A velayat (also spelled vilayat; ) was a type of administrative division within

Safavid Iran 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 ...

, which functioned as a semi-autonomous province. The velayats were situated in the frontier of the country, mainly in its mountainous areas. In order of ranking, the five velayats were: Arabestan,

Lorestan Lorestan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In 2014 it was placed in Region ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, and Bakhtiyari lands. A velayat was governed by a ''vali'' ("viceroy", "governor"), who was nearly an independent governor. The ''valis'' generally belonged to prominent local families, and were officially chosen by 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 ...

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. In rare occasions a ''vali'' was appointed to a velayat he had no connection to. This could possibly cause issues, such as in the 1680s Kurdistan, where a non-Kurdish ''vali'' chosen by Shah Soleyman () was chased out by the locals. In order to keep the chieftains under good behaviour, one of their family members (often a son) was kept as a hostage in

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 ...

. The ''valis'' officially showed their fealty to the shah and minted coins in his name. The ''valis'' enjoyed rights that an ordinary governor did not have, which included: absolute supervision over the administration of their region, having their own budgets and militia, and handling their own vassal relations. The shah seldom involved himself in these matters. The tributes that the ''valis'' had to pay to the shah varied based on the situation. The demands were typically small, such as in the late Safavid era, where Lorestan provided twenty

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...

s, 200 mules and a number of valuables. During wartime, however, Lorestan was expected to provide up to 12,000 cavalrymen and the equal number of foot-soldiers.

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