Shamkhal Sultan, also known as Shamkhal Sultan Cherkes, was an important Circassian noble of the second half of the 16th century in the

Safavid Empire 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 ...

Biography

Family

Shamkhal Sultan, alongside his sister

Sultan-Agha Khanum Sultan-Agha Khanum ( fa, سلطان آقا خانم, translit=Soltān-Āqā Xānum) also in Western sources Corasi was a Safavid queen consort of Kumyk origin, as the second wife of Safavid king Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576). Life Although she ...

, were from a prominent Circassian family from within the Safavid Empire. Sultan-Agha Khanum was married to king Tahmasp I, having one daughter known as

Pari Khan Khanum Pari Khan Khanum ( fa, پریخان خانم, also spelled Parikhan Khanum; 1548–12 February 1578, aged 29) was a Safavid princess, the daughter of the Safavid king (''shah'') Tahmasp I ( 1524 – 1576) and his Circassian consort, Sultan-Agha ...

, and a son known as Suleiman Mirza.

Career

Shamkhal Sultan appears prominently on the political scene during the same time as his niece,

, who was born by his sister Sultan-Agha Khanum and king Tahmasp I. He participated actively in Pari Khan Khanum's political designs and acted for a time as her spokesman, and during their presence, the Safavid political sphere was dominated by ethnic Circassians, amongst the other factions that joined Shamkhal Sultan and his cousin. He was executed shortly afterward his niece's own assassination in 1578. Savory, Roger (2007). Iran under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–288. .

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan, Shamkhal 1588 deaths Iranian people of Circassian descent Circassian nobility 16th-century people of Safavid Iran Safavid governors of Shaki