Khan, the ruler of Bokhara,
surrendered to him without resistance and turned over to his control the
lands on the left side of the Oxus River. In Sha'ban 1153/November 1740
Nadir defeated Ilbaris Khan, the ruler ofKhwarazm, and annexed the whole
of that province. From this date until 11
Jumada'l thani 1160/20 June 1748, the day of his death, Nadir was a great
king, one who also realized naval bases on both the Caspian Sea and the
Persian Gulf.
the Zand
When Nadir was killed, a situation occurred similar to what had happened
at the death of Alexander the Great. The awe in which Nadir was held had
destoryed the halo of reference surrounding the royal family of the
Safavids. Each of the leaders of Nadir's army took the forces under his
command and estabilshed himself in one of the provinces, where he
proceeded to set up a government. The most important claimants to the Iran
at this time were the following:
1. Ahmad Khan Durrani, one of the leaders of the Abdali tribe and a
favorite of Nadir, who after Nadir's death went to Qandahar and declared
himself king. He first established his rule over eastern Afghanistan and
the areas of the Punjab and Sind. Then he turned his attention towards
Khorasan, but finding the other claimants
to the throne more poweful than himself he was content to occupy Sistan
and a part of Khorasan, that is, Harat. To the east he invaded India
repeatedly and in addition to the provinces of Sind and the Punjab took
possession of Kashmir.
2. At Nadir's death his family fell to battling among themselves, and in
fact, they have bequeathed nothing but a bloody page to Iranian history.
Finally Shahrukh, the grandson of Nadir and the son of Ridha Quli Mirza,
the latter of whom had been blinded during the struggles for power, was
able to rule over portion of Khorasan until Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar came
to power.
3. Heraclius, the governor of Georgia and one of Nadir loyal lieutenants,
returned to Georgia and declared his independence. Other
important claimants to the throne include Muhammad Hasan Khan Qajar in
Gorgan, Ali Mardan Khan and Abul - Fath Khan, two leaders of the
Bakhtiyari tribe in Isfahan, Azad Khan Afghan in Azarbaijan and Karim Khan
Zand near Malayer. The stuggle for power continued for ten years,
from1162/1748 to 1172/1757. During the numerous wars which took place
Karim Khan Zand emerged victorious and all of his above named rivals were
put to death by his powerful and fortunate sword. The duration of Karim
Khan's rule was 21 years. His territory which had
became more extensive than that of the other men ruling in various parts
of Iran, included the province of Basra, which he conquered and ruled over
until the end of his reign. His capital was Shiraz.
During this period the khans of Khwarazm, Bokhara and Balouchestan took
advantage of the situation in other to declare their own independence.
The Qajars
On the very day that Karim Khan died, 13 Safar 1193/2 March 1779, Aqa
Muhammad Khan Qajar set out to seize the throne of Iran. Aqa Muhammad Khan
was the son of Muhammad Hasan Qajar, the rival of Nadir Shah and Karim
Khan Zand, of the Ashaqabash clan of the Qajar tribe. In the course of
eighteen years he attained his goal, eradicating the feudal system which
had dominated during the Zand period and extending the borders of the
country approximately what they had been in the Safavid period. The war
between Aqa Muhammad Khan and Lutf Ali Khan, the last king of the Zand
dynasty, lasted for six years, from 1203/1788 tp 1209/1794. In Ramadan
1209/April 1995 Aqa Muhammad Khan invaded Georgia and occupied the
northwestern ,lands of Iran as far as the Caucasus Mountains. He chose
Tehran as his capital and in 1210.1796 was coronated in that city. In the
same year he occupied all of Khorasan as well as Balkh. In 1211/1796 he
set for the Caucasus to war against the Russians but on 21 Dhul' Hijja/18
May of the same year he was killed near the stronghold of Shishi. During
the reign of Fath Ali Shah, Aqa Muhammad Khan successor, a completely new
situation was brought about because of the French Revolution and the
appearance of Napoleon, the rule of Alexander I in Russia and the
imperialistic policies of the British East India Company in India. Iran
was suddenly thrown into the area of international politics, although Fath
Ali Shah and the members of his court were completely unaware of the
nature of those politics of what was happening in the world at large. As a
result Iran continued to suffer severe political and territorial losses.
In this period, two great wars were fought with Tsarist Russia. The first
of these, which lasted ten years (from 1218/1803 to 1228/812), led to the
Treaty of Golestan, the third article of which reads as follows: "His
Highness ... the king of Iran considers the provinces of Qarabagh and
Ganja; the khanates of Shakki, Shirvain,Qobba, Darband and Baku; all areas
of the provinces of Talesh which are now occupied by Russia; all of
Daghestan and Georgia; the areas of Shura - gol, Achuqbash, korna, Monkril
and Abkhaz; all of the areas and lands between the Caucasus and the
present determined borders; and the lands and people of the Caucasus
adjoining the Caspian Sea to be belonging and attached to the Imperial
State of Russia." The second war lasted two years (from 1241/1826 to
1243/1828) and resuled in the Treaty of Torkomanchay, the third aritcle of
which reads as follows: "His Highness the Shahanshah of Iran entrusts
on the part of himself, his descendants and his heirs the Khanates of
Irvan situated on both sides of the Arax River as well
as the khanates of Nakhjavan to the absolute ownership of Russia."
Fath Ali Shah was succeeded by his nephew Muhammad Shah, who reigned for
fourteen years. During this period Iran's borders underwent no changes,
and only the Treaty of Erzerum (16 Jumada'l n- thani 1262/13 June 1846) is
worthy of mention. As a result of this treaty, the border disputes between
Iran and the Ottoman Empire were partly settled. After Muhammad Shah his
son Nasir al - Din Shah came to power and ruled for 49 years. By means of
the Treaty of Paris (Rajab 1273/ March 1857) England forced Nasir al - Din
Shah to abandon any claim to the region of Harat or the provinces of
Afghanistan, and subsequently through various arbitrations it turned over
to Afghanistan part of Sistan. The Russians, who had begun to penetrate
into Iran's northeastern provinces during the reign of Peter the Great,
moved swiftly forward during this period and finally, by means of the
treaty
of 23 Muharram 1299/9 December 1881, they reached their present borders.
Again, Great Britain did not remain idle but during the course of these
events, by political means and by establishing relations with the
Baluchi khans, proceeded to annex a portion of Balouchestan to its own
territories.
Source:
Historical Atlas of Iran, University of Tehran,
Institute of Geography - 1971
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