Farhad Beg Cherkes (died 1614) was a Circassian favourite at the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

court of king (''

shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

'') Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). Having risen through the ''

gholam Ghulam (, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in Jannah. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser extent, Mughal e ...

'' ranks, he enjoyed a high position in the royal court, until he was executed following a court intrigue in 1614.

Biography

Farhad Beg started his career as a regular falconer (''qushchi'') at the Safavid court, until he was promoted to the office of “master of the hunt” (''mīr shekār-bāshi'') in 1614. Shortly after, he was suspected of forming a subversive relationship with the crown prince,

Mohammad Baqer Mirza Mohammad Baqer Mirza () better known in the West as Safi Mirza (; 15 September 1587, Mashhad – 2 February 1614, Rasht) was the oldest son of Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588-1629), and the crown prince of the Safavid dynasty during Abbas' reign ...

, whose mother was one of Abbas' Circassian wives. Based on this suspicion, in the same year, Abbas handed Farhad Beg to the prince, who, to show his fidelity to his father and the king of the empire, gave immediate orders for Farhad Beg Cherkes' execution and the confiscation of his property. At that time, the Royal camp was situated in Karabagh. Shortly after, fearing the crown prince's popularity, king Abbas ordered another Circassian, Behbud Beg, to murder the crown prince.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farhad Beg 16th-century Iranian politicians 16th-century people from Safavid Iran Iranian people of Circassian descent 1614 deaths Year of birth unknown Safavid ghilman Masters of the hunt from Safavid Iran 17th-century people from Safavid Iran Safavid slaves 17th-century Iranian politicians Falconers