Ganj Ali Khan ( fa, گنج علی خان or گنجعلیخان) was a military officer in Safavid Iran of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

origin, who served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service to king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

) 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.

Biography

Ganj Ali Khan originally belonged to a Kurdish tribe roaming in western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, but was as a minor taken to

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

in Khorasan, where he grew up with prince Abbas I. They both became close friends, and continued to do so when Abbas I ascended the Safavid throne in 1587. In 1596, Abbas I, after having suppressed a rebellion in Kerman and put an end to

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...

governorship of the place, appointed Ganj Ali Khan as its governor. Furthermore, he was also appointed governor of

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

, and shortly afterwards seized Qal'e-ye Fath and Qal'e-ye Taraqun from the

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

. In 1602/3, he took part in the Safavid campaign to capture the Uzbek-controlled city of Bukhara. Furthermore, he also took part in the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–18. In the mid 1600s, the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

community of Kerman protested against the hostile treatment by the local Islamic clergy, and also accused Ganj Ali Khan of seizing and destroying their homes to make space for his construction projects. This made Abbas travel to Kerman to investigate the matter in 1606, where he found that Ganj Ali Khan was not the real perpetrator. Abbas then returned to his capital, Isfahan, where he issued an edict that ordered protection for the Zoroastrians. In 1611, a rebellion in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

occurred, which Ganj Ali Khan suppressed by capturing their stronghold. Five years later, Ganj Ali Khan was once again present in the Ottoman-Safavid War, and participated in the successful invasion of Georgia. In 1622, Ganj Ali Khan was appointed as the governor of the newly captured city of

Qandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

. He later died in 1624/5, while the governorship of Qandahar went to his son

Ali Mardan Khan Ali Mardan Khan ( fa, ; died April 1657) was a Kurdish military leader and administrator, serving under the Safavid kings Shah Abbas I and Shah Safi, and later the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan. He was the son of Ganj Ali Khan. After surrendering ...

and the governorship of Kerman to a certain Tahmasp Qoli Khan.

Building activities

Ganj Ali Khan is mostly remembered for his building activities, such as the Zayn al-Din caravansary in

Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Wor ...

, and the cistern in the Loot desert between Khorasan and Kerman. His most prominent construction, is, however, the Ganjali Khan Complex in Kerman.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganj Ali Khan Safavid generals 1620s deaths People from Herat 16th-century births Iranian Kurdish people Safavid governors of Kerman People from Sistan Safavid governors Safavid governors of Qandahar 17th-century Iranian military personnel 16th-century Iranian military personnel 16th-century people of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran