Imam-Quli Khan (; died 1632) was an Iranian military and political leader of Georgian origin who served as a governor of Fars, Lar and

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

for the

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 ...

s Abbas I and Safi.

Biography

Imam-Quli Khan was the son of

Allahverdi Khan Allahverdi Khan (, ka, ალავერდი-ხანი; 1560 – June 3, 1613) was an Iranian general and statesman of Georgian origin who, initially a '' gholām'' ("military slave"), rose to high office in the Safavid state. Iskanda ...

( Undiladze), the celebrated Georgian general in the service of Iran's

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

. Imam-Quli Khan is first mentioned as governor of Lar in Fars in 1610. He succeeded his father as governor-general (

beglarbeg ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the Ilk ...

) of Fars in 1613, but retained his position at Lar and was granted the rank of an

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

of the

divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

Shah Abbas I Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers ...

. In 1619–20, Imam-Quli Khan oversaw Abbas's project to link the headwaters of the

Karun The Karun (, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and the country's only navigable river. It is long. The Karun rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as ...

and Zayandarud rivers in order to enhance the water supply of his capital,

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. Shah Abbas placed complete trust in Imam-Quli Khan who grew in influence and prestige and became one of the wealthiest

khans Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

of the Safavid empire. One day, Shah Abbas even jokingly said to Imam-Quli: "I request, Imam-Quli, that you will spend one dirham less per day, that there may exist some slight difference between the disbursements of a khan and a king!" Imam-Quli built a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

and many palaces in

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

and the still standing bridge Pol-e Khan over the

Kor Kor or KOR may refer to: Codes * kor, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 and IOC country code for South Korea * kor, ISO 639-2 code for the Korean language * kor, ISO 639-3 code for Modern Korean Places * Kor River, in Fars Province, Iran * Kor, East Azerbaijan ...

Marvdasht Marvdasht () is a city in the Central District (Marvdasht County), Central District of Marvdasht County, Fars province, Fars province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Some historians hold that Marv ...

.Roger M. Savory
Emāmqolī Khan
'' Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition''. Accessed on September 20, 2007. Being in charge of the Safavids' southern possessions, Imam-Quli Khan continued his father's policy of undermining the Portuguese positions in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. In 1621, he persuaded the English

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

to cooperate with the Persians by threatening to cancel the trading privileges that had been granted to the company by the shah in 1615. As a result, Imam-Quli Khan's army aided by the English navy captured the strategic Portuguese fort on the island of

Qeshm Qeshm (Persian language: قشم) is an arrow-shaped Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz of the Persian Gulf (), measuring roughly 1,500 square kilometres (576 square miles) in surface area. Separated from the Iranian mainland by the Claren ...

and laid a siege to Hormuz, which surrendered after a defence of ten weeks on 22 April 1622. The khan's military exploits are commemorated in the works by the poet Qadri from Fars. According to the Safavid historian Fazli Khuzani, Imam-Quli Khan had 22 daughters, of which some were married to Safavid Georgian ''

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 ...

s'' of noble origin in 1622. In 1626, when Imam-Quli's daughter and son-in-law Anduqapar Amilakhori were captured by rebellious Georgians, Abbas I sent a large army in order to rescue them.

Fall and death

After the death of Abbas, Imam-Quli Khan found himself in disagreement with new favorites of

Shah Safi Sam Mirza () (161112 May 1642), known by his dynastic name of Shah Safi (), was the sixth shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1629 to 1642. Abbas the Great was succeeded by his grandson, Safi. A reclusive and passive character, Safi was unable to ...

, Abbas's successor to the throne of Persia, and became marginalized. This circumstance lasted until he and his two sons, one of them being

Safiqoli Khan Mirman Mirimanidze, better known as Safiqoli Khan (died 1631), was a Safavid dynasty, Safavid official and ''Military_of_the_Safavid_dynasty#Gholam, gholam'' who served during the reigns of Abbas I of Persia, Abbas I (1588-1629) and Safi of Per ...

, were put to death at Safi's orders in late 1632, while his vast possessions were converted into the crown domain in 1633. This formed the prelude to the massacre of the rest of his family. Only his brother, Daud Khan, survived as he had fled to Georgia. Though the Undiladze Safavid Georgian line was nearly eliminated after the purge, the succession of the line amongst the court elites was assured by Ja'far Qoli, a grandson of Imam-Quli Khan by a daughter. A statue to Imam-Quli Khan was erected in Qeshm in the 1990s."Iran: Qeshm islanders await a second invasion". ''MEED'' 5 July 1996

References

Sources

* *Roger M. Savory, ''EMĀMQOLĪ KHAN'',

Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

, Online Edition
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Imam-Quli Khan 1632 deaths Safavid generals Iranian people of Georgian descent Executed Iranian people Shia Muslims from Georgia (country) Year of birth unknown Executed people from Georgia (country) People executed by Safavid Iran Safavid governors of Fars Undiladze family Safavid governors of Lar 17th-century people from Safavid Iran Safavid ghilman