Ustajlu

Mohammad Khan Ustajlu at the Battle of Chaldiran in an Ottoman miniature from Hoja Sa'd al-Din's Taj al-Tewarih.

The Ustajlu were a powerful Turkmen tribe, with a main presence in Azarbaijan (in the northwest of Persia) and in Khorasan (north central Persia). They were particularly active during the early Safavid period in the 16th century. ^[1] The Ustajlu were particularly powerful during the reign of Shah Ismail (1504-1524), as they held some of the most important positions in the Safavid state, including the position of qurchibashi (Commander of the Shah's guard regiment). ^[2] Other powerful tribes (oymaqs) were the Shamlu and the Tekkelu. ^[2]

Some notable people with the surname include:

• Abdollah Khan Ustajlu (died 1566/67), Iranian dignitary of Turkoman origin
• Badr Khan Ustajlu, Turkoman military officer
• Evaz Beg Ustajlu, Turkoman military officer
• Mohammad Khan Ustajlu (died 1514), Iranian military commander
• Mohammad Khan Tokhmaq Ustajlu, 16th-century Iranian official
• Salman Khan Ustajlu, Turkoman military leader

References

1. Farrokh, Kaveh (20 December 2011). Iran at War: 1500-1988. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-78096-221-4.
2. Forbes Mans, Beatrice. Nomads in the Middle East. Cambridge University Press. p. 175. ISBN   978-0-521-81629-8.