Reign of Agha Mohammad Khan

When Agha Mohammad Khan killed Lotf Ali Khan in 1796, he became the most powerful in Iranian politics. He was the master of two third of the country, the only other person ruling at this time was Shahrokh, old Afsharid king who was really a king in name and had no real power.

Agha Mohammad Khan moved his capital to Tehran, a small town half way between his birth place of Estar Aabad and Shiraz, still a very important city. Without wasting anytime, he set of for more wars. He captured Azerbaijan, then headed south and added Kurdistan and Lorestan to his kingdom, made sure that Fars and Kerman are obedient, and then went back to Tehran. Now, he thought of his most important passion, money! He new one person who had a whole lot of it, and he was in Khorasan, yes, our old friend Shahrokh Shah Afshar. Agha Mohammad Khan appointed Baba Khan, his nephew and most trusting commander as the regent and heir, and headed west to Mashad.

Shahrokh was blind, old, and stingy! He did not realize the dangers of playing games with a guy like Agha Mohammad Khan. When the Qajar Khan arrived in Mashad, Shahrokh treated him like a dear guest and accepted his superiority, but denied money. He said that he has no money and he is a poor man, but Agha Mohammad Khan new that most of Nader’s treasure should be some where in that palace. He warned Shahrokh about bad consequences of not giving him what he wants, but Shahrokh was cheaper than realizing the threat. Agha Mohammad Khan chose the fast solution, torture! He put boiling kettles on the old man’s head, and ordered his beard to be root out! Shahrokh finally gave up and turned the money in. Agha Mohammad Khan re-appointed him as the ruler of the Khorasan with the promise of paying 20,000 gold coins a year.

When Agha Mohammad Khan got back to Tehran, he faced a new problem in the opposite side of Mashad, Georgia! Georgia, then a part of Iran, was a Christian princedom. During the anarchy, many of its ruling class started looking to Russia for protection instead of Iran, and at this time, the princes and local Khans were rebelling against Agha Mohammad Khan. The Qajar King did not waste time and headed to Shushi, the capital of Shirvan, north of Azerbaijan and south of Georgia. Khan of Shirvan, Ebrahim Khalil Khan Javanshir, did not let the Qajar king to pass, so Agha Mohammad Khan surrounded the city. One night while camping outside the Shushi fortress, Agha Mohammad Khan asked for a Melon for dessert and he ate half of it. When he finished, he ordered the other half to be put aside for his tomorrow night. Three of servants ate the other half, and when Agha Mohammad Khan asked for it, they had to tell him that it has been eaten! He vowed to have the rude servants beheaded the following morning and went to sleep. Because everybody knew that Agha Mohammad Khan never fails to carry on his promises, especially in killing part, they decided to kill him before he can kill them! They entered his tent and put a dagger in his chest. This was the end of the life of a man who was cruel, stingy, and murderous, but at the same time a man who was responsible for rescuing Iran from anarchy and unifying the whole country. A fruit, such pity!