The Zand tribe is originally from the Khanaqin area and settled in
Malayer near
Hamadan.[3][6] Incorporated into the army of Iranian ruler
Nader Shah (
r. 1736-1747), they were moved to
Khorasan.[6] The Zands and other tribes of the
Zagros Mountains managed to return home following Nader's assassination in 1747.[6] Many returned to
Lorestan according to M. Reza Hamzeh'ee,[2] while Soane notes that parts of tribe ultimately returned to Khanaqin.[3]
The tribe is most known for their member,
Karim Khan Zand, who founded the
Zand dynasty, ruling from 1751 till his death in 1779. His death was followed by internal conflicts for his succession which resulted in the weakening of the dynasty, ending with the defeat of Karim Khan's nephew
Lotf Ali Khan by the
Qajar ruler
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789-1797).
The tribe was also known as one of the few where women fought alongside their husbands.[7]
Origins
According to Tucker, the Zands "were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern
Lurs, who spoke
Luri."[8] Perry also states that the Zands "belonged to the Lakk group of Lurs".[9]Frye, likewise, states that the Zand tribe "spoke the Lakk dialect of the Lur language".[6] When Soane visited the tribe around 1918, the tribe denied any connection to Lurs.[3]