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Karim Khan Zand

Karim Khan Zand, (Persian: کریم خان زند), (c. 1705- 1779), also called Karim Khan the Great (Bozorg), ruler and de facto Shah of Iran from 1760 until 1779. He founded the Zand dynasty. He never styled himself as "shah" or king, and instead used the title Vakil ar-Ra'aayaa (The representative of the subjects).

Karim Khan was one of the generals of Nader Shah Afshar. After Nader Shah's death in 1747, Persia fell into a state of civil war. At that time, Karim Khan, Abdolfath Khan and Ali Mardan Khan reached an agreement to divide the country among themselves and give the throne to Ismail III. However, the cooperation ended after Ali Mardan Khan invaded Isfahan and killed Abdolfath Khan. Subsequently, Karim Khan killed Ali Mardan Khan and invaded all Iran except Khorasan, respecting Shah Rukh, grandson of Nader Shah. Nevertheless, he did not adopt the title of Shah for himself, preferring the title, Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Advocate of the People).

During his reign, relations with Britain were restored, and he allowed the East India Company to have a trading post in southern Iran. He made Shiraz his capital and ordered the construction of several architectural projects there. Following Karim Khan's death, civil war broke out once more, and none of his descendants were able to rule the country as effectively as he had. The last of these descendants, Lotf Ali Khan, was killed by Agha Mohammad Khan, and the Qajar dynasty came to power.

To this day, he has a reputation as one of the just rulers in Iranian history. A wealth of tales and anecdotes portray Karim Khan as a compassionate ruler, genuinely concerned with the welfare of his subjects.

• History of Iran: Zand Dynasty
• Karim Khan's portrait