of cholera; with his defeat, the other rebel princes surrendered their claims and recognized Mohammad as the king of Iran. Reign Early years Mohammad Shah appointed Qa'em-Maqam as his grand vizier but his premiership did not last long. Qa'em-Maqam was already losing influence over Mohammad but his policies and ideas made him adversaries in the court. As soon as he became the grand vizier, Qa'em-Maqam had the royal princes swear an oath of fealty to Mohammad, otherwise he had them imprisoned, a fate that befell many Qajar princes such as Mahmud Mirza, the governor of Kashan, who refused to relinquish his claim and thus lost his title and wealth. Soon, Qa'em-Maqam was attacked by rivals, the most prominent being Allahyar Khan Asef ol-Dowleh—Mohammad Shah's uncle from the Davallu tribe—and a coalition led by Aqasi. Qa'em-Maqam's adversaries soon extended to British envoy John Campbell, who expected grand privileges for his contribution to Mohammad's enthronement but was refused by Qa'em-Maqam. To lessen British influence over the court, Qa'em-Maqam tried to improve Iran's relations with the Ottoman Empire. His rivals, with slanderous accusations, urged Mohammad to have Qa'em-Maqam ousted from his position and Mohammad was later persuaded to do so. On 22 June 1835, he arrested and imprisoned Qa'em-Maqam in Negarestan Palace and four days later, he ordered Qa'em-Maqam's execution. Mohammad Shah then spent a few month without a grand vizier. Campbell expressed his support for Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi while his courtiers supported Abdollah Amin al-Dowleh, an erstwhile grand vizier of Fath-Ali Shah, but Mohammad chose Aqasi, who filled this position for most of Mohammad's reign. By this time, Mohammad's health had become a concern for the kingdom's future and the four-year-old Naser al-Din Mirza was appointed the crown prince. Mohammad Shah granted the governorship of Azarbaijan, which the Qajar kings bestowed upon the heir apparent, to his firstborn son and appointed his brother Ghahreman Mirza as Naser al-Din's regent. Ghahreman Mirza was in close contact with the Russian government; when he died in 1839, Mohammad replaced him with his last-surviving brother Bahman Mirza. In 1837, a rebellion broke out in Kerman; it was led by Hassan Ali Shah, better known as Agha Khan I, the leader of Nizari Ismailis The Nizari Muslims, though few in number, lived in Iran under the leadership of Hassan Ali Shah, who asserted his place by marrying Fath-Ali Shah's daughter Sarveh Jahan Khanum and acquiring the