page_title: Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar
section_title: Second war with Jafar Khan Zand and enthronement
hierarchical_section_title: Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar / Rise to power (1779–1789) / Second war with Jafar Khan Zand and enthronement
context_page_description: Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah, was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as king. Originally chieftain of the Qoyunlu branch of the Qajar tribe, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned as the king of Iran in 1789, but was not officially crowned until March 1796, having deposed Lotf Ali Khan of the Zand dynasty in 1794. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was famously the eunuch Monarch, being castrated as a young adult upon his capture by Adel Shah Afshar, and hence was childless. He was assassinated on 17 June 1797, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.
  Agha Mohammad Khan's reign is noted for the return of a centralized and unified Iran and, for relocating the capital to Tehran, where it still stands today. He is also noted for his cruel and rapacious behavior, particularly during the re-subjugation of Georgia. He sacked the capital Tbilisi, massacred many of its inhabitants, and moved some 15,000 Georgian captives back to mainland Iran.
context_section_description: Some time later a local ruler named Amir Mohammad Khan, who with another local ruler named Taqi Khan (the ruler of Yazd), had recently defeated Jafar Khan and seized many riches, invaded Qajar territory, and marched towards Isfahan. Jafar Qoli Khan, who was still the governor of Isfahan, left the city before Taqi Khan could reach it and defeated the latter. Agha Mohammad Khan then went southwards once again. He met Jafar Qoli Khan at Isfahan in 1788, and after some time, made Taqi Khan accept Qajar suzerainty, and thereafter punished some Qashqai tribes, who fled into the mountains. Agha Mohammad Khan then approached Shiraz, where he hoped to bait Jafar Khan out of the city, which was strongly fortified, making it very hard to besiege. Unfortunately for him, Jafar Khan remained in the city. Agha Mohammad Khan returned to Isfahan, where he appointed his brother Ali Qoli as its governor, succeeding Jafar Qoli Khan. He then left for Tehran.
  With Agha Mohammad Khan once again in the north, Jafar Khan began raising an army to prepare another attack against Isfahan and its surroundings. When Ali Qoli learned of it he sent a group of tribesmen to Qumishah, a city south of Isfahan. However, Jafar Khan easily defeated them. Ali Qoli thereafter retreated to Kashan. Agha Mohammad Khan, learning of this, marched rapidly towards Isfahan, which led Jafar Khan withdraw to Shiraz once again. Agha Mohammad Khan returned to Tehran rather than attacking Shiraz again. Jafar Khan was murdered on 23 January 1789, which started a four-month civil war between several Zand princes who fought for succession to the throne. In May Jafar Khan's son Lotf Ali Khan emerged the victor in this civil war.
  It was also during this period that Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned (however still not crowned) and named his nephew Baba Khan (who would later be known as Fath-Ali Shah Qajar) as his heir. Thus 1789 is marked as the start of his reign.
caption: Painting of Agha Mohammad Khan with his men