Abu Torab (), better known by his dynastic name of Ismail III (), was a

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

prince, who reigned as a figurehead under the authority of Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari briefly from 1750 to 1751, and then under the Zand ruler

Karim Khan Zand Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (; ) was the founder of the Zand dynasty, ruling all of Iran (Name of Iran, Persia) except for Khorasan province, Khorasan from 1751 to 1779. He also ruled over some of the Caucasus, Caucasian lands and occupied Basra f ...

from 1751 till his death in 1773.

Biography

Abu Torab's father was Mirza Morteza, who was a former court official, and his mother was a daughter of the former Safavid king (

shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

) Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722). In May 1750, the Chahar Lang chieftain Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari and the Zand chieftain

Karim Khan Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (; ) was the founder of the Zand dynasty, ruling all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan from 1751 to 1779. He also ruled over some of the Caucasian lands and occupied Basra for some years. While Karim was ruler, Ir ...

stormed the gates of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

—its governor Abu'l-Fath Khan Bakhtiari and other prominent residents assembled to protect the fortress of the city, but agreed to surrender and collaborate with them after Ali Mardan's reasonable proposals. Abu'l-Fath, together with Ali Mardan and Karim Khan, formed an alliance in western Iran under the cover of restoring the Safavid dynasty, appointing the 17 year old Abu Torab as a puppet ruler—on June 29, Abu Torab was declared shah, and assumed the dynastic name of Ismail III. Ali Mardan then took the title of '' Vakil-e daulat'' ("deputy of the state") as the head of the administration, while Abu'l-Fath maintained his post as governor of Isfahan, and Karim Khan was appointed commander (''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

'') of the army, and was given the task of conquering the rest of Iran. Ali Mardan eventually broke the alliance by killing Abu'l-Fath and extracting heavy tax on the inhabitants. In January 1751, Karim Khan returned to Isfahan and restored order in the city. A battle shortly occurred between him and Ali Mardan in

Luristan Lorestan province () is one of the Provinces of Iran, 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the Western Iran, western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In ...

—during the battle, Ismail III and Zakariya Khan (who was now his ''

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

''), together with several prominent officers, deserted Ali Mardan and joined Karim Khan, who eventually emerged victorious, forcing Ali Mardan and the remains of his men, together with the governor of Luristan, Ismail Khan Feyli, to retreat to

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

. After Karim Khan's accession as ''vakil'' (regent) in the same year, Ismail was kept in safe custody at the stronghold of Abadeh, where he lived till his death, in 1773.

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Biography

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Further reading