00:00The first dynasty of the modern era to rule over Iran were the...
00:04But before them, there was another dynasty who brought about reforms in Iran,
00:09which set it on the path to modernity.
00:12They were the Zand dynasty.
00:14And before them, there was yet another dynasty who laid the foundations for the modern Iranian state,
00:20the Afshaws.
00:21But before them, who were the rulers of Iran?
00:24Well, that's what we're going to find out today.
00:28Welcome to my channel.
00:30Today, we're going to talk about one of the most powerful dynasties of pre-modern Iran,
00:36the Kweni, Aind, or the Ottomans.
00:38The Kanyad were a Turkic tribe who originated from the Siberian steppes.
00:42Like many other Turkic tribes, they followed a shamanist religion that revered nature.
00:49But they also followed Tengriism, which is a belief system that revolves around belief in a supreme sky deity.
00:56Though the beliefs of the Quraysh people are heavily shrouded in mystery due to a lack of sources,
01:02this much is clear that they held shamanistic rituals and performed human sacrifices.
01:08Their political structure revolved around a council of elders, while their leader was referred to as the Khan.
01:16The real power lay with this council.
01:19In the 17th century, the Khom clan was led by a man named Esmail Khan.
01:25He would become the founder of the dynasty.
01:29In 1648, Esmail Khan declared himself the Emir of Persia.
01:34His new capital would be at Kazan, which was called Tehran back then.
01:39Esmail Khan died in 1657, and he would be succeeded by his son, Sultan Hussein.
01:48The latter would face revolts from different ethnic groups, including the Kurds and the Turkmen.
01:54But Hussein put down these revolts and expanded his domain into Iraq.
01:59By the time of his death, the Khan had established dominance over all of Iran except for Isfahan,
02:05which was controlled by the Afshurids, and the Northwest, which was controlled by the Safran.
02:11Sultan Hussein would be succeeded by his brother, Sultan Ahmad.
02:16He would continue his father's policy of expansion and conquest, and managed to conquer Isfahan,
02:23thus uniting most of Iran under his rule.
02:26However, the Ottoman advance into Iran was halted by the Safavids at the Battle of Karaj in 1658.
02:35Sultan Ahmad continued to expand outside of Iran, and managed to conquer Armenia and Azerbaijan.
02:42He would go on to establish the city of Tubriz, and make it the new capital of the kingdom.
02:48Unfortunately, little is known about the next two rulers, Sultan Mohammed and Sultan Ibrahim.
02:56Apart from the fact that they kept expanding the empire, by 1694, the Khajars had expanded all the way to Central Asia,
03:06where they bordered the Chinese, Russian and Mughal empires.
03:10This marked the peak of the Khayar territorial holdings.
03:14After Sultan Ibrahim, his brother, Sultan Madi, came to power.
03:19He was succeeded by Naita Khan, who, in turn, was succeeded by Sultan Shah.
03:26His reign would mark the beginning of the end for the dynasty.
03:29That's because he would lead an invasion into Baghdad in 1722.
03:36During the siege, he commissioned the building of a new city that would be inhabited by Turks, Tatars and Kurds.
03:43It was called New Jedesho, and served as a buffer zone between the Khajars and the Ottoman Empire.
03:51However, the Khajars' invasion of Baghdad proved to be very costly and drained their treasury.
03:57To raise funds, Sultan Shah levied heavy taxes on the populace.
04:03This led to revolts, the most significant of which was led by Mork, who was a Kurd.
04:08The revolt was crushed, but it weakened the Khajar hold on power.
04:15After Sultan Shah, Malik Ghazi Khan, came to power.
04:19He tried to get the empire back on track by implementing economic and social reforms.
04:25He encouraged agriculture, trade and industry.
04:29He also ended the practice of slavery.
04:32Moreover, he founded the city of Mashhad in 1734.
04:36But unfortunately, he would die just three years later, and with him, the dynasty would come to an end.
04:45When Malik Ghazi Khan died, a power struggle ensued between the princes.
04:50The empire was divided into three.
04:53East, west and centre.
04:55The western part was controlled by Nader Shah, who was Malik Ghazi Khan's general.
05:01Nader Shah founded the Afchirid dynasty.
05:04The central part was controlled by Karim Khan, who founded the Zand dynasty.
05:11And the eastern part was controlled by Shiverdikon, who was a puppet ruler installed by Nader Shah.
05:18It should be noted that Nader Shah was of Afchir extraction, while both his predecessors and successors were of Kiowa origin.
05:27So why did the Kiowa lose control of their empire after the death of Malik Ghazi Khan?
05:35There are many reasons for this.
05:37First off, the Qajars were never really successful in controlling the diverse ethnicities of Iran.
05:43Whenever they tried to assert control over the provinces, rebellions broke out.
05:48Secondly, despite being Muslims, the Qajars were never successful in winning over the religious establishment.
05:56The clergy saw the Qajars as outsiders, since they were of Mongol extraction.
06:03Thirdly, the Qajars were not successful in completely assimilating the Persians into Turkish culture.
06:10In fact, Persian culture had a huge impact on the Qajars themselves, as seen in the architectural marvels that were built during their reign.
06:20Lastly, the internal divisions within the Qajar clan also played a role in their downfall.
06:26When Malik Ghazi Khan died, there was a mad scramble for power between the princes, which resulted in the empire splitting into three.
06:35Now, during the reign of the Qajars, Iran experienced a golden age of sorts.
06:41Trade flourished and cities prospered.
06:44Foreigners who travelled to Iran wrote extensively about its great cities, especially about the magnificence of Israel.
06:51They also wrote about how Iranian cities were generally clean, well-planned and had nice parks.
06:58Here's a quote from one such traveller.
07:00Another thing that impressed foreigners was the Iranian cavalry.
07:22They were especially impressed by the manner in which the soldiers rode their horses.
07:28They also admired the agility, skill and activity of the horsemen.
07:33One traveller rode their cavalry, form a circle around the king, making a half-circle with their right hands.
07:40While each man with his left hand holds up his horse by the bridle with so much agility and address that they seemed to be walking on the ground.
07:48The reason why the Qajars had such skilled horsemen was because they valued horsemanship and military prowess.
07:56Every boy growing up in the empire would learn how to ride a horse and use a sword.
08:02So when they went to war, they were more than prepared.
08:05Another thing that the foreigners were surprised by was the dress sense of the Iranians.
08:11Most of them wore European-style suits, though the nobility preferred to wear the traditional Persian clothes.
08:19Nonetheless, Iranians paid a lot of attention to their appearance and always looked neat and tidy.
08:25The women were especially fashionable and were trendsetters across the region.
08:30They were probably the most fashionable women in the entire Middle East.
08:34Here's what a European traveller had to say about them.
08:37The Persian ladies are exceedingly beautiful and graceful.
08:41Their hair is generally black and very long.
08:45They dress in silk garments, and their veils are of the finest linen.
08:50They never appear in public without having first carefully tied up their whole body in linen, only leaving a hole for their faces.
08:58The women of Ispahan are particularly celebrated for their beauty.
09:02There are several thousand of the lower order of people in this city who gain a livelihood by prostitution,
09:09and they are treated with less severity than in other countries.
09:13But it wasn't all good during the Kajar era.
09:16Although trade flourished and cities prospered, the countryside did not benefit from this prosperity.
09:22The farmers toiled in the fields, while the merchants and artisans reaped the rewards.
09:29And when the heavy tax collection season arrived, the burden fell on the backs of the poor farmers.
09:36In addition to this, the Kajars ruled like the monarchs of Europe, meaning they considered themselves superior to the rest of society.
09:44They also enjoyed hunting and keeping mistresses.
09:47They liked to flaunt their wealth and power, and since the coffers were filled from the blood, sweat, and tears of the common folk,
09:56the Kajars lived lives of luxury.
09:59After the demise of the Kajars, two other dynasties would rule Iran before the Kajars took over,
10:06the Afsharids and the Zans.
10:08We've already talked about the Zans in our previous video, so make sure to check it out.
10:14And the Afsharids will be covered in an upcoming video.
10:18For now, though, I'll leave you with this.
10:21I hope you enjoyed this episode.
10:23If you did, please hit that like button and subscribe if you haven't already.
10:28Also, let me know what you thought about this episode in the comments section below.
10:33I'll see you in the next video.
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