Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar

Agha Muhammad Shah (1742–1797) founded the Qajar dynasty of Persia. He made Tehran his capital and was assassinated in 1797.

Agha Muhammad Shah was born in 1155/1742, the elder son of Muhammad Hasan Khan, hereditary chief of the Qajar tribe. As a child he was castrated on the order of 'Adil Shah, Nadir Shah's nephew, an act that the article says warped his character later in life. After his father's murder in 1758 he became chief of the Qajars. He spent his youth at the court of Karim Khan in Shiraz, and after Karim's death in 1779 he fled to Astarabad and struggled for years with Karim's descendants. By 1785 he controlled the north and centre of the kingdom and made Tehran his capital, for its central position and its nearness to the Qajar lands. ¹

In 1794 he captured Luft 'Ali Khan, the last of Karim Khan's descendants, and put him to death after cruel torture. In 1795 he re-established Persian authority over Georgia, and he was crowned shah in 1796. He also deposed Shahrukh, Nadir Shah's blind grandson, and by torture forced him to reveal where his grandfather's jewels were hidden; the prince died of the suffering. Agha Muhammad was assassinated in 1797. The article judges him a skilled statesman and military leader whose reputation was marred by vengefulness, cruelty and avarice. ¹