Agha Muhammad Khan (1742-1797) was the chief of a Turkic tribe, the Qajars. He became ruler of Persia in 1796 and established the Qajar dynasty.

Born in 1742, he was castrated by family enemies at the age of five. Despite being a eunuch, he became the chief of his tribe in 1758. In 1779 the death of Karim Khan, the long-serving Shah of Persia, plunged the country into a series of civil wars and disputes over the succession, with five members of the Zand dynasty acceding to the Peacock Throne in the space of only ten years. Agha Muhammad took the opportunity to launch a rebellion which in 1794 succeeded in capturing Lotf Ali Khan , the last Zand ruler. Two years later he proclaimed himself Shah.

Agha Muhammad was the first Persian ruler to make Tehran, then only a village, his capital. He successfully expanded Persian influence into the Caucasus, reasserting Iranian sovereignty over its former territories in the region. He was, however, a notoriously cruel ruler and was assassinated in 1797 after only a year in power. He was succeeded by his nephew, Fath Ali Shah.

See also: History of Persia

External links

• Agha Muhammad Khan's portrait