Editing Kurds (section)

===Zand period===
{{further|Zand dynasty}}
[[File:کریم خان زند.JPG|thumb|[[Karim Khan]], the Laki ruler of the Zand Dynasty]]
[[File:Antonion Zeno Shindler - Kurd Man - 1985.66.165,714 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg|thumb|Impression of a Kurdish man by American artist Antonio Zeno Shindle circa 1893]]

After the fall of the Safavids, Iran fell under the control of the [[Afsharid Empire]] ruled by [[Nader Shah]] at its peak. After Nader's death, Iran fell into civil war, with multiple leaders trying to gain control over the country. Ultimately, it was [[Karim Khan]], a Laki general of the [[Zand tribe]] who would come to power.<ref>A fourth pretender was Karim Khan, son of Aymak of the Zand, a section of [[Lak people (Iran)|Lak]] tribe {{cite book|author=Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes|title=A History of Persia|publisher=Macmillan and Company, limited|year=1930|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6BCAAAAIAAJ&q=%22A+fourth+pretender+was+Karim+Khan,+son+of+Aymak+of+the+Zand%22|page=277}}</ref>

The country would flourish during Karim Khan's reign; a strong resurgence of the arts would take place, and international ties were strengthened.<ref name="Iranica Zand">J. R. Perry (2011) [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karim-khan-zand "Karim Khan Zand"]. Retrieved 7 July 2013.</ref> Karim Khan was portrayed as being a ruler who truly cared about his subjects, thereby gaining the title ''Vakil-e Ra'aya'' (meaning "Representative of the People" in [[Persian language|Persian]]).<ref name="Iranica Zand"/> Though not as powerful in its geopolitical and military reach as the preceding Safavids and Afsharids or even the early Qajars, he managed to reassert Iranian hegemony over its integral territories in the [[Caucasus]], and presided over an era of relative peace, prosperity, and tranquility. In [[Ottoman Iraq]], following the [[Ottoman–Persian War (1775–76)]], Karim Khan managed to seize [[Basra]] for several years.<ref>'' 'Abd al-Hamid I'', M. Cavid Baysun, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R. Gibb, J.H. Kramers, E. Levi-Provençal and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 62.</ref><ref>Dionisius A. Agius, ''In the Wake of the Dhow: The Arabian Gulf and Oman'', (Ithaca Press, 2010), 15.</ref>

After Karim Khan's death, the dynasty would decline in favour of the rival [[Qajars]] due to infighting between the Khan's incompetent offspring. It was not until [[Lotf Ali Khan]], 10 years later, that the dynasty would once again be led by an adept ruler. By this time however, the Qajars had already progressed greatly, having taken a number of Zand territories. Lotf Ali Khan had multiple successes before ultimately succumbing to the rival faction. Iran and all its Kurdish territories would hereby be incorporated in the [[Qajar dynasty]].

The Kurdish tribes present in [[Baluchistan]] and some of those in [[Fars province|Fars]] are believed to be remnants of those that assisted and accompanied Lotf Ali Khan and Karim Khan, respectively.<ref>P. Oberling (2004) [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-tribes "Kurdish Tribes"]. ''Encyclopædia Iranica''. Retrieved 7 July 2013.</ref>