- 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
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