Shah Rukh of Persia

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Shah Rukh Shah Afshar (c. 1730 - 1796) was a king of Afsharid dynasty and a contemporary of Zand kings. He reigned until 1796.

As the teenage son of Reza Gholi Mirza and Nadir Shah's grandson, he was elected by the nobels following the assassination of Ebrahim Afshar. He made Mashhad the capital of his kingdom. Shah Rukh was a contemporary of Mirza Mohammad, who claimed to be Soleyman III of Safavid, son of shah Soleyman I Safavi's daughter and a clergy man. Encouraged by the nobels, he came to believe he was the true heir to the throne. Thus he captured and blinded Shah Rukh.

In 1749 During struggle to power, the son of Khanate of Tabriz, Azad Khan Afghan began a campaign for independence, which rubbed the province of Atropatene (current Azerbaijan) off the persian empire, while in the west the Qajar tribe led by Mohammad Hassan Khan took over the region of Mazandaran.

In 1750 Soleyman III was captured and blinded by the followers of Shah Rukh, subsequent to which Shah Rukh was reinstated as Shah.

In 1760 when Karim Khan took control of Persia, he did not try to depose Sha Rukh out of respect for Nadir, however, the realm of Shah Rukh was reduced to the province of Khorasan.

In 1796 Agha Muhammad Khan conquested Khorasan and had Shah Rukh tortured to death because he thought that he knew of Nadir's treasures.

Preceded by: Ebrahim Shah Afshar	King of Persia (1st time) 1748–1749	Succeeded by: Soleyman III Safavi
Preceded by: Ebrahim Shah Afshar	Ruler of Azerbaijan (as part of Persia) 1748–1749	Succeeded by: Azad Khan Afghan
Preceded by: Ebrahim Shah Afshar	Ruler of Mazandaran (as part of Persia) 1748–1749	Succeeded by: Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar
Preceded by: Soleyman III Safavi	King of Persia (2nd time) 1750–1760	Succeeded by: Karim Khan Zand
Preceded by: Soleyman III Safavi	Ruler of Khorasan 1750–1796	Succeeded by: Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar