Karim Khan Zand

Karim Khan Zand کریم خان زند
Vakil ol-Ra'aya (Deputy of the People)
Contemporary portrait of Karim Khan Zand.
Vakil ol-Ra'aya of Iran
Reign	1751 – 1 March 1779
Successor	Mohammad Ali Khan Zand
Born	c. 1705 Pari, Safavid Iran
Died	1 March 1779 Shiraz, Zand Iran
Burial	Pars Museum (1779–1796, 1925–present) Golestan Palace (1796–1925)
Consorts	Khadijeh Begum Shakh-e Nabat
Issue	Mohammad Rahim Abol-Fath Khan Zand Mohammad Ali Khan Zand Anwar Shirazi Saleh Khan
Dynasty	Zand dynasty
Father	Inaq Khan Zand
Mother	Bay Agha
Religion	Twelver Shia Islam

Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (Persian: محمدکریم خان زند, romanized: Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; c. 1705 – 1779) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan.^[1] He also ruled over some of the Caucasian lands and occupied Basra for some years.

While Karim was ruler, Iran recovered from the devastation of 40 years of war, providing the war-ravaged country with a renewed sense of tranquillity, security, peace, and prosperity. The years from 1765 to Karim Khan's death in 1779, marked the zenith of Zand rule.^[2] During his reign, relations with Britain were restored, and the East India Company allowed 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 was able to rule the country as effectively as he had. The last of these descendants, Lotf Ali Khan, was executed by Qajar ruler Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who became the sole ruler of Iran.