When Karim Khan gained the throne in the 18th century and founded Zand Dynasty, he brough relative peace and welfare to the war-stricken country. Refusing the title of a king and referring to himself as ‘the advocate of people’, he did his best for the prosperity of people and for the improvement of the country.  Inspired by the Safavid architecture he saw in Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Square, he employed the greatest architects and artists of the time to build a whole complex in his capital Shiraz.

Beside Vakil Mosque, Vakil Bathhouse, Vakil Bazaar, and structures that were destroyed by the following king, he ordered the quick construction of the Arg (1766). Meant to be his royal court, it combined the architectural elements of both a home and a military center. The strong building later served as the governors’ seat in Qajar era and a prison in Pahlavi era. Finally, it got renovated and started functioning as a protected sight in the 1970s.