Loṭf ʿAlī Khān Zand

▪ Zand ruler

born 1769, Shīrāz, Zand Iran

died 1794, Tehrān

      last ruler of the Zand Dynasty of Iran, who was defeated in the civil war of 1779–94. With the death of Loṭf ʿAlī Khān's grandfather, Karīm Khān Zand, a 15-year civil war ensued between his descendants and Āghā Moḥammad Khān Qājār. Although the Zand forces were weakened by internal dissensions and rivalries, Loṭf ʿAlī Khān's father, Jaʿfar Khān, proclaimed himself sovereign in the Zand capital of Shīrāz in 1785.

      Given charge of the Zand armies in the provinces of Lārestān and Kermān by his father, Loṭf ʿAlī Khān was forced to abandon these provinces on Jaʿfar's death (1789) and return to Shīrāz, where a rival had proclaimed himself king. Executing his rival, he had himself proclaimed king; and during the next four years he undertook several campaigns against Āghā Moḥammad Khān Qājār, who possessed superior troops. After the governor of Shīrāz treacherously abandoned the city to Qājār forces in 1791, Loṭf ʿAlī Khān was never able to secure a new base of operations and was constantly on the move. His inability to control significant territory and the consequent loss of revenues doomed the Zand cause to failure. An able and gallant soldier, he won several tactical victories over his opponent after the loss of Shīrāz; but the balance of power favoured the Qājārs, who could afford to lose minor battles.

      The final act of the civil war came in 1794, when Qājār forces broke a four-month resistance to take the city of Kermān. Loṭf ʿAlī Khān managed to flee, but he was captured and delivered to Āghā Moḥammad Khān, who had him tortured to death.

* * *