Otar Beg, also known as Otar Khan, later known as Zu al-Faqār Khan (born circa. 1583, – died 1662/63), was a

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 ...

military commander, royal '' gholam'', and official from the Georgian Baratashvili- Orbelishvili (Orbeliani) clan.

Biography

Not much is known about the early life of Otar Beg. His original family name was Baratashvili-Orbelishvili, which is also referred to as Orbeliani and Qaplanishvili. His father's name was Aslamaz and he had two younger brothers,

Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი; 1696 – 1757) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, '' Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the ''Ge ...

and Gorjasbi (Mansur), who also held prominent positions like him. According to Alexander Orbeliani (1802–1869), Otar had one more brother named Kaykhosrow. He furthermore had a known younger cousin named Qaplan Baratashili-Orbelishvili (Orbeliani) (?–1671), who had fled to mainland Iran in the early 17th century after the death of his father Elizbar Baratashvili-Orbelishvili, the latter being therefore Otar's uncle. Otar was mentioned for the first time in the Iranian sources in 1626, when he held the function of ''darugha'' (prefect) of

New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...

, having succeeded Mirman Mirimanidze (Safiqoli Khan) on this post. When king Abbas I died in 1629, he had already been appointed as governor of Semnan and possessed the rank of ''

soltan The Soltan Mosque (Cyrillic: Солтан мәчете; formerly ''Cihanşa bay Mosque'', ''The Red Mosque'', ''Ğosman Mosque'', ''The Eighth Mosque'', also spelled ''Sultan'' or ''Sultanovskaya'' via Russian Султановская мечет ...

''. Later, in 1649, during the reign of king Abbas II (r. 1562–1666), he was given the governorship of

Qandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

in the easternmost territories, as well as the honorary name of ''Zu al-Faqār Khan''. When Qandahar was surrounded by the Mughal forces in 1653, the city nearly fell due to the protracted siege, and Otar was blamed for his soft attitude. According to the contemporary Safavid historian and author Valiqoli Shamlu, who served Otar personally in Qandahar, Otar answered that he would fight alone till the end and, after his death, behave as generals liked to do. He is quoted: "I have served the Safavid kings for seventy years. My bones are made from Shah's (kings) different kinds of graces".

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otar Beg 1580s births 1660s deaths Shia Muslims from Georgia (country) Iranian people of Georgian descent Safavid prefects of New Julfa Safavid governors of Semnan Safavid governors of Qandahar Nobility of Georgia (country) Safavid generals 17th-century people from Safavid Iran Safavid ghilman