Islamic Monarchy

In a more radical development of Turko-Mongol norms, especially the notion of divine favor, the Safavid monarchy in Iran (1501–1736) assumed that the ruler possessed a direct personal connection to God, which allowed him to implement God's will in his kingdom through law. Although the Safavids were eventually succeeded by the tribal dynasties of the Afsharids (1736–1796) under Nadir Shah (d. 1746) in the east, and the Zands (1751–1794) in the west, these successors were seen by some as monarchies of warlords, lacking legitimate claims to rule and devoid of the religious aura that had surrounded the Safavids. Indeed, Zand rulers were never addressed as king (Pers., shah), and maintained a Safavid puppet until 1773. Subsequently the Turkic tribal Qajar monarchy (1795–1925) eliminated both the Zands and the Afsharids and went on to control Iran as independent kings. Although perfunctorily religious, the Qajars lacked the religious charisma of the Safavids and ruled by drawing on their heroic Turkic history, their former support of the Safavid state, and the Iranian cultural tradition of the king of kings.