Hasan Beg Rumlu (,‎ 1530 or 1531 – ) was a 16th-century

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 ...

historian and military officer. A cavalryman of the '' qurchi'' corps, he is principally known for his

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

of Safavid history; the '' Aḥsān al-tavārikh''.

Biography

Most information about Hasan Beg's life stems from his own work, the '' Aḥsān al-tavārikh'', which he completed in 1578. He was born in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

, a member of the Turkoman Rumlu tribe, and the grandson of Amir Soltan Rumlu, a prominent

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash (Latin script: ) ; ; (modern Iranian reading: ); were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman "The Qizilbash, composed mainly of Turkman tribesmen, were the military force introduced by the conquering Safavis to the Irani ...

lord who served during the reign 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 ...

'')

Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

(). Hasan Beg's Qizilbash background makes him "somewhat unique in the annals of Safavid historiography". After his grandfather's death in 1539 or 1540, Hasan Beg found himself unable to gain command over his grandfather's army, because, according to his own explanation, "he was busy with his unpleasant duties as a '' qurchi''". Though a military officer, Hasan Beg "received the sort of training that was typical of a Persian administrator and bureaucrat". For example, among other subjects he studied works on

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

as well as the art of

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. In 1541–1542, Hasan Beg accompanied King

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...

(1524–1576) on an expedition to

Dezful Dezful (; pronounced ) is a city in the Central District of Dezful County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Dezful is one of the oldest cities in the Khuzestan province. According to ...

, and from then he "was with the royal camp in all its journeys, and saw most events with his own eyes, thus becoming an eyewitness to most of the subsequent military events that he described". In 1546–1547, some five years after the Dezful campaign, Hasan Beg fought in Tahmasp I's Georgian campaigns. The last military episode in which Hasan Beg reports his own involvement was Tahmasp I's battle against the

Ardalan Ardalan also known as Ardalanids, house of Ardalan, Ardalind dynasty, () was a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary Kurds, Kurdish Emirate in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The Ardalan state wa ...

Kurds in 1550. Though Hasan Beg does not mention his involvement in succession matters after the death of Tahmasp I, contemporary author Abd-ol-Hossein Nava'i suggests that Hasan Beg sided with the other Rumlu's, who sought to install Prince Ismail Mirza (later known regnally as

Ismail II Ismail II (; born Ismail Mirza; 31 May 1537 – 24 November 1577) was the third shah of Safavid Iran from 1576 to 1577. He was the second son of Tahmasp I with his principal consort, Sultanum Begum. On the orders of Tahmasp, Ismail spent twenty ...

; 1576–1577) on the throne and who were adversaries of the pro- Haydar Mirza camp. Nava'i suggests that Hasan Beg may have been part of the Rumlu ''qurchis'' who took part in the murder of Haydar Mirza. When Ismail II died in 1577, Hasan Beg became part of the royal retinue of his successor,

Mohammad Khodabanda Mohammad Khodabanda (also spelled Khodabandeh; , born 1532; died 1595 or 1596) was the fourth Safavid dynasty, Safavid shah of Safavid Iran, Iran from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587 by his son Abbas I of Persia, Abbas I. Khodabanda had succeed ...

(1578–1587). Hasan Beg's "most enduring legacy is historiographical". Later Safavid historians (e.g. Iskander Beg Munshi) used material from Hasan Beg's ''Aḥsān al-tavārikh'' in the sections of their works related to the rule of king Tahmasp I. Hasan Beg's work was used by

Fazli Isfahani Khuzani Fazli Isfahani Khuzani () was an Iranian nobleman from the Khuzani family, who is known for writing the '' Afzal al-Tawarikh'', a chronicle about the history of the Safavid dynasty from its establishment in 1501 by Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) to the ...

for his ''Afżal al-tavārikh'' and also survives in "a very late cluster of mostly anonymous semi-fictional accounts of early Safavid history such as the '' ʿĀlamārā-ye Shah Esmāʿil''". Later historians also quoted material from Hasan Beg's work, even though they did not mention Hasan Beg by name.

Notes

References

Sources

* *

Biography

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading