First Grand vizier of Qajar Iran
Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi (‎; 1745–1801), also known by his honorific title E'temad ol-Dowleh (), was an Iranian statesman who served as the "kalantar" (lord mayor) of the city of Shiraz during the late Zand era and later as the first grand vizier of Qajar Iran.
Ebrahim inherited his father's title, "kadkhoda" (warden) of the Balakaft quarter of Shiraz, and later became "kadkhoda-bashi" (chief warden) of all of the city's areas adjacent to Balakaft. In 1781, Ali-Morad Khan Zand captured Shiraz; to prevent riots, he dismissed all "kadkhodas" including Hajji Ebrahim, and sent them to Isfahan and fined them 40,000 tomans. To reclaim his titles, Ebrahim helped Jafar Khan Zand capture Shiraz in 1785 and the new Shah appointed him "kalantar" of Shiraz. When Jafar was assassinated in his palace in 1789, Ebrahim took side of his son Lotf Ali Khan by arresting Sayed Morad Khan and declaring Lotf Ali as the king. After a dispute with Lotf Ali Khan in 1790, Ebrahim changed sides and swore allegiance to Agha Mohammad Khan.
In 1791, when Lotf Ali Khan was marching to Kerman, Ebrahim took control of Shiraz and ordered the arrest of all Zand generals. Lotf Ali Khan abandoned his campaigning and returned; he went to the south of Fars, where he clashed with Ebrahim's forces, which resulted in defeat, then marched on and camped Kazerun. Ebrahim requested help from Agha Mohammad Khan, who at the time was conquering Azerbaijan. Agha Mohammad Khan went to Shiraz and appointed Ebrahim as governor of the province. In 1792 Lotf Ali Khan again fought to seize Shiraz but he was defeated and fled to Tabas.
In 1794, Lotf Ali Khan was arrested and killed, Agha Mohammad Khan became the new Shah of Iran and Ebrahim became his grand vizier. In this time, Ebrahim became engaged in internal and administrative affairs, and was one of Agha Mohammad Khan's major advisors. In 1795, Ebrahim proposed a coronation ceremony for Mohammad Khan, at which he placed the crown on the king. Ebrahim was present when Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated in Shushi; he quickly returned to Tehran and proclaimed Fath-Ali, the nephew of the late Shah, the new king, preventing a civil war. Ebrahim remained grand vizier until 1801, when he was killed at the behest of Fath-Ali Shah, who was afraid of Ebrahim's powerful position. Most of Ebrahim's family, with the exception of one of his sons Ali Akbar and his daughter Mahbanu Khanum, were also subsequently killed. Ebrahim's descendants later formed the Qavam family, who became influential in the mid-to-late Qajar period. Some of his descendants like Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi had important roles and were powerful in the royal court.
Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi's role in ending the succession war of Karim Khan Zand and transitioning power from Zands to the Qajars, as well as enthroning four kings, made him known as a kingmaker, and marks him as one of the most remarkable politicians in modern Iranian history.
Background.
Iran in the 18th century.
According to the modern historian, Roger Stevens: "The eighteenth century is a horrible period in Iranian history–horrible to read about, horrible to disentangle, horrible to have tried to live in." An era filled with revolts, famine, disasters and general misery, it is estimated that the population of the country fell from 9 million in the beginning to 6m at the end. After the fall of the Safavid Empire in 1722, it was expected that Iran might disappear altogether, but the emergence of a former general called Nader Quli Beg–later known as Nader Shah– saved it from collapse. His Afsharid Empire, however, soon fell into civil war after his untimely death in 1747. By end of the century, the only remaining ruling member of his dynasty was his grandson, Shahrokh Shah, who ruled the Greater Khorasan in the eastern Iran.
In the central Iran, Karim Khan of Zand tribe established himself and his dynasty as the absolute sovereigns over the vast majority of Iran's today's borders (excluding Khorasan). Karim Khan's greatest rival was Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar, chief of the Qajar Turkomans who dwelt in northern Iran and the city of Astrabad. Karim Khan defeated and killed Mohammad Hassan in 1759. His death was by no means the end of insurgencies in northern Iran. In February 1769, His son, Hossein Qoli Khan Qajar took up arms against the Zand government and sought revenge for his father's death. Hossein Qoli's rebellion lasted for seven years; in 1777, he was eventually killed by some Yomut Turkmens whom he quarreled with.
Thus, Agha Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Hassan's eldest son and a eunuch who spent years in Karim Khan's custody in Shiraz, became the new leader of the Qajar tribe. After Karim Khan's death on March 1, 1779, Agha Mohammad Khan fled from Shiraz to Mazandaran and there staged a new rebellion against the Zands.
Ebrahim's Familial history.
Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi's family were originally from Qazvin but in the mid-13th century, due to persecution of Jews, one of his ancestors immigrated to Shiraz, where he married the daughter of Qavam al-Din Hassan Shirazi, the minister of the ruling Muzaffarid dynasty. Through this marriage, Ebrahim's family inherited estates in Shiraz and gradually became "kadkhodas" (wardens). Ebrahim's grandfather Asher was a famous merchant who converted to Islam and renamed himself Mahmoud. Mahmoud built a maktab named Hashemieh and granted it to Agha Vali, Imam Jom'a of Shiraz.
Mahmoud's son Mohammad Hashem was "kadkhoda" of the Balakaft quarter in the city's southeast. The quarter, owing to its remnant gardens from the Safavid era and the establishment of a trade center by Karim Khan, became one of the richest parts of Shiraz next to the Darb-e Shahzade quarter, which included royal palaces. Due to his family's Jewish background, Mohammad became "kadkhoda-bashi" (chief warden) of all Jewish parts of the city. In 1747, during the revolt of governor of Fars Qiaqali Charchi Bashi, Nader Shah recaptured Shiraz and Charchi Bashi killed himself. The shah ordered the blinding of Fars' treasurer Mirza Baqer, Shiraz's "kalantar" Mirza Ismail, and some of the "kadkhodas", including Mohammad. With the mediation of the merchants, Nader Shah forgave Mohammad and blinded only one of his eyes.
Early life.
Ebrahim was born in 1745 in Shiraz as the third son of Mohammad Hassan Shirazi. He inherited his father's title "kadkhoda" In the middle years of Karim Khan's reign and allied with a "kadkhoda" named Mirza Mohammad Kalantar, a mentor and influential figure for young Ebrahim's political outlook. Ebrahim lived through Karim Khan's administration and with Mirza Mohammad's sponsorship, forged acquaintanceships with the remnants of the Safavid bureaucracy such as Mirza Hossein Vafa of the Farahani family. At this time, Ebrahim bought some estates in the neighboring quarters, eventually becoming "kadkhoda" of all of them.
After Karim Khan's death and the civil war between the Zand princes that followed, Ebrahim found an opportunity to increase his influence in Shiraz and to prevent the destruction of his property. In 1779, when Sadeq Khan Zand invaded Shiraz and overthrew Abol-Fath Khan, he blinded or killed those who were in power during Zaki Khan's reign. This purge included some important political and economic figures of Shiraz. A power vacuum emerged from the deaths of these figures, which gave Ebrahim a chance to further increase his authority. In 1780, Sadeq Khan's army, under the command of his son Jafar Khan, clashed with Ali-Morad Khan Zand over Isfahan. Sadeq borrowed 20,000 tomans from Ebrahim to finance his army and granted him Bagh-e Jahan Nama, a 14th-century Iranian garden. In 1781, Jafar Khan was defeated in Isfahan and retreated to Shiraz. Sadeq's forces were also defeated in several areas, such as Abadeh and Hezar; as a result, Ali-Morad Khan reached and besieged Shiraz in the same year. The siege lasted until February, when the city fell and Sadeq Khan surrendered. On the orders of Ali-Morad Khan, the former king and all of his sons except Jafar, who had escaped, were blinded and later killed. Abol-Fath Khan was also blinded.
Ali-Morad Khan, who was unpopular in Shiraz, decided to move the capital to Isfahan. He fined all officials, including Ebrahim, 40,000 Tomans and forced them to move to the new capital. While he was living in Isfahan, Ebrahim made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and maintained his influence over trade centers of Shiraz. In 1785, Jafar Khan raised an army and marched towards Isfahan while Ali-Morad Khan died from an illness in Murcheh Khvort. When news of Ali-Morad's death reached Isfahan, Ebrahim led a revolt against Baqir Khan "kalantar" of Isfahan and arrested him. When Jafar Khan arrived in Isfahan, Ebrahim greeted him ahead of the rest of the officials, and declared him king and the rightful successor to Karim Khan.
"Kalantar" of Shiraz.
Jafar Khan's reign.
Jafar Khan knew Ebrahim was a powerful and popular figure whose help he needed to gain legitimacy. In 1785, Jafar Khan granted Ebrahim the title "kalantar" of Shiraz. After two months, Jafar Khan was informed Agha Mohammad Khan was marching towards Isfahan. He quickly provided an army to counter Agha Mohammad Khan, but for unknown reason, withdrew to Qom. Another army led by Jafar Khan was defeated near Kashan and he retreated to Shiraz. Jafar's wars caused high taxation in Shiraz, which provoked protests among bazaars, farmers, and merchants. Ebrahim maintained his position; he connected with British merchants in Basra and made a deal with them in which they covered the economic losses in Shiraz and in return they had the right to trade. He knew he must collaborate with important urban bases to consolidate his role as "kalantar"; alongside Bazzar, there were Lutis, Qashqai, and Bakhtiari tribes and the clergy. These social groups were influential over the core of the city and opposed Jafar Khan's wars; for this reason, Ebrahim organized a meeting and discussed with the representatives of these groups, and gained support for Jafar Khan from most of them.
This did not stop the revolt of 1786 led by Mohammad Khan Zand, one of Zaki Khan's sons, who had planned a revolt since 1782, when his youngest brother Akbar Khan was killed by Jafar Khan. Akbar Khan gathered an army of Qashqais and marched towards Shiraz while Jafar Khan was on his way to Isfahan. Ebrahim sent troops under the leadership of Abdullah Khan Zand to fight Mohammad Khan Zand; two armies fought near Shiraz; in the battle, the latter was defeated and killed.
Jafar Khan's repeated defeats against Agha Mohammad Khan led to a conspiracy against him. Jafar Khan became aware of this and suspected the leader of the conspiracy was Sayed Morad Khan so he imprisoned Sayed Morad and his two brothers in Arg of Karim Khan. On the night of January 23, 1789, Morad Khan and his supporters escaped from the Arg and attacked Delgosha Garden. Jafar Khan, who was weak because of illness, was killed after some resistance. Sayed Murad Khan beheaded Jafar Khan, went to the streets of Shiraz, and proclaimed himself the new king. An uprising against Morad Khan broke out and was instantly suppressed. Ebrahim was loyal to Jafar Khan but did not participate in this revolt; instead, he wrote a letter to Lotf Ali Khan and informed him of the situation.
Coup against Sayed Morad Khan.
Ebrahim knew Lotf Ali Khan was more popular than Sayed Morad Khan among the people, officials and khans of Fars. In correspondence with Lotf Ali, Ebrahim expressed his support and assured him he would help him regain the throne. Lotf Ali Khan went to Bushehr to form an army and asked the governor Sheikh Nasr for help. Nasr could only gave Lotf Ali Khan 300 men so Lotf Ali Khan quickly left for Shiraz.
After the news of Lotf Ali Khan's departure reached Sayed Morad Khan, he sent Shah Morad Khan Zand with an army that had been preparing for seven days to confront Lotf Ali Khan. But ten miles from Bushehr, two of Lotf Ali's supporters, Fazl Ali Khan and Naqd Ali Khan, arrested him and waited for Lotf Ali Khan to arrive in Dalaki. Shah Murad Khan was murdered and his army was handed over to Lotf Ali, who now was marching towards Shiraz with more troops.
When Ebrahim learned of Lotf Ali Khan's condition, he plotted a coup against Sayed Morad Khan. On May 8, 1789, Ebrahim and plotters, rushed into Arg and arrested Sayed Morad Khan, and