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CHAPTER III.

Origin of the Kajar Tribe—Its three Branches—Its settlements—Astrabad Branch of Kajars—Upper and Lower Kajars—Astrabad—Unsettled Condition of that Province—Ak-kaleh—Rhages—Rhei—Tehran—Its early Condition—Aga Mahomed Khan—His Brothers—Cruel Treatment to which Aga Mahomed was subjected—Kindness shown to him by Kereem Khan—Lutf'ali Khan—Cruelty of Aga Mahomed—Haji Ibraheem—His Defection from the Chief of the Zend—Decisive Battle—Siege of Kerman—Death of Lutf'ali Khan.

IF we give credit to the Persian historian of the Kajars we must believe that that tribe can trace its origin as far back as to the time of Terek, the son of Japhet, the son of Noah. But without referring to remote antiquity, it is sufficient to state that the tribe of Kajar has been known to exist for the last several hundred years. It is of Turkish origin, and was early divided into three branches, the Suldoos, the Tengkoot, and the Jelayer. The Suldoos never came to Persia. The Tengkoot branch, which only consisted of thirty or forty families, became incorporated with the Moghul tribes. The Jelayer became settled in Iran and Turan, and seem at first to have given their name to all the tribe.

A Kajar or Jelayer chief, called Sertak Nooyan, was, under the Moghuls, naib, or deputy-governor, of all the country from the Oxus to Rhei. He, himself, we are told, resided near the banks of the Goorgan River, and from this circumstance dates the connection of the Kajar tribe