Safavid Astarabad
Safavid Astarabad Ostān-e Astarābād | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1510–1736 | |||||||
| Status | Province of Safavid Iran | ||||||
| Capital | Astarabad | ||||||
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The province of Astarabad (also called Gorgan and Jorjan; Persian: استان استرآباد, romanized: Ostān-e Astarābād) was a northeastern province of Safavid Iran, located on the southeastern side of the Caspian Sea. It bordered the Atrek River in the north, the Alborz in the south, the Mazandaran province to the west, and Jajarm to the east. The province was under Safavid control from 1510.[1]
By the end of the Safavid era, Astarabad was composed of the following administrative jurisdictions: Gira'i, Goklan, Hajjilar, Jalayer, K.ra-chupi, and Yamut. Each district name was derived from the Turkoman tribe that been enstrusted with it. Some of the Turkoman tribes (such as the Qepchaq) lived to the north of Astarabad, but were still nominal subjects of the Safavids.[1]
In the 1550s and 1560s, theologians and seyyeds from Astarabad and the Mazandaran province established a dominant presence in the Safavid government. These officials managed shrines and held the office of the sadr while also advancing Safavid theological goals. They wrote many works on Islamic law, hagiography and the interpretation of holy texts.[2] Distinguished Astarabadi seyyeds during this period included Mir Mu'min Astarabadi (tutor to Haydar Mirza), Molana Mo'en Astarabadi (vizier of Ibrahim Mirza) and Mir Mohammad Ashraf (plenipotentiary of Shah Tahmasp I during his visits to the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad).[3]
From 1589 to 1598, the Sa'en-khanis of the Yakka Turkoman tribe assumed control over the province as caretaker governors, due to its lack of efficient Safavid rule.[4] Their hold over the province was ended when Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) marched to Astarabad and pacified the tribes. In order to develop the province and levy taxes, the Safavids continued to attract Turkoman tribes to the province. The authority of the Safavid governor of Astarabad sometimes extended over the province, such as in Damghan and Bastam.[5]
List of governors
This is a list of the known figures who governed the Astarabad province.[6]
| Date | Name |
|---|---|
| ?-1514 | Khalaf Beg Talesh |
| 1514-? | Pir Gheyb Talesh |
| ?-1522 | Zeyn al-Din Soltan Shamlu |
| 1522–1528 | Zeynal Khan Shamlu |
| 1527 | Shahverdi Beg Ziyad-oghlu Qajar |
| 1528 | Occupation by the Khanate of Bukhara |
| 1531 | Badr Khan Ustajlu |
| ?-1532 | Mohammad Khan Dhu'l-Qadr ibn Kur Shahrokh ibn Ala al-Dowleh |
| 1532 | Badr Khan Ustajlu |
| 1532–1537 | Sadr al-Din Khan Ustajlu |
| 1537 | Occupation by the Khanate of Bukhara |
| 1537–1543 | Sadr al-Din Khan Ustajlu ibn Saru Pireh |
| 1548–1550 | Shah Ali Soltan Ustajlu |
| 1550 | Shahqoli Soltan Ustajlu |
| 1550-? | Shahverdi Beg [Soltan] Kachal Chavoshlu Ustajlu |
| 1550–1555-? | Soltan Amir Gheyb Beg Ustajlu |
| 1558-? | Ebrahim Khan Dhu'l-Qadr |
| 1563-? | Khalil Soltan ibn Shahverdi Soltan Ziyad-oghlu Qajar |
| 1565? | Panah Mohammad Khan Dhu'l-Qadr |
| 1569-? | Sayyed Beg ibn Sayyed Masum Beg |
| before 1574 | Soleyman Khalifeh-ye Shamlu |
| before 1574 | Mohammad Khan Asayesh-oghli |
| before 1574 | Mohammad Khalifeh Dhu'l-Qadr |
| ?-1574 | Sayyed Beg ibn Masum Beg Safavi Sheykhavand |
| 1574–1576 | Shahqoli Soltan Tati-oghlu Dhu'l-Qadr |
| 1576-? | Mohammad Soltan Dhu'l-Qadr |
| 1577-? | Mirza Ali Soltan Qajar |
| 1581–1588 | Mortazaqoli Khan Pornak Torkman |
| 1589 | Badr Khan Afshar |
| 1589–1598 | (Absence of Safavid control) |
| 1589–1597 | Elyar Khan Imur |
| 1587–1588 | Mohammad Yar Khan Imur |
| 1588 | Qalij Beg Imur |
| 1589 | Farhad Khan Qaramanlu |
| ?-1604 | Hoseyn Khan Ziyad-oghlu Qajar |
| 1604 | Yusof Khan |
| 1605–1620 | Fereydun Khan Cherkes |
| 1620–1629 | Behbud Khan Cherkes |
| 1629–1639 | Khosrow Khan Cherkes |
| 1639–1640 | Qazaq Khan Cherkes |
| 1640–1642 | Hoseyn Khan ibn Zaman Beg Mazandarani |
| 1642–1648 | Mehrab Khan |
| 1650 | Allahverdi Beg |
| 1650–1654 | Mohammadqoli Khan ibn Siyavosh Khan |
| 1654–1656 | Hajji Manuchehr Khan |
| 1656–1664-? | Jamshid Khan |
| 1666 | Jafarqoli Khan |
| 1672 | Mohammad Khan |
| ?-1692 | Pesand Khan |
| 1694–1695 | Oghurlu Beg |
| 1695–1697 | Ali Khan |
| 1705 | Mirza Ahmad |
| ?-1708 | Kalb Ali Beg |
| 1708–1709-? | Aslan Khan Daghestani |
| 1711-1717 | Rostam Mohammad Khan Sa'dlu |
| ?-1717-? | Fath-Ali Khan Qajar |
References
- 1 2 Floor 2008, p. 150.
- ↑ Mitchell 2009, p. 107.
- ↑ Mitchell 2009, p. 109.
- ↑ Floor 2008, pp. 150–151.
- ↑ Floor 2008, p. 151.
- ↑ Floor 2008, pp. 151–153.
Sources
- Floor, Willem (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Mage Publishers. ISBN 978-1933823232.
- Mitchell, Colin P. (2009). The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran: Power, Religion and Rhetoric. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0857715883.
Further reading
- Bosworth, C. E. (1987). "Astarābād, i. History". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. II/8: Aśoka IV–Āṯār al-Wozarāʾ. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 838–840. ISBN 978-0-71009-108-6.
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