The Decline & Fall of The Zand Dynasty. First published in 2022 in Arabic as “Sirā‘ Umarā‘ Az-Zand Wa-Zawāl Almolk” by: Al-Qasimi Publications. Author: Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (United Arab Emirates). Publisher: Al-Qasimi Publications, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Edition: First. Year of publication: 2022. © All rights reserved. Al-Qasimi publications. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ------------------------------------------ Translated from the Arabic by: Dr. Ahmed Ali ------------------------------- ISBN: 978-9948-810-63-6 Printing Permission: Media Regulatory Office, Ministry Of Culture and Youth No. MC 01-03- 2356011, Date: 11-09-2022 Printing: AL Bony Press- Sharjah, UAE Age Classification: E The age group that matches the content of the books was classified according to the age classification issued by the National Council for Media ---------------------------------------------- Al- Qasimi Publications, Al Tarfa, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Road PO Box 64009 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Tel: 0097165090000, Fax: 0097165520070 Email: info@aqp.ae
- 5 - Table of Contents Preface 7 Chapter One: Stability and Peace under Karim Khan Zand 9 Chapter Two: The Zand Princes and Southern Persia 25 Chapter Three: End of the Rule of the Zand Princes 43 Appendix I: The Origins of the Kurdish Zand Tribe of Lorestan 61 References 63 References of Chapter One 63 References of Chapter Two 63 References of Chapter Three 64 Index of people 65 Index of places 69
- 7 - Preface This is the story of Karim Khan Zand, a man of humble origins from the Kurdish tribe of Zand, Lorestan. He rose to glory as he became an army commander under Nader Shah whose death on 24th June, 1747 CE, instigated serious conflicts among many adversaries over the coveted throne of Persia. Karim Khan Zand overcame the other contenders especially that the infant grandson of the last Safavid king was crowned with Karim Khan as his selfappointed custodian. Soon afterwards, the puppet king was removed for Karim Khan to declare himself King of Persia. Following the death of Karim Khan,
- 8 - internal disputes amongst members of the Zand dynasty led to the ultimate end of their reign. Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi
- 9 - Chapter One Stability and Peace under Karim Khan Zand The reign of Karim Khan was markedly a period of stability and security where Persia enjoyed a marked boom in commerce, manual crafts, agriculture, and culture. In his pursuit for further commercial gains, Karim Khan attacked the port of Basra on 21st January, 1775. Soon, the news spread of his intentions to completely take over Basra, especially that he had also commanded that all the ships of Bushehr, Bandar Rig and Janaveh be put on full alert on 10th February, 1775.
- 10 - On 15th March, 1775, the Persian troops led by Karim Khan’s brother, Sadiq Khan, arrived at the eastern bank of Shatt al-Arab. The ships which would transport them to the western bank, had not all arrived. The ones that did immediately joined the Banu Ka’b vessels. Those of Sheikh Nasser’s, the Ruler of Bushehr had, for some unknown reasons, gone to Bahrain, while those of Janaveh never set sails. On 4th April 1775, the Ruler of Basra received a letter from Khalfan, the Ruler of Muscat, telling him that the Imam of Muscat had decided to send two ships to Basra to be in his aid. In early April, Sadiq Khan’s forces of 30,000 men, arrived and besieged Basra.(1) On 1st May, 1775, the English East India Company reopened in Bushehr after amicably settling the disputes that arose between the Persians and the English. In the meantime, a delegation from Basra comprising government officials and some notables arrived with many valuable gifts and headed for Shiraz to present them to its Ruler, Khan Qasim, in order that he might end the Persian siege of Basra.
- 11 - The war between the Turks and Persians was still ongoing causing the East India Company to suffer repeated substantial losses of income, forcing it to look for an alternative place for its agency headquarters. Then, on May 16, their military encounters at Shatt al-Arab subsided.(2) However, the clashes between the Persians on one side and the Muntafiq Arabs and the Ottomans on the other side, intensified. On 11th Sept, 1775, an Omani fleet of 10 large ships and 70 small vessels of the Jalboat, Dunkiya and Bateel types, was seen passing by Bushehr on its way to Basra to assist the Ottomans. As it arrived to Shatt al-Arab, it could not go forward any further. The Persians had placed metal chains at the entrance of Shatt al-Arab and built fortifications on both sides to prevent any forces from approaching. The water current carrying tree trunks caused the chains to sever two or three times. Owing to the fact that the Persians were too slow and had no experience in the waters of the sea of Shatt al-Arab, they sought the help of the Sheikhs of
- 12 - Muhammara and the Sheikh of Bushehr, Nasser alMatroushi. The Ottomans requested 50 ships of the Omanis to transport their soldiers from the entrance of Shatt alArab on the Persian side to the south, in an attempt to get around the Persian forces. The Omanis were not met with any resistance at the entrance of Shatt al-Arab from Banu Ka‘b, or the troops of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. The Persians stopped advancing as Basra proved not to be an easy target. They had to regroup and put their affairs in order, as well as wait for more troops if they wanted to take over Basra.(3) On 5th April 1776, the Persians managed to besiege Basra completely forcing Sheikh Darwish, Ruler of Basra, and his sons to approach Sadiq Khan, the campaign commander, that evening to declare the surrender of Basra. In the morning, the Ruler of Basra waited for the arrival of Sadiq Khan and the brother of Karim Khan Zand, King of Persia, to officially hand over Basra to
- 13 - them. Sadiq Khan sent 6,000 men under the command of his son, Ali Naqwi Khan, and MohammadAli Khan, son of King Karim Khan Zand, to effect the surrender and take-over. The Ruler of Basra was treated well in spite of the fact that he was taken together with his sons into custody in the camp of Sadiq Khan. On 21st April, 1776, Sadiq Khan entered Basra. It was almost completely vacant of its inhabitants who had deserted it leaving behind their properties and belongings. With the exception of two incidents, no looting took place. The two Persians caught for looting were punished by flogging. One of them died as a result. Informed of the fall of Basra, King Karim Khan Zand sent his orders to Sadiq Khan to protect the properties of the residents of Basra, and to arrest the Sheikh of Banu Ka‘b and seize his boats for his role in siding with the Arabs. The Basra people, however, preferred to take shelter in the desert as long as the Persians continued their occupation of Basra.(4) Karim Khan Zand started manipulating both
- 14 - Mustafa Pasha, Ruler of Basra, and the Ottoman Sultan regarding withdrawing fromBasra and drawing a peace treaty with the Ottomans. Eventually, all negotiations came to nothing. After finding out that Basra had been occupied, the Imam of Oman decided, on 26th May, 1776, to send Sayyid Haider Ali, on his behalf to Karim Khan Zand, in order to reach a settlement between the two countries. It was said that the Imam was to pay an annual tribute to Karim Khan Zand for the peace between them. After aiding the Persians in their occupation of Basra, Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, on 30th June, 1776, returned home with all his ships. So did all the other Sheikhs as they withdrew back to their own ports. In spite of the fact that the ships of SheikhAbdullah al-Ma‘ini of Hurmuz, did not play a role in the occupation of Basra, the Sheikh was commissioned by the Persian government to seize all ships entering or leaving Muscat and confiscate any monies they may have had, thus cutting any contacts between Muscat
- 15 - and the Gulf. AHurmuz ship, loaded with a high value cargo, coming from Muscat and heading for Bahrain, was seized. Some other ships were chased, but they managed to escape. Ali Mir Shah, a Qeshm notable, stated that he had received a Persian royal decree with similar instructions as given to Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini of Hurmuz, but he refused to act upon it.(5) The Ottoman government then decided to end all the idle talks with the Persians regarding peace, and moved to liberate Basra by force. In early December 1776, Sheikh Thamer al-Saadun of Almuntafiq, together with 20,000 Arab men and some Turks arrived to al-Qarna, at the entrance to Shatt al-Arab, where they set their camp. The road between Qarna and Hilla, then to Baghdad was opened. There were some Ottoman battalions arriving to Baghdad and heading south to liberate Basra. After the Persians took over Basra, the East India Company decided to open an office in al-Qurain, Kuwait, to transport its cargo by land, via the desert
- 16 - road, from Kuwait to Baghdad. The first shipment to Kuwait was on 13th December, 1776. It was coffee and sugar valued at 80,000 Rupees.(6) Hearing of the arrival of the large Ottoman forces to Basra in February 1777, the Persian Commander, Sadiq Khan, approached Thamer al-Saadun of Almuntafiq tribe for a huge payment in order to give up Basra. But Sheikh Thamer rejected the deal. In early March, 1777, King Karim Khan Zand received a letter from his brother, Sadiq Khan, that he could no longer hold on to the occupation of Basra, especially with the large troops that kept arriving. He said he would start destroying the city before withdrawing from it, and that he would wait for Karim Khan’s orders to leave Basra after all attempts with the Almuntafiq Sheikh failed. In spite of this predicament, the Persian government decided to launch an attack on Baghdad which had no Ottoman troops. On 5th May 1777, three thousand men headed from Shiraz to Isfahan to make up the remaining numbers required for the invasion of
- 17 - Baghdad, which was around 24,000. As to Basra, Karim Khan decided to withdraw the troops from there since its occupation had rendered no benefits. It was also clear that he would order its destruction.(7) Let’s at this point leave the Ottomans and the Persians to their plans and wars, and go to the entrance of the Gulf, to follow on what was happening there. Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini departed from Hurmuz in early July 1777, with four armed Jalboats and other smaller ones, to intercept the ships coming from Muscat. At the time, those ships belonged to Bushehr. This forced Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour, the deputy of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, to head with two Bushehr ships and two others belonging to Banda Rig, to the entrance of the Gulf to provide protection to the Bushehr ships coming from Muscat on their way back to Bushehr. Sheikh Saadun’s ships and those of Banda Rig did not encounter the ships of Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini. However, they managed to free a number of boats that had been seized at a port near Ras al-Khaimah. They
- 18 - then accompanied those boats to Bushehr in early August, 1777. Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini did not attack the ships coming from Muscat on behalf of the Persian government; rather, he did so owing to his alliance with Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi, Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, who was at war with the Imam of Muscat. In early November, 1777, as Sheikh Abdullah alMa‘ini was in hot pursuit to seize two or three of Bushehr ships, the people of Bushehr managed to capture one of his ships and took it to Bushehr. It was Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr who later on released it.(8) On 2nd March, 1778, Two Bushehr ships, two Bandar Rig ships, two Janaveh’s and two from other Bandars, being 8 Jalboat ships in total, headed for Shatt al-Arab to transport the Persian troops from the east bank to the west bank of Shat al-Arab. On 16th March, 1778, the Shatt al-Arab was very busy with Jalboats carrying Persian soldiers.
- 19 - On 28th May, 1778, all the Persian troops led by Mohammad Ali Khan, son of King Karim Khan Zand, launched an attack against the forces of Almuntafiq Arabs. On 3rd June, 1778, the Persians were forced to withdraw to Persian territories after incurring grave losses. Almuntafiq Arabs, on the other hand, were making preparations to liberate Basra and waiting for the arrival of more troops from Baghdad. In early September 1778, Persian troops of some six or seven thousand men, led by Mohammad Ali Khan, son of King Karim Khan Zand, arrived to the east bank of Shatt al-Arab. They had 8 ships which they had taken from the Arabian Bandars on the Persian coast to transport their men to the west bank of Shatt al-Arab. The Persian authorities in Shiraz had sent to Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr asking for more ships. He informed them that he could not help because he himself was about to sail to Jeddah for Hajj (pilgrimage), which was on 9th Dhul-Hijja, 1192 AH (29th December, 1778).
- 20 - When the Persian forces disembarked on the west bank of Shatt al-Arab, they were met by a large force of 12,000-15,000 men led by Sheikh Thamer al-Saadun and Thwaini al-Saadun. In the encounter, the Arabs retreated towards their camp. Thinking the retreat was indicative of defeat, the Persian forces pushed their way forward, only to find out that this was just a hoax, a strategic retreat. The Arab forces launched a surprise attack on 11th September, 1778, forcing the Persian themselves to retreat. They ended at a sand strip between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, too far away from the ships they had come on. A battle ensued where the Persian troops were crushed. As Mohammad Ali Khan, son of King Karim Khan Zand, was not anywhere to be seen, rumours had it that he was killed. It was also said that he was captured by the Arabs. The fact of the matter was that he managed to flee to Persia. On 13th September, the eight ships of the Arabian bandars on the Persian coast carried the remaining Persian troops to Basra. It was said they were 300400 Persian soldiers, or no more than a thousand.
- 21 - With this defeat, Banu Ka‘b took over the ships of the Arabian Bandars after their transportation of the defeated Persian survivors. The ships were not guarded and Banu Ka‘b were need of food supplies. Their forces prevented the ships from leaving Basra, and seized any ship entering Shatt al-Arab. The Arabs had tightly besieged Basra preventing anyone from going in or getting out, except for those who were smuggled through the palm farms then to the desert. It was however, impossible for the horseriding Arabs, who only had their swords to fight with, to go into Basra without the aid of the Ottomans who had military machinery capable of destroying the Persian defences. Sadiq Khan, the campaign commander, had departed to Shiraz in mid-October 1778, in order to bring large troops to break the siege imposed by the Arabs on Basra where nothing could be heard except gun shots here and there. In the meantime, al-Qurain city of Kuwait was booming with the trade activities brought in by the East India Company which kept its cargo ships coming. The caravans transporting the
- 22 - goods to Aleppo had also returned after dropping their shipments there. In January 1779, a French officer passed by Kuwait. He was carrying packages to the French colonies in Asia containing reports regarding the declaration of war between France and Britain. George Ibraham, the Kuwait agency director of the East India Company seized them and sent them to the British officials in India.(9) On 8th March, 1779, the news spread throughout Persia that King Karim Khan Zand had passed away. That evening, Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour, the deputy of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, received a letter from Shiraz confirming the death of Karim Khan on 2nd March, 1779, and that he had been succeeded by his eldest son, Abul-Fatħ Khan. The new king had also sent envoys to Basra to call Zaki Khan, one of Karim Khan’s cousins, over to Shiraz in order to restore peace and calm there as its newly appointed ruler. Zaki Khan brought with him to Shiraz, his son-inlaw, Mohammad Ali Khan, the son of the late king
- 23 - Karim Khan Zand. However, as soon as he arrived to Shiraz, he dethronedAbul-Fatħ bin Karim Khan Zand, and instated Abul-Fatħ’s brother and his own son-inlaw, Mohammad Ali Khan, King of Persia. The Zand princes of Shiraz were outraged. They attacked the residence of the newly appointed king, Mohammad Ali Khan, and killed two of his sons. Zaki Khan ordered the gates of Shiraz to be shut for three or four days, and a search for the Zand princes who killed the two sons of King Mohammad Ali Khan ensued. The murderers were soon found. Zaki Khan slaughtered five of the Zand princes for their crime. Nasser Ali Khan, the former Army Chief against the Ottoman, was also slayed for his role in the conspiracy. Zaki Khan lent his support to Mohammad Ali Khan as King of Persia, and matters in Shiraz settled allowing things to go back to normal with the roads to Shiraz opening again. On 12th March 1779, Sadiq Khan learnt what Zaki Khan had done in Shiraz of the removing the king, instating a new one and killing those Zand princes. He consequently surrendered Basra to Sheikh Darwish
- 24 - and Sheikh Mohammad, two Basra notables. They were instructed to surrender it to Suleiman Agha who was to arrive to Basra from Shiraz where he had been kept in custody. On 24th March 1779, Sadiq Khan left Basra to Persia with his troops. The next day, Sheikh Thamer al-Saadun entered it with 3,000 men of Almuntafiq Arabs to protect it. Immediately after, trade returned to Basra and the caravans transporting cargo from alQurain in Kuwait to Aleppo, were abandoned.(10)
- 25 - Chapter Two The Zand Princes and Southern Persia Sadiq Khan arrived in Shiraz from Basra on 4th June 1779. Learning of the atrocities committed by Zaki Khan, in addition to how badly his own female family members were treated by him, he killed Zaki Khan. As a result, Rayes Baqir Khan, Ruler of Tangestan,[1] who was also supported by a military garrison stationed in his camp in Shiraz, fled the scene as he had been put in charge by Zaki Khan, and was instrumental in the maltreatment of Sadiq Khan’s household. Then, Sadiq 1. Tangestan, a narrow strip of land, being a county in Eastern Bushehr. It extends from the mountains to the Persian coast. The Arabians residing in southern Tangestan on the Persian coast called it Tangesir.
- 26 - Khan removed Mohammad Ali Khan from power, and reinstated Abul-Fatħ Khan as King of Persia. On 28th June, 1779, Rayes Baqir Khan arrived in Bandar Rig. From there, he sent a word to the blind commander of his forces in Tangestan, Rayes Hamid, asking him for military aid. On 29th June, he gathered around 200 camels and 300 of Tangestan men in the assumption that they were to stand against Sadiq Khan’s army who was trying to capture him. He led this gang of men directly to Bushehr after receiving intelligence from some of his own people residing in Bushehr, that two military units had sailed from Bushehr to be in the aid of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, who was at the entrance of the Gulf with his roaming ships. He was there rallying supporters to assist him in punishing the Banu Utbah (aka/ Utoubs) in Zubara for their attack of Bahrain. At 2.00 AM, on 30th June, a group of Tangestan men took over Bushehr. They managed to take it by surprise with almost no opposition as only 10-12 men were killed on each of the fighting sides. The
- 27 - city had been left unguarded and all were asleep when the attack happened. Sheikh Nasser’s men were only interested in securing the lives of the Sheikh’s men and those of their own families. The city was directly set on fire, and the residents were thrown into chaos and disturbance. The fire continued till the morning consuming almost half of the city. Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour, deputy of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, remained under house arrest most of the time. This had been imposed on him by his brother, Sheikh Nasser, before he left Bushehr. He dared not cause any trouble in spite of the fact that he had two hundred men, armed with rifles, in his guard. At noon, Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour was feeling terrified in his own house. He sent for the blind notable, Rayes Hamid, to have an agreement that all parties were to remain calm until the arrival of Rayes Baqir Khan to Bushehr. Rayes Baqir Khan was a notable of Tangestan and one of the Zaki Khan’s men who had been murdered.
- 28 - Before such a shameful agreement could be made, two hundred Arabian men soon came to the aid of Bushehr. They killed four or five Tangestani men, whom they encountered at one of the wells where they were watering their horses. Soon after, the Tangestan group left Bushehr. On1st July, 1779, RayesBaqirKhanenteredBushehr with around 150 men and publicly announced that he was escaping Sadiq Khan’s fury. It was common knowledge that Baqir Khan had enraged Sadiq Khan before, and that he had taken over Bushehr, which was a much more important than Tangestan itself. He had also sworn that the safety of the people and their properties would be respected. He promised that would rule with higher integrity and justice and the conditions would be much better than ever before. He also ordered his men to complete the building of the city enclosure wall. On 2nd July, two Jalboat vessels sailed south as a result of confirmed intelligence that Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr had arrived in Kangan and that the envoy bringing the information had been arrested by Rayes
- 29 - Baqir Khan’s men. The merchants and residents feared for their lives if a war was to take place between Sadiq Khan and the Tangestan gang. Rayes Baqir Khan sent for his family to come and settle in Bushehr, but they did not come. In fact, nothing happened in Bushehr until the 9th July when three envoys came from Shiraz with a decree from KingAbul-Fatħ Khan commanding Rayes Baqir Khan to return everything he might have seized from the residents, and to surrender the city to Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour, deputy of Sheikh Nasser, and that the envoys be sent back to Shiraz, otherwise he would have to face the consequences. Rayes Baqir Khan realized that the entire country was up in arms and huge preparations were ongoing to attack him in land and sea. He also feared that the Shiraz soldiers might arrest him. As a result, he seized two boats and sailed the next day to his castle carrying what he had plundered from the Sheikhs. It was said that he carried valuables belonging to Sheikh Nasser alone to the amount of 300,000-400,000 Rupees. No other men of significance were looted.
- 30 - On 11th July, at sunrise the people were jubilant to know that Rayes Baqir Khan had suddenly left in peace with his Tangestan men and the envoys, after some of his men had raided and looted a few shops in the local market. While in Bushehr, Rayes Baqir Khan had forced the merchants to pay the arears on their customs. Those were around 40,000-50,000 Rupees. He had also ordered the destruction and looting of all the houses belonging to the Arabs there avenging the antagonistic actions of the Arabs in Tangestan. What had happened was that as soon as the Arabs of Tangestan heard the news of the flight of Rayes Baqir Khan from Bushehr that they revolted in Ahram, the capital of Tangestan. They destroyed properties and used everything they could to vacate Tangestan of its non-Arab inhabitants. They made the case of Sheikh Nasser and Bushehr their own, and committed terrible atrocities including killing men, women and children. They were aided by 500 men from Bandar Rig and Janaveh led by their sheikhs, in addition to another group of 2,000 people.
- 31 - On 12th July, two ships from Bandar Rig came to the aid of the residents of Bushehr, followed by another from the town of Janaveh. On 15th July, a group of Bushehr Arabs arrived to the residence of Sheikh Saadun bin Madhkour, deputy Sheikh of Bushehr, and asked him to come to the Bushehr government headquarters. When he did, they asked him to join them in their efforts to take revenge from Rayes Baqir Khan. He agreed. That evening, after leaving the rule of Bushehr to his own deputy, Sheikh Saadun joined them on their way along the coast from Bushehr to the two forts of Rayes Baqir Khan. Their 50-kilometer journey took their joined forces a day and a night. When they arrived to their destination, they imposed a siege on the two forts from the land side. On 18th July, the Ruler of Janaveh arrived to Bushehr with an envoy from Shiraz. The envoy had a letter for the Bushehr alliance with instructions from KingAbul-Fatħ that they sent Rayes Baqir Khan or his head, to Shiraz. Persian troops were sent to the Rayes Baqir Khan’s fort which was besieged by Sheikh
- 32 - Saadun’s men. The other fort had been occupied by seven boats carrying 200 men from the town of Amri, Tangestan, to defend it. A more stringent siege was needed, and therefore 3,000 men were sent over to this effect. After cancelling his campaign again Zubara which took all his time to muster the troops for, Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi, arrived in Bushehr on 31st July 1779. He was accompanied by Sheikh Saqr, Ruler of the Haram (Holy Precinct), and two of his Jalboats. There was also Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser al-Zaabi, Ruler of Bahrain. He was also the son of the Ruler of Bandar Rig, who was a Shiite in alliance with the Zand dynasty. His mother was Persian who had escaped after the killing of her husband to Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. At the time, she was pregnant with her son Nasser who was brought up in the custody of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr when he was the deputy ruler of Bahrain. Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser al-Zaabi arrived in his own vessel accompanied by two Bushehr Jalboats, three ships of Bandar Rig, and other Jalboats belonging to Janaveh. He had come to meet Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. Those boats put
- 33 - together constituted a fleet of nine Jalboats and five or six Bakaras. They headed for the fort of Rayes Baqir Khan on the Tangestan shore. They arrived there on 7th August, 1779. They besieged the fort from the sea and had three or four large-calibre cannons. A few days into the siege, on 7th August, 1779, it came to their knowledge that Rayes Baqir Khan had fled from the fort. The ships ended the siege and headed home. Rayes Baqir Khan himself had gone on 24th August, 1779, to seek refuge with some Arabian Chiefs based on agreements that they would protect him. He made a visit to Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, and throw himself at his mercy requesting that he might be treated with compassion in return for surrendering his forts, men, belongings and everything he looted from Bushehr. All this was going on as a result of the central government in Isfahan and Shiraz being too busy to pay attention to what was happening. Another reason for these disturbances was the fact that Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, being the most powerful and influential
- 34 - among all the Sheikhs on the Persian coast, was absent in his distant travels.(1) In mid-1780, Persia was going through a period of terrible tension as a result of Sadiq Khan of Shiraz realizing that King Abul-Fatħ Khan was so ineffective in standing against the threat of Ali Murad Khan Zand of Isfahan. Consequently, he dethroned him and appointed himself King of Persia. This caused an atmosphere of tension that enveloped the whole country in a shroud of sorrow. This feeling was intensified following other tragic events that impacted the population negatively especially that the land had suffered an earthquake of high magnitude a few months before. All the buildings in Shiraz and neighbouring village were completely destroyed. Some of them were said to have been swallowed by the earth. The catastrophe had hit at night killing around 50,000-60,000 people.(2) On 9th September 1782, Bahrain was attacked. The attackers were a group of Utoub’s men from Zubara, on the west coast of the Island of Qatar, opposite Bahrain. They were avenging the killing of a mawla (slave/
- 35 - servant) belonging to Sheikh Mohammad bin Khalifa who had sent him to purchase palm fronds from the town of Sutra, on the Bahrain coast, opposite Zubara. The Utoub men were engaged in a short battle where many fromboth sides lost their lives. This forced Sheikh Nasser al-Zaabi, Ruler of Bahrain, to withdraw to the Bahrain Castle. The Utoub men looted and destroyed the city, then retreated to Zubara. On the third day after the attack, the Utoub men seized a Bushehr ship that Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi of Bushehr had sent to collect the tribute from the people of Bahrain. In early October, 1782, after securing the approval of Isfahan, Sheikh Nasser made arrangements to attack Zubara through the Sheikhs of Banda Rig, Janaveh and Tangestan. However, he had to postpone carrying out those plans till 12 December, 1782, when he managed to have a fleet comprising four cargo ships and about thirteen or fourteen vessels, which carried on board 2,000 Arabian fighters from the Persian coast, under the command of his nephew, Sheikh Mohammad. The ships sailed to Bahrain and were followed a few days later by three ships from Bandar Rig commanded by the Sheikh of Bandar Rig himself.
- 36 - In spite of the fact that that force was sufficient to occupy Zubara, yet, nothing of the sort happened. This confirms the idea that generally speaking Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr was aiming to force the Utoub tribe to accept his terms and put pressure on them through closing the Zubara port and obstructing the trade activities. In the meantime, a Persian fleet arrived to assist Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. It was put to action combing constantly the coast area between Bahrain and Zubara. The Utoubs were not in a position of power that would enable them to oppose all these troops. The Sheikh of Bandar Rig mediated between the Utoubs and Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. The Utoubs rejected the terms of Sheikh Nasser, but pledged to return everything they had looted from Bahrain if Sheikh Nasser was amenable to have a peace agreement with them. The mediatory endeavours of the Sheikh of Bandar Rig failed. Therefore, SheikhNasser of Bushehr sought
- 37 - the assistance of Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi, Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, giving him wide authority to settle all matters between the disputing parties. Accordingly, Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi arrived in Bushehr on 23rd February 1783 with a letter from his father to Sheikh Nasser regarding the settlement. Sheikh Nasser, in response, prepared to travel to Bahrain for the peace arrangements with the Utoubs in Zubara. The agreement was supposed to be signed in early March, 1783.(3) In mid-May 1783, Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar alQasimi arrived in Bahrain and met with Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr. In the morning of 17th May, he sent his cousin, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rahma bin Mattar al-Qasimi, to make the peace arrangements on board of the Bateel. He went with eighteen sailors and guards. The Bateel was anchored opposite the town of Zubara waiting for the arrivals from the town. The waters there were shallow with some dangerous crooked passages. In the meantime, to the north of Zubara towards the open sea, where the large ships could get closer to the
- 38 - shore, the Persian forces disembarked. They expected to encounter minor or no opposition at all. However, they were taken by surprise at the large troops of the Utoubs who launched an immediate attack against them. After some fierce fighting where many men from both sides were killed, the Persians gave up their arms and ran to their ships in small boats. They carried with them the body of Sheikh Mohammad, the son of Sheikh Nasser, as he was killed in the fighting. The Utoubs then turned their attention to the Bateel anchoring opposite Zubara, and attacked it. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rahma al-Qasimi was killed on the spot. The Utoubs seized the Bateel and beheaded the 18 crew and guards. The Bateel had belonged to Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini of Hurmuz and Qeshm. On the same day, the Utoub Sheiks of al-Qurain who are the cousins of the Utoubs of Zubara, sent a fleet of vessels from al-Qurain, Kuwait. It comprised a number of armed boats. As they arrived in the Island of Bahrain, they set the town on fire, looted it, and forced the troops Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr had left there to defend the island, to withdraw to the port.
- 39 - The news reached Sheikh Nasser, who after a few hours of unsuccessful attempts to attack Zubara, decided to leave the Arabian coast immediately. On 29th May, 1783, the Persian troops arrived with Sheikh Nasser to the county of Dayyer, near the Bardestan creek, to the west of Kangan. From there, Sheikh Nasser headed for the city of Asalouyeh where the ship of Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi had docked. It was said that they had intended to stay until they were able to gather enough troops to return to Zubara. Sheikh Rashid got very busy with the task in order to avenge the death of his nephew. The boats of Bushehr, Bandar Rig and Janaveh returned to their respective Bandars.(4) On 5th August, 1783, Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser alZaabi, deputy of Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, arrived to Bushehr coming from Bahrain. He had been forced to surrender the Bahrain Castle to the Utoubs on 23rd July, 1785. The Persian garrison that was in Bahrain also returned to Persia. The arrangements to subdue Zubara were ongoing.
- 40 - The Bushehr fleet was getting ready to sail to Asalouyeh on 5th August 1783. However, a letter came from Shiraz to Sheikh Nasser to inform him that Ali Murad Khan Zand, the son-in-law of Zaki Khan, had taken over Shiraz, removed Sadiq Khan’s eyes from their sockets,[1] killed his children and would be sending 6,000 men to help him subdue Zubara and end the situation of the Arabs leaving it. He was also informed that Sheikh Abdulla al-Ma‘ini of Hurmuz and Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi of Ras alKhaimah, would be moving shortly to Asalouyeh to meet with Sheikh Nasser.(5) On 12 October, 1783, news reached Kangan on the Persian coast, that more than 60 boats and vessels belonging to Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi of Ras al-Khaimah, had arrived to join forces with Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr against Zubara, Bahrain and the Arabs of al-Qurain. Yet, the 6,000 men promised by Ali Murad Khan had not arrived. Thus, there was no decision when Sheikh Nasser would be joining them 1. Sadiq Khan eventually committed suicide for feeling humiliated and being blinded.
- 41 - As to the Sheikhs of Bandar Rig and Janaveh, they were too busy with the war between the Turks and Banu Ka‘b as they both were supporting the latter party. The fleet of SheikhAbdullah al-Ma‘ini’s of Hurmuz and Qeshm never made it to Bushehr. The long-awaited fleet of Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi was on an unannounced sea trip to Basra.(6) In December 1784, the preparations for a new campaign against the Utoubs in Zubara and Bahrain began. Sheikh Nasser’s sailors were getting ready and at full alert. Sheikh Nasser was going to be joined by Sheikh Abdullah al-Ma‘ini and Sheikh Rashid bin Mattar al-Qasimi. On 12th February, 1785, Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, left to Kong by road. His ships, together with those of Bandar rig, sailed to Kong. There, they would meet with the Sheikhs of Hurmuz and Ras al-Khaimah, and all would join forces in attacking Bahrain and Zubara. Ali Murad Khan Zand, nephew of Karim Khan
- 42 - Zand, was to go to Kong with a small force to participate in the attack. However, news reached Kong that died on 26th January, 1785 when he was only 5 days from Tehran, on his return journey to Isfahan by road. Sheikh Nasser returned to Bushehr postponing his campaign against the Utoub Arabs of Zubara and Bahrain to the following month. He then fell seriously ill and became bed-ridden. He was unable to lead the campaign he had been preparing. This was followed by war among the princes of Persia and involved all the parties who were going to participate in the attack against Zubara and Bahrain, saving the Utoubs the ills of war.(7)
- 43 - Chapter Three End of the Rule of the Zand Princes From the beginning of 1785, the internal regions of Persia were rife with chaos; the roads were totally unsafe and the war was ongoing since the death of Murad Khan Zand. Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi of Bushehr sailed on 22nd February, 1785, on Bushehr and Bandar Rig fleets to Kangan leading another campaign against the Utoubs of Zubara. Arriving at Kangan after a horrendous journey, they learnt of the death of the King of Persia, Ali Murad Khan Zand, nephew of Karim Khan Zand. King Ali Murad Khan Zand was in alliance with
- 44 - Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi of Bushehr in the next campaign against the Utoubs of Zubara and Bahrain. With the death of the king, Sheikh Nasser decided to postpone his campaign on the Arabia coast, and instead, returned to Bushehr in early March 1785 to follow up the changing affairs of Persia from up close. King Ali Murad Khan Zand of Persia (1782-1785) had previously sent his troops to the Mazandaran province, where Mohammad Khan Qajar, the army chief of the former King Abul-Fatħ Khan, had led a rebellion. King Abul-Fatħ Khan had escaped north to stay away from the chaos and troubles taking place around Isfahan and Shiraz at the time. However, as King Ali Murad Khan Zand was informed that Ja‘far Khan, who was Sadiq Khan’s son and Karim Khan’s brother, attacked Isfahan during the absence of the king, Ali Murad Khan Zand decided to return to Isfahan. However, he was too ill at the time and died before reaching Isfahan. Ja‘far Khan, the eldest son of Sadiq Khan, was in Isfahan, and Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand, cousin of the late King Ali Murad Khan, was in
- 45 - Shiraz. They were both competing against one another who would be the next King of Persia. The scales were tilting in favour of Ja‘far Khan as he had taken control of all the treasuries belonging to Ali Murad Khan Zand. He also possessed leadership qualities. Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand, on the other hand, had taken over Shiraz and declared himself king. This caused a total outrage as he was considered a usurper of the Persian throne. It was even said that his own supporters would surrender him to Ja‘far Khan upon his arrival to Shiraz. However, after Ja‘far Khan took control of Isfahan, he did not head immediately to Shiraz. Instead, he remained in Isfahan taking care of the situation there and commissioned his son, Lotf Ali Khan Zand to handle the Shiraz affair. In response, Lotf Ali Khan Zand led an army of 6,000 men and marched to Shiraz. The eldest son of Ali Murad Khan Zand, however, remained in Isfahan, and it was not known whether he was in captivity or free.(1) Mohammad Khan Qajar fought in Mazandran and took it over. The self-proclaimed King of Persia,
- 46 - Ja‘far Khan, sent three armies in all directions against him; but they ended dispersing and never met their Qajar enemy, who had headed for Isfahan. Ja‘far Khan then withdrew to Shiraz, and Mohammad Khan Qajar managed to occupy Isfahan on 16th May, 1785. When Ja‘far Khan approached Shiraz, it came to the knowledge of Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand that Ja‘far Khan had only around 1,000 men. He decided to take advantage of this information and turned against Ja‘far Khan. However, to his disappointment, he found that all the notables of Shiraz were in support of Ja‘far Khan. Sticking to his principles, Syed Murad went to meet Ja‘far Khan and submitted his resignation from the government of Shiraz. Ja‘far Khan granted him amnesty as previously promised. On 18th May, 1785, Ja‘far Khan entered Shiraz. On 10th July, 1785, Ja‘far Khan headed for Isfahan, where an army of 12,000 men of the Bakhtiari province --west of Isfahan and extending to the Muhammara-- had been mobilized and stationed near Isfahan in support of Ja‘far Khan.
- 47 - The army of Mohammad Khan Qajar, some 25,000 men, went out to fight the Bakhtiari army outside Isfahan. As the fight went on, the Bakhtiari army retreated systematically into their territories, 18 KM away. Mohammad Qajar’s Mazandran army ended in the town of Berya where they destroyed everything and subjugated the population to complete submission. Twenty-seven KMs from Isfahan, a battle took place between the 25,000-man army of Mohammad Khan Qajar and the 20,000-man Bakhtiari army led by Khusro Khan of Ardali. The casualties in the Bakhtiari army was minimal, unlike their opponents who lost 3,000 men in the fighting. Then, a short while later, the Khusro Khan-led Bakhtiari army declared its support to Ja‘far Khan, who announced he was heading to Isfahan on 25th July, 1785. Mohammad Khan Qajar went to Mazandran on 31st July 1785 after large numbers of his men deserted him to join Ja‘far Khan. The rest of his army dispersed into various provinces. Ja‘far Khan entered Isfahan and immediately appointed Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand, ruler of Isfahan.(2)
- 48 - Settling in Isfahan, Ja‘far Khan then dedicated his time to fight Qajar. He sent armies to pursue Mohammad Khan Qajar who had gone north. In Isfahan itself, the former governor of Isfahan, Baqir Khan of Khorasan, had taken refuge in the fort of Isfahan with 1,300 men. They were planning to surrender if amnesty from Ja‘far Khan was to be extended to them. On 26th November, 1785, in a twist of fate, Baqir Khan’s men arrested him together with some of the princes in his support and surrendered them to Ja‘far Khan who ordered the beheading of them all. The fort then surrendered, and Ja‘far Khan, who was adamant to get rid of his enemies, led an army from Isfahan to Hamadan, north of the Bakhtiari province, where Mohammad Khan Qajar was said to be hiding. Forty-two km from Hamadan, Ja‘far Khan’s army encountered a group of men belonging to the army of Mohammad Khan Qajar’s. They fought all day, from sunrise to sunset. Initially, Ja‘far Khan’s army was making good progress until the members of the Bakhtiari tribe in his army abandoned him and joined the Qajar’s army. Seeing the change in events, Ja‘far
- 49 - Khan took an immediate decision to withdraw from battle, which he successfully did with no loss of lives. He retreated with 1,000 men to Shiraz. On 4th May 1786, after occupying Isfahan, Mohammad Khan Qajar appointed as ruler of Isfahan, the son of Baqir Khan of Khorasan, who was beheaded together with his supporting princes by Ja‘far Khan after a false promise of pardon. After that appointment, Mohammad Khan Qajar withdrew to Tehran. As Ja‘far Khan approached Isfahan, he received a request from Sheikh Uwais bin Ali Murad Khan Zand, the cousin of both Shah Murad and Sayed Murad, to take over Isfahan. Ja‘far Khan did not seem to know that the ruler of Isfahan was the son of Baqir Khan of Khorasan. Therefore, he foolishly accepted the invite to seize Isfahan. When he arrived there, he realized that was a hoax, an act of trickery. He ordered that Sheikh Uwais bin Ali Murad Khan Zand be found. Sheikh Uwais was captured and Ja‘far Khan ordered his eyes to be poked out of their sockets and threw him in prison.
- 50 - While Ja‘far Khan was looking for the son of Baqir Khan of Khorasan, an army led by Mohammad Khan Qajar appeared on the borders of Isfahan. Ja‘far Khan’s army went to a state of complete shock and chaos. In the disturbance that followed, Ja‘far Khan abandoned all his belongings and treasuries in Isfahan and left. These were looted by the Isfahanis before their city was taken over by the Qajar. Returning to Shiraz, Ja‘far Khan was warmly received; and after a period of calm, he sent a campaign to Kāzerūn, 120 km south of Shiraz. He had a strong disagreement with his army chief, Ali Kuli Khan of Kāzerūn. Ja‘far Khan had sent his army chief to settle the rebels’ situation in Kashan. However, Ali Kuli ended drawing an agreement with the Chief of Kāzerūn granting the rebels too many concessions. Ja‘far Khan was so infuriated that he called for Ali Kuli and theKāzerūnChief tocome toShiraz.Theyboth refused without a pledge of safety from Ja‘far Khan. This he gave; but when they arrived he imprisoned them both. Consequently, Kāzerūn revolted against Ja‘far Khan, who himself led a military campaign
- 51 - comprising 10,000-15,000 men against them. On 22nd September, Kāzerūn surrendered. While in Kāzerūn, Ja‘far Khan called for a meeting with all the local governors in the Shirazadjacent areas. Most of them came for the meeting on 7th October, 1786. Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi of Bushehr, however, sent on his behalf Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser al-Zaabi with valuable gifts to Ja‘far Khan. Upon finding out that he was the son of the former Sheikh of Bandar Rig, a Shiite in alliance with the Zand dynasty, whose Persian mother had escaped while pregnant after the killing of her husband on 5th July 1745, to Sheikh Nasser of Bushehr, Ja‘far Khan honoured Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser and granted him a khul‘ah, a Persian garment of honour. Ja‘far Khan was planning to conquer Isfahan after collecting the government taxes in arears from those regions. He had instructed the local governors who came to his meeting to pay them off.(3) In November 1786, Ja‘far Khan was still in Kāzerūn waiting for the tax payments to be made in order to
- 52 - head north directly afterwards to the Bakhtiaris who would assist him to conquer Isfahan. Mohammad Khan Qajar, Chief of Mazandran, however, had left Isfahan to Tehran where he contracted a serious disease. From Kāzerūn via Shiraz, Ja‘far Khan attacked Isfahan aided by the Bakhtiari tribe members. Mohammad Khan Qajar was ousted from Isfahan and returned to Tehran. However, he soon returned anew with a military campaign to oust Ja‘far Khan from there. The encounter ended with Ja‘far Khan retreating to Shiraz where he remained for the rest of his life. The year 1786 and afterwards witnessed a number of events in several places. Ismail Khan, a cousin of Ja‘far Khan and the ruler of Hamadan, rebelled. Yazad was destabilized as a result of a serious siege. Lotf Ali Khan Zand conducted some successful military campaigns whereby he took over Isfahan, then he withdrew from there upon the arrival of the Qajar. He then took over Kerman and
- 53 - Lar where he learnt that his father, Ja‘far Khan, had fallen seriously ill. He then decided to return to Shiraz. In Shiraz, in the morning of 22nd January 1789, the people of Shiraz gathered in the square opposite the headquarters of the ruler of Shiraz to see that the ruler’s head was hanging on a post sticking out of one of the windows. They rushed into the building to find the beheaded corpse thrown on some government records he was working on. The story came to be known as follows: Pushed by his hatred of Ja‘far Khan for blinding and imprisoning Sheikh Uwais bin Ali Murad Khan Zand (cousin of Karim Khan Zand), Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand plotted against Ja‘far Khan. He seized the opportunity that Ja‘far Khan was terminally ill and that Lotf Khan, his son, was away, and bribed the Ja‘far Khan’s slave, who was in charge of administering his medications. The slave mixed the medicine with poison, and Ja‘far Khan lost his life as a result. Then, Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan
- 54 - Zand released all the prisoners. They rushed to the headquarters of the ruler of Shiraz and found him sitting on the floor reviewing some records. They beheaded him and stuck his head on a post which they suspended out of one of the windows overlooking the square. Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand then took over Shiraz in the absence of Lotf Ali Khan Zand. He was paving the way for his own ambitions. A few days before returning to Shiraz, on the way between Kerman and Shiraz, Lotf Ali Khan Zand received the news of his father’s death. He left his army of 10,000-15,000 men and headed to Bushehr with the sons of the princes in his company. He placed himself under the protection of Sheikh Nasser alMatroushi, who welcomed their arrival. However, by 11th April, 1789, Sheikh Nasser alMatroushi’s health had deteriorated so much that he died that day, to be succeeded by Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser al-Zaabi, the former ruler of Bahrain. After taking over Shiraz, Sayed Murad bin Khuda Murad Khan Zand sent his brother, Shah Murad, with
- 55 - an army to fight Lotf Ali Khan Zand in Kerman. In a change of events, the commander of Sayed Murad Khan Zand’s army took Murad Shah into custody, and then joined the troops of Lotf Ali Khan Zand. This move encouraged Lotf Ali Khan Zand to head for Shiraz. There, the governor of Shiraz, Haji Ibrahim, was rallying the people in support of Lotf Ali Khan Zand. When Lotf arrived in Shiraz, he was warmly received and welcomed. Sayed Murad Khan Zand escaped to the fort of Shiraz, but shortly afterwards, he surrendered and was immediately executed.(4) After the governor and people of Shiraz crowned Lotf Ali Khan Zand, Lotf met Mohammad Khan Qajar in battle, 18 km to the south of Shiraz. He was defeated and had to rush back to his capital, Shiraz, which he defended for a month, but as he was unable to enter it, he returned to Tehran The following year, 1790, Lotf Ali Khan Zand prepared a military campaign against Kerman. Mohammad Khan Qajar was conqueringAzerbaijan at the time. When Lotf arrived to Kerman, he demanded that its ruler surrender himself, but the ruler refused.
- 56 - The fierce winter conditions forced Lotf to return to Shiraz after incurring huge losses in men and animals. After becoming King of Persia, Lotf Ali Khan Zand started to grow suspicious of Haji Ibrahim, the powerful governor of Shiraz who had all the Shiraz affairs under his control. The suspicions resulted from insinuations made by Barkhurdar Khan Zand, the arrogant and inept commander of the Shiraz garrison. He had claimed that the governor was about to commit some acts of treason against the state. In 1791, Lotf Ali Khan Zand went out in a military campaign to seize Isfahan. He was accompanied by Haji Ibrahim, the Shiraz governor, who was kept as a hostage. Being a resourceful man, Haji Ibrahim decided to protect himself. Using some acts of deception, he managed to arrest all the Zand officers, and took full control of the Shiraz garrison. He sent a coded message to his brother, Abdul-Rahman Khan, who was in the army of Lotf Ali Khan Zand. Abdul-Rahman Khan started a rebellion in the army which resulted in Lotf Ali Khan Zand fleeing
- 57 - with 300 men to Shiraz. When he got there, he found the four gates closed to him. Therefore, he rushed to Bushehr where he found Sheikh Nasser bin Nasser al-Zaabi and the Bushehr notables in support of the governor of Shiraz. To regain his reputation, Lotf Ali Khan Zand had to unfortunately fight some minor powers around. He recruited some fighters and ended fighting some forces which attacked him from Bushehr and Kāzerūn. Defeating them, he headed secretly to Shiraz and met an army led by Mostafa Kuli Khan Qajar, who had come to receive Shiraz from its governor, Haji Ibrahim, who surrendered it. Another Qajar force arrived and attacked Lotf Ali Khan Zand, who managed to launch a strong counter attack and defeated the Qajar army. Positively responding to a request from Haji Ibrahim, Shiraz governor, Mohammad Khan Qajar led by himself a 40,000-man army against Lotf. However, in spite of their small number, Lotf’s cavalry succeeded in defeating the early attackers
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