Mirza Mohammad Mahdi Karaki () was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

cleric and statesman, who served as the

grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

of 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 ...

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 II (r. 1642-1666), and the latter's son and successor Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694). He was the son of Mirza Habibollah Karaki, who served as the ''sadr-i mamalik'' (minister of religion) from 1632/3 till his death 1650. In 1661, Abbas appointed Mirza Mohammad Karaki as his fourth and last grand vizier. Karaki had previously performed satisfactorily as the ''sadr-i mamalik'' (minister of religion) and was a member of the prestigious Karaki family that traced its line back to Shaykh Ali al-Karaki, the deputy of the

Hidden Imam Occultation (, ') in Shia Islam refers to the eschatological belief that the Mahdi, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has already been born and he was subsequently concealed, but he will reemerge and he will establish justice and pe ...

for Tahmasp I. He was described as a man of inaction, sluggish and impractical, and a puppet of a faction in court. His tenure saw the promotion of trade via the overland route to the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. He made an effort to investigate the ongoing problem that Mohammad Beg had left behind. However, he was caught up in a domestic crisis. In 1663, he had the ''qurchi-bashi'' Murtaza Quli Khan Qajar decapitated and tempted the shah to also execute his successor. Overall, Karaki had a lesser influence over the shah than his predecessor. During his tenure, Abbas spent more time in the inner palace and kept the grand vizier ignorant of his private affairs. Karaki did not even know that the shah had a son named Sam Mirza.

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* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mirza Mohammad Karaki Grand viziers of the Safavid Empire Politicians from Isfahan Year of birth unknown 1669 deaths 17th-century people from Safavid Iran