The province of Lorestan () was a western province of

Safavid Iran Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

, corresponding to the present-day provinces of Ilam and Lorestan. It was one of the five ''

velayat A velayat (also spelled vilayat; fa, ولایت) was a type of administrative division within Safavid Iran, which functioned as a semi-autonomous province. The velayats were situated in the frontier of the country, mainly in its mountainous are ...

s'' (semi-autonomous provinces) of the country, and was thus ruled by a ''vali'' ("viceroy", "governor").

History

Lorestan was one of the five

s of the Safavid realm, being ruled by a ''vali'' (viceroy), who was nearly an independent governor. The ''valis'' generally belonged to prominent local families, and were officially chosen by the

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

as a compromise of regional autonomy. Nevertheless, they ruled in a

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

manner. The province was composed of three lower-ranking governorships, Khaveh, Sadmareh and

Khorramabad Khorramabad ( fa, خرم‌آباد, Khorramâbâd ), alternatively romanized as Khorramābād, Khoramabad, Khurramabad, Khorram Abad, or Khur Ramābād, is a city and the capital of Lorestan Province, Iran. At the time of the 2016 census, its po ...

, the latter which was also controlled by the ''vali'' of Lorestan. Since the closing of the 12th-century, Little Lorestan had been ruled by the

Khorshidi dynasty The Khorshidi dynasty, Abbasi dynasty or Shahs of Little Lorestan (1184–1597) was a Lur dynasty that ruled Little Lorestan in the later Middle Ages from their capital Khorramabad. They were neighbours of the Hazaraspids who ruled over Greater ...

. The area, also known as Lorestan from the 16th-century and onwards, roughly corresponded to the present-day Ilam and Lorestan provinces. In 1508, Lorestan acknowledged the suzerainty of the Safavid

(king)

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

(). After the latter's return from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, he confirmed the Khorshidi ruler Shah Rostam Abbasi as the governor of Lorestan, which included the districts of Sadmareh, Harunabad and Silakhur. During the 1540s, the Safavids established more direct control in Lorestan, such as in Khorramabad. Because the governor of Lorestan resided in the latter city, he was also known as the "governor of Khorramabad and Lorestan". From 1578 till 1587, the governors of Lorestan were in league with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Following the suppression of Shahverdi Abbasi's rebellion and his subsequent execution,

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...

() had all male members of the Khorshidi family either blinded or jailed, thus marking their end. Shahverdi Abbasi's maternal cousin Hoseyn Khan ibn Mansur Beg Solvizi was appointed the governor of Lorestan, while Tahmaspqoli Khan Inanlu was appointed the governor of some of its parts close to

, such as Sadmareh and Hendamin. From 1603 and onwards, the Solvizi family became the hereditary governors of Lorestan. In the 1670s, however, Shah Soleyman () gave the governorship of Lorestan to a non-Lori, who was later forced out by the locals.

List of governors

This is a list of the known figures who governed Lorestan or parts of it. ''Hakem'' and ''beglerbeg'' were both administrative titles designating the governor.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Safavid Provinces Lorestan 16th century in Iran 17th century in Iran 18th century in Iran Lorestan History of Lorestan Province