Following the death of Nader Shah Afshar, the province of Kurdistan, with Sanandaj being the capital, ruled by the local influential dynasty of Ardalan, underwent a severe power struggle triggered by pretenders to the government of Iran, just as many other provinces experienced a similar power struggle. In addition, the strategic location of Kurdistan as the closest neighboring province of Ottoman paved the way for frequent interventions of Sublime Porte by means of the border guards, Babans. The absence of a centrally integrated government in Iran led to the spread of Ottoman influence to such an extent that the government of Kurdistan repeatedly slipped out of the hands of Ardalan dynasty into the hands of Pashas of Shahrzur and Solaymaniah .Therefore , the time span between the death of Nader and the late years of the Zandiah government (years 1747 to 1786) was one of the eventful periods in the history of Kurdistan . The present study analyzes the political developments in Kurdistan , the roles of Ardalan rulers in these developments, their relationships with the powerful and influential people, and the reasons of turbulence in this period.
Findings of the present study show that the main reasons for turmoil in Kurdistan in this period include the crisis of power vacuum after the death of Nader and the absence of a powerful and integrated government in Iran, inappropriate policies of some Ardalan rulers, absence of appropriate relationships between the Zand dynasty and the Ardalan dynasty, and the rivalry among Baban Pashas for the domination over Kurdistan.
