Qajar (tribe)
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Over 35,000 (1994) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Iran | |
| Languages | |
| Persian Azerbaijani | |
| Religion | |
| Twelver Shia Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Oghuz Turks |
The Qajars (Persian: ایل قاجار, romanized: Il-e Ǧâjâr; Azerbaijani: قاجارلار, romanized: Qacarlar) are a clan of the Bayat tribe of the Oghuz Turks who lived variously, with other tribes, in the area that is now Armenia, Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran.
By the end of the Safavid era, the Qajars had split into several factions. These included the Ziyādoghlu (Ziādlu), associated with the area of Ganja and Yerevan, as well as the Qoyunlu (Qāvānlu), and Davālu (Devehlu) the latter two associated with the northern areas of contemporary Iran. In 1796, Agha Mohammad Khan, a Qajar chief of the Qoyunlu branch, was crowned Shah of Iran, founding the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Iran until 1925.