The coup d'état of 1791 is one of the well-known episodes in Iranian History. Hajji Ebrahim, the mayor (kalantar) of Shiraz, revolted against the Zand ruler, Lotf 'Ali Khan, and took Shiraz, the capital, away from him. After ten months, Hajji Ebrahim handed over Shiraz to Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar, and contributed to his triumph over the Zands.
However, why Hajji Ebrahim could carry out the coup d'état? He was only the mayor, which was not a military office. And why could he repulse the attacks of the Zand army during ten months? Little is known about these questions. The purposes of this paper are to investigate his origin, his career, and the process of the coup, and to reconsider its character on the basis of contemporary sources. Main arguments are following:
1. The ancestors of Hajji Ebrahim were merchants and probably converts from Judaism. Though he was not a man of noble origins, nor a Sayyed, he was appointed to the kalantar because of his skills in administration.
2. His brothers were commander of musketeers corps of Shiraz after the death of Karim Khan and took part in some military expeditions. Hajji Ebrahim and his brother intervened in conflicts for the successions of the Zands with musketeers corps, and assumed great prominence in the Zand government.
3. While the coup d'état of 1791 was also carried out with musketeers corps, Hajji Ebrahim was allied with other notables of other districts in Fars, and they planned to form a ‘federative government’ and refused to submit to any sovereign at first, though they were forced to accept the rule of the Qajars at last.
4. It is concluded that Hajji Ebrahim had same characteristics as the other local powers in Iran, though his rule over Shiraz was over after the nine months. And the success of the coup shows the fact that local powers grew strong enough to upset the dynasty.

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In Iranian history the period from the 18th century to the first part of the 19th century has not attracted very much attention. Few studies have touch on the social structure characteristic of this period. One of the distinctive features of this period is the existence of local powers that dominated each part of Iran directly. They fought with each other all over the country in the 18th century and are said to have retained the some power in provinces under the Qajars. This article focuses on the history of a local power during this period, Mohammad Taqi Khan and his family in Yazd province and examines the process of their rise to power their power base and their relationship to the central government. Mohammad Taqi Khan was invited to expel the governor and to rule the province by leading people of Yazd in 1161/1748. This marks the beginning of his rule over Yazd. He came from Bafq, a small town in the Yazd province, but his origins are not very clear. His maternal uncle was the min-bashi (chief of a thousand) of the tofangchi (musketeers) corps of Yazd and Bafq under the Safavids. After the fall of the Safavid Dynasty and his uncle's death, this tofangchi corps came under the command of Mohammad Taqi Khan and his brother. After the Afghan Invasion governors appointed by the Afghans and the Afsharids exploited the inhabitants of Yazd severely. For this reason the inhabitants invited Mohammad Taqi Khan and expected him to protect them against biganegan (outsider) attacks. In the latter half of the 18th century a lot of powers such as the Afghans, the 'Ameri-'Arabs, the Zands, and the Afshars of Kerman attacked Yazd, but Mohammad Taqi Khan succeeded in protecting the province and holding his position. He defended the city with his tofangchis and made use of the rivalry that existed among these powers. He was appointed as governor of Yazd by the Zands, but sometimes did not remit provincial revenue to the central government. Under his protection the city of Yazd prospered and its population was said to have reached 60,000-70,000 during his regime. After the rise of the Qajars and the establishment of their rule in Iran, the relationship between Yazd and the central government changed. Mohammad Taqi Khan and his sons still held their position and also acted as the governor of Kerman for some time, but they needed Shah's Farman to confirm their position and through this the central government was able to intervene in the politics of Yazd. In 1229/1813-4 they lost their office and after a short rivival by 'Abd al-Reza Khan, they went to serve the central government as officers rather than stay as independent rulers in Yazd. Their rule in Yazd was marked by the following features. First, their rule was based on the militaly force of tofangchi and most of the commanders were sons of Mohammad Taqi Khan. Secondly, administrative offices were occupied by them gradually. Finally, most members of this family lived in the Yazd province and were connected by marriage with old noble families in Yazd. This is only one case of the local powers in Iran during this period, but it has some common elements with the others, especially thier independence and close relationship to local society.

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