Sadiq Khan Zand

Who was Sadiq Khan Zand?

Muhammad Sadiq or Sadeq Khan Zand was the fifth Shah of the Zand dynasty, who ruled Persia from August 22, 1779 until March 14, 1781.

Karim Khan's death in March 1779 was followed by a power struggle. His sons Muhammad Ali Khan and Abol Fath Khan were declared co-rulers, but their rule was only nominal; real power was in the hands of their uncle Zaki Khan. After Zaki Khan's murder by the people of Isfahan, there was widespread rebellion. Ali Murad Khan, the commander of the royal army, who was sent to undermine a Qajar attack in the north, betrayed Abol Fath and left the capital defenseless. Karim Khan's brother Muhammad Sadiq, supported by the Nizari imam Abū-l-Ḥasan ʻAlī, collected an army in Kerman and invaded Shiraz, where he faced little resistance. On August 22, 1779, Abol Fath died from a heart attack and he became the ruler of Persia.

His cause of death is not known, but Ali Murad succeeded him.