Kaykhosrow Khan Cherkes was an Iranian gholam of Circassian origin,who served as beglerbeg (governor) of the Erivan Province (also known as Chokhur-e Sa'd) from 1648 to 1653 during the reign of Shah Abbas II (r. 1642-1666). [1]
Abbas I,commonly known as Abbas the Great,was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda,he is generally considered one of the most important rulers in Iranian history and the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty.
Kakheti is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small,mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts:Telavi,Gurjaani,Qvareli,Sagarejo,Dedoplistsqaro,Signagi,Lagodekhi and Akhmeta.
Kaykhusraw,Kaykhosrow,Kay Khosrow,Kaikhosro,Kaikhosrow,Kai Khusraw,Kay Khusrau,or Kay Khusraw may refer to one of the following persons,named after the legendary Persian warrior Kai Khosrow:
From 1502 to 1828,during the early modern and late modern era,Eastern Armenia was part of the Iranian empire. Armenians have a history of being divided since the time of the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire,in the early 5th century. While the two sides of Armenia were sometimes reunited,this became a permanent aspect of the Armenian people.
Farhad Beg Cherkes was a Circassian favourite at the Safavid court of king (shah) Abbas I. Having risen through the gholam ranks,he enjoyed a high position in the royal court,until he was executed following a court intrigue in 1614.
The Circassians in Iran are an ethnic minority in Iran. Circassians in Iran differ somewhat from other Circassian diasporas,in that most in the former stem from the Safavid and Qajar era,although a number migrated as muhajirs in the late 19th century as well. The Circassians in Iran were very influential during periods in the last few centuries. The vast majority of them have assimilated to speak the Persian language,and no significant number speak their native Circassian languages anymore. Once a very large minority in Iran,nowadays due to being heavily assimilated over the course of time and the lack of censuses based on ethnicity,population estimates vary significantly. They are,however,after the Georgians,known to be the largest Caucasus-derived group in the nation.
Otar Beg,also known as Otar Khan,later known as Zu al-Faqār Khan,was a Safavid military commander,royal gholam,and official from the Georgian Baratashvili-Orbelishvili (Orbeliani) clan.
Yusuf Āghā was a Safavid gholam and courtier of Circassian origin,who wielded great influence and power during the reign of king Abbas I.
Bijan Beg,also known as Bijan Beg Gorji,was a Safavid courtier,official,and royal gholam from the Georgian Saakadze clan. He was one of the most influential and closest servants of king Abbas I in the latter's early reign.
Qazaq Khan Cherkes was a military commander in Safavid Iran of Circassian origin,who also served as the governor (beglarbeg) of Shirvan (1624–1633) and Astarabad (1639–1640). A high-ranking member of the gholam military corps,he was furthermore appointed head of the Qaramanlu and Keneslu Qizilbash troops by then incumbent king Abbas I as part of the latter's policy to diminish the political influence of the Qizilbash. In 1632,during king Safi's bloody purges,his relative,the prominent Circassian courtier Yusuf Agha was murdered,while Qazaq Khan Cherkes was deposed and imprisoned in 1633. He nevertheless later returned on the political scene in the last years of Safi's reign,when he was given a new governorship in 1639. His son Najafqoli Khan Cherkes would hold several influential positions as well.
Najafqoli Khan or Najafqoli Khan b. Qazaq Khan Cherkes was an Iranian gholam of Circassian origin,who served as beglerbeg (governor) of Shirvan and of the Erivan Province. He was the son of the Safavid-Circassian military commander and governor Qazaq Khan Cherkes. In total,he held the governorship of Shirvan for 7 years.
Fereydun Khan Cherkes was a Safavid official and military commander of Circassian origin,who served as the governor (beglarbeg) of Astarabad in 1605/06–1620,during the reign of king Abbas I.
Vakhushti Khan was a Safavid official and royal gholam from the Georgian Orbeliani clan,who served as the governor (hakem) of Shushtar from September 1632 up to his death in 1667 or 1669. His descendants continued to flourish in Shushtar well into Nader Shah's era.
Sultan-Agha Khanum also in Western sources Corasi was a Safavid queen consort of Kumyk origin,as the second wife of Safavid king Tahmasp I.
Mohammad-Qoli Khan or Mohammad-Qoli Khan b. Laleh Beg,was a Safavid official who served as the governor (beglarbeg) of the Erivan Province in 1654–1656,succeeding the Circassian Kaykhosrow Khan Cherkes to this post. According to the modern historian Rudi Matthee,during the "scheming" of incumbent grand vizier Mohammad Beg (1654–1666),by which the latter managed to get rid of his adversaries,Mohammad-Qoli Khan was probably also one of those officials who lost their job.
The province of Georgia was a velayat (province) of Safavid Iran located in the area of present-day Georgia. The territory of the province was principally made up of the two subordinate eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti and,briefly,parts of the Principality of Samtskhe. The city of Tiflis was its administrative center,the base of Safavid power in the province,and the seat of the rulers of Kartli. It also housed an important Safavid mint.
Behbud Khan Cherkes,also known as Behbud Mirza Beg,was an Iranian gholam of Circassian origin,who served during the reign of Shah Abbas the Great. He held the governorship of Goklan in 1606,Gaskar in 1620,and Astarabad in 1620–1629.
Gorjasbi Beg,better known as Mansur Khan,was a Safavid military commander,royal gholam,and official from the Georgian Orbeliani clan. He served as the commander of the empire's élite gholam corps (qollar-aghasi) sometime before 1693,and as the governor (beglarbeg) of Qandahar in 1663.
Kaykhosrow Khan was a Safavid military commander and gholam of Georgian descent. He served as the commander of the musketeer corps (tofangchi-aghasi) from 1670 to 1674,during the reign of king Suleiman I.