Zavir Khakestari
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Zavir Khakestari | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Shirazam | |
| In office 1888–1912 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Batraz Khan Shazadeh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 August 1830 |
| Died | 15 March 1912 (aged 81) |
| Political party | Front for an Ayar State |
| Profession | Cleric, Politician, Revolutionary |
Zavir Khakestari, born in 1830 and died in 1915, was a Melekist scholar, cleric, revolutionary, and early Shirazamite politician and one of the founders of the Second Republic, the first modern Shirazamite state, and served at its Prime Minister from 1888 to 1912. Beforehand, he was Second-in-Command of the Front for an Ayar State which he co-founded with Batraz Khan Shazadeh in the aftermath of the failed First Republic of Shirazam in 1871. A key figure of the movement, he is credited as the true political philosopher of the FAS while also handling its day-to-day operations even while imprisoned by the Zilungeses, from 1880 to 1888. As Prime Minister, his political saviness and diplomatic skills allowed him to keep the many post-insurgency factions working together, notably Batraz and Roxolan. As a result, his death of natural cause in 1912 would trigger a political crisis which led to the fall of the Second Republic and the creation of the Third.
Early Life
Zavir Khakestari was born in a family of Melekists Magi of Shirkal the 11th of August 1830. His father, Alimbeg Khakestari was already a Magus and, as the man in charge of the Sanctuary to Targitaos, participated in the Reformation of the Melekist faith and its clergy fit the Imperial Cult imposed by the Empire. His mother, Elenashar Khakestari, was the daughter of Mobad Xvarashir the religious leader (Mobad) of Shirkal and its countryside and thus his father' direct superior. Elenashar would serve as Headmaster of the District School, teaching children aged 6 to 11 the basics of literature and mathematics.
Zavir' father and grandfather thus played a major role in the adoption of Zilungese customs by Melekists but, more importantly, in the centralisation of the Melekist Clergy. Their loyalty was proven in their refusal to join Gush Garvan, leader of the rival Ravshanist faith, in his Uprising and in their active participation in the peace negotiation with the nomads who continued to refuse Zilung Chen authority. Xvarashir had always been a Reformist and his collaboration with the country's occupiers was a way for him to accelerate the adoption of many reforms he judged vital for the survival of the Faith, notably the centralisation of its power, the homogeneisation of its doctrine, and the rationalisation of its hierarchy. He was well rewarded by the authorities who appointed him as the second "Mobadan Mobad" or "Chief Cleric" of the faith with nominal control over every other Magi in the Empire.
Alimbeg and Elenashar took great care of their children education. Zavir quickly learned how to read and, even as a child, would be familiar with the Melekists Classics such as the Yasna, the Dadestani Denig and the various Shahnameh.