1 Shahi - Isma'il III Safavi - Safavid shadow kings Type B, Širâz mint

Isma'il III was never a real ruler. Installed in 1750 by the Zand chief Karim Khan, he served as a nominal shah while Karim Khan governed as *wakil* — regent — carefully avoiding the title of king for nearly two decades. The Safavid name still carried enough dynastic legitimacy to matter, so coins continued to be struck in Isma'il's name as a political convenience rather than any reflection of actual power.

The Širāz mint was Karim Khan's base of operations and the heart of early Zand administration, making this issue as much a Zand coin as a Safavid one in everything but name.