Qajar Dynasty

The Qajar dynasty ruled Iran from 1789 to 1925. The dynasty descended from the Turkic Qajar tribe, which had migrated from Anatolia to Iran and settled in the city of Astarabad. The founder of the dynasty, Agha Mohammad Khan, became the leader of the Qajar tribe and, after defeating the Zand ruler in 1789, became the de facto ruler of Iran. In 1794, Agha Mohammad Khan conquered the city of Kerman and ended the Zand dynasty. In 1796, after plundering Georgia, Agha Mohammad Khan declared himself Shah in Tehran. However, he was later poisoned by his own men, and his nephew Fath Ali Shah succeeded him.

The Russo-Persian Wars began due to the Russian annexation of Georgia and the looting of the city of Ganja in 1804. The Qajars suffered a heavy defeat in the war, and Fath Ali Shah had to cede the Caucasus territories to Russia through the treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay. Fath Ali Shah died in 1834 and was succeeded by his grandson Mohammad Shah. In 1848, Mohammad Shah's son Naser al-Din Shah ascended the throne.

Naser al-Din Shah captured the city of Herat from the Afghans in 1856, but the Iranian army had to withdraw from Herat due to British pressure. Naser al-Din Shah sought to modernize Iran, opening the first hospital and university in the country, and introducing Western educational models. However, Western economic and political influence also increased over Iran.

Naser al-Din Shah was assassinated in 1896, and his successor was Mozaffar al-Din Shah. During Mozaffar al-Din Shah's reign, foreign debts increased, and Iran's first parliament was established, reducing the dynasty's influence. Mozaffar al-Din Shah died in 1907, and his son Mohammad Ali Shah succeeded him. However, Mohammad Ali Shah was deposed for trying to dissolve the parliament, and Ahmad Shah took the throne. During Ahmad Shah's reign, Iran was invaded by Russian, Ottoman, and British forces, and he could not prevent this. After the war, even though foreign forces withdrew from Iran, the country was devastated.

Subsequently, Reza Khan, one of the commanders of the Iranian army, staged a military coup against the Qajar dynasty, exiling the dynasty from the country. In 1925, he declared himself Shah, thus ending the Qajar rule in Iran.