Fath-Ali Khan Afshar was in power from 1747 to 1748, and again from 1757 until 1762. Shortly after coming to power, he was expelled by Mehdi Khan Afshar, who was then appointed governor by
Ebrahim Shah. However, Mehdi Khan Afshar was then overthrown by Azad Khan Afghan, and Fath 'Ali Khan became his deputy. In the aftermath of Nader Shah's death, the khans of Urmia were able to expand to control practically all the lands of
Azerbaijan. After the fall of Azad Khan Afghan, the people of
Tabriz invited Fath 'Ali Khan to become the new ruler. In 1759, Fath 'Ali Khan marched onto
Karabakh Khanate, which resulted in 6 months long siege and ultimately,
Panah Ali Khan, khan of
Karabakh Khanate, accepting to be the dependency of Fath-Ali.
Panah Ali Khan's son
Ibrahim Khalil Khan was taken hostage after the siege. In 1761
Karim Khan Zand and
Panah Ali Khan's combined forces marched onto Urmia, which resulted in Fath-Ali retreating to the city of
Urmia. In May 1762,
Karim Khan Zand struck again by capturing the city of
Maragha and later sieging the city of
Urmia for 9 months, which resulted in it being captured. Fath-Ali was hanged in
Shiraz in 1763. After Fath-'Ali Khan's death, Rustam Khan Afshar succeeded him. In 1768, he was succeeded by Reza Qoli Khan Afshar. In 1772 he was succeeded by Imam Qoli Khan Afshar. After the death of Karim Khan Zand in 1779, Imam Qoli Khan Afshar expanded Urmia once again. It is said that he received taxes from
Savojbulagh,
Senneh,
Maragheh,
Tabriz, and
Khoy. However, eventually in 1783 the Zand leader
'Ali Morad Khan Zand sent an army to defeat Imam Qoli Khan Afshar. He succeeded in killing the khan and installing Amir Aslam Khan Afshar on the throne as a Zand puppet, but a few months later Mohammad Qoli Khan Afshar overthrew him with the support of the Afshar chieftains. Eventually in 1824 the governor of Urmia was extinguished as the Afshars lost control of the governorship, but the Afshars continued to play an important role in the politics of Urmia. == List of governors of Urmia from 1624/25 to 1879/80 ==