Legitimacy, or the possession of the right to rule, was the most crucial tool that kings—despite having coercive force and military power—needed in order to gain popular acceptance and obedience, confront rival claimants to power, and ensure the continuity of their rule. Lineage-building and connecting one's genealogy to powerful and popular past dynasties was one of the methods used to acquire and strengthen political legitimacy, and many ruling dynasties resorted to it. The Qajars, following this important principle, from years before the formal establishment of their rule, sought to gain legitimacy and acceptance by fabricating their lineage and linking it to previous dynasties. It is worth noting that, within the framework of the concept of political legitimacy, this study examines lineage-building not merely as a claim about the Qajars' ethnic and genealogical origins, but as a tool for producing and reinforcing the legitimacy of their rule. Furthermore, employing a method of historical analysis and data collection based on library research, this study seeks to answer the question: what place did lineage-building hold in the legitimization of the Qajar state, and what were the most important efforts made by the Qajars in this regard? The findings indicate that the Qajars, through the works of their contemporary scribes and historians, distorted and falsified historiography in an attempt to connect their lineage to the Mongols, the Jalayirids, the Timurids, the Aq Qoyunlu, the Safavids, and even the Parthians. Additionally, by choosing Turko-Mongol names for their children and using titles that evoked association with the Timurid and Safavid states, they exploited these genealogical and historical connections to present their rule as justified and legitimate in the eyes of both the elites and the common subjects.

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