Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah, was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as Shah. Originally chieftain of the Quwanlu branch of the Qajar tribe, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned as the king of Iran in 1789, but was not officially crowned until March 1796, having deposed Lotf Ali Khan of the Zand dynasty in 1794. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was famously the eunuch Monarch, being castrated as a young adult upon his capture by Adel Shah Afshar, and hence was childless. He was assassinated on 17 June 1797, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.
Mohammad Karim Khan Zand was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Caucasian lands and occupied Basra for some years.
Soltan Hoseyn was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Suleiman.
Suleiman I was the eighth and the penultimate Shah of Safavid Iran from 1666 to 1694. He was the eldest son of Abbas II and his concubine, Nakihat Khanum. Born as Sam Mirza, Suleiman spent his childhood in the harem among women and eunuchs and his existence was hidden from the public. In 1666, after the death of his father, the nineteen-year-old Sam Mirza was crowned king under the regnal name, Safi II, after his grandfather, Safi I. He had a troublesome reign as Safi II, which convinced his court astrologers that he should undergo a coronation once again. Thus, in 20 March 1668, simultaneously with Nowruz, he was crowned king with a new name, Suleiman I.
Abbas II was the seventh Shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666. As the eldest son of Safi and his Circassian wife, Anna Khanum, he inherited the throne when he was nine, and had to rely on a regency led by Saru Taqi, the erstwhile grand vizier of his father, to govern in his place. During the regency, Abbas received formal kingly education that until then, he had been denied. In 1645, at age fifteen, he was able to remove Saru Taqi from power, and after purging the bureaucracy ranks, asserted his authority over his court and began his absolute rule.
Iranian Armenia (1502–1828) refers to the period of Eastern Armenia during the early-modern and late-modern era when it 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.
Mirza Mohammad Taqi, better known as Saru Taqi was an eunuch in Safavid Iran, who served as the Grand Vizier of the Safavid king (shah) Safi and the latter's son Abbas II until he was assassinated on 11 October 1645.
Durmish (Dormish) Khan Shamlu was a Qizilbash officer of Turkoman origin, who occupied high offices under the Safavid king (shah) Ismail I and the latter's son Tahmasp I. Durmish Khan later died in 1525.
Mohammad Beg, was a Muslim of Armenian origin, who served as the Grand Vizier of the Safavid king (shah) Abbas II from 1654 to 1661.
Ganj Ali Khan was a military officer in Safavid Iran of Kurdish origin, who served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service to king (shah) Abbas I. Ganj Ali Khan continuously aided the shah on almost all of his military campaigns until his own death in 1624/5. He was also a great builder, the Ganjali Khan Complex being one of his finest achievements.
Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, was a Lezgian nobleman, who served as the Grand Vizier of the Safavid shah (king) Sultan Husayn from 1716 to 1720.
Shahqoli Khan Zanganeh, was a Kurdish nobleman, who served as the vizier of the Safavid king (shah) Sultan Husayn from 1707 to 1716.
The sack of Shamakhi took place on 18 August 1721, when rebellious Sunni Lezgins, within the declining Safavid Empire, attacked the capital of Shirvan province, Shamakhi. The initially successful counter-campaign was abandoned by the central government at a critical moment and with the threat then left unchecked, Shamakhi was taken by 15,000 Lezgin tribesmen, its Shia population massacred, and the city ransacked.
Mohammad-Ali Khan was a Safavid official and military commander of Lezgian origin. He served as a commander-in-chief of the army (sepahsalar) and as a governor (hakem) of the Erivan Province, during the reign of king Sultan Husayn (1694-1722).
Aslan Khan Daghestani was an early 18th-century Safavid official. Of Lezgian origin, he served as a governor of Kuhgiluyeh and of Astarabad (hakem) during the reign of king Sultan Husayn (1694–1722). He entered office in Astarabad in 1708/09, and already early on in his tenure, the province was threatened by Turkmen incursions aided by rebels from the town of Sayfja. Dismayed by the news, the Safavid government then sent Aslan Khan with 2,000 troops to deal with the enemy.
Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari was the Bakhtiari supreme chieftain (ilkhani) of the Chahar Lang branch, and major contender for supremacy in western Iran after the death of Nader Shah in 1747.
Mirza Salman Jaberi Isfahani was a prominent Persian statesman in Safavid Iran, who served as the grand vizier of Ismail II and Mohammad Khodabanda.
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.
The province of Daghestan was a province of Safavid Iran, centred on the territory of the present-day Republic of Dagestan. Numerous high-ranking Safavid figures originally hailed from the province, or had roots there.
The Russo-Iranian treaty of 1717 was concluded in late July 1717 between the Tsardom of Russia and Safavid Iran. The treaty was facilitated by Russian ambassador Artemy Volynsky and Safavid Grand Vizier Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani. Incumbent Tsar Peter I ratified the treaty in July 1719. His Iranian counterpart, King (Shah) Sultan Husayn, ratified it in 1720. It was the first formal bilateral agreement between Iran and Russia.