List of Safavid commanders-in-chief

Commander-in-chief of
Safavid Iran
AppointerThe Shah
Formation1501
First holderHosein Beg Laleh Shamlu
Final holderHosaynqoli Khan
AbolishedJune 1722

This is the list of commanders-in-chief (sepahsalar-e Iran, amir ol-omara)[a] of Safavid Iran. The amount of power the holder of the post had, fluctuated quite significantly throughout the centuries.

List of commanders-in-chief

Name Entered office Left office Ethnicity Family/tribe Monarch
Hosein Beg Laleh Shamlu 1501 1502 Turkoman Shamlu tribe Ismail I
Mir Najm Zargar Gilani 1509 1509 Gilaki
Najm-e Sani 1509 1510 Persian Khuzani family
Sayyed Mir 'Abdol-Baqi Nematollahi 1513 1514 Unknown
Mohammad Beg Sofreji Ustajlu 1514 1515 Turkoman Ustajlu tribe
Bayazid Soltan Ustajlu 1523 1524 Turkoman Ustajlu tribe Ismail I, Tahmasp I
Div Soltan Rumlu 1523 1524 Turkoman Rumlu tribe
Div Soltan Rumlu + Mostafa Soltan Ustajlu 1524 1524 Turkoman Rumlu and Ustajlu tribes, respectively
Div Soltan Rumlu + Choqa Soltan Tekkelu 1526 1526 Turkoman Rumlu and Tekkelu tribes, respectively Tahmasp I
Choqa Soltan Tekkelu 1527 1527 Turkoman Tekkelu tribe
Hosein Beg Shamlu and Abdollah Khan Ustajlu 1531 1534 Turkoman Shamlu and Ustajlu tribes, respectively
Shahqoli Soltan Ustajlu 1567 1568 Turkoman Ustajlu tribe
Qarachaqay Khan 1616 1626 Armenian Abbas I
Zeinal Khan Shamlu 1629 1630 Turkoman Shamlu tribe Abbas I, Safi
Rostam Khan 1631 1643 Georgian Saakadze family Safi, Abbas II
Mortezaqoli Khan Qajar 1649 1649 Turkoman Qajar tribe Abbas II
Aliqoli Khan 1650 1654 Georgian Saakadze family
Hamzeh Khan ? till 1690 Unknown At least Suleiman I
Aliqoli Khan Zanganeh 1666 1691 Kurdish Zanganeh tribe Abbas II, Suleiman I
Rostam Khan 1692 1692 Georgian Saakadze family Suleiman I
Shahnavaz II, Gorgin Khan 1703 1703 Georgian Bagrationi dynasty Sultan Husayn
Kaykhosrow Khan 1709 1709 Georgian Bagrationi dynasty
Mohammad Zaman Khan Shamlu 1712 1712 Turkoman Shamlu tribe
Mansur Khan ? February 1715 Unknown
Safiqoli Khan February 1715 ? Unknown
Mohammad-Ali Khan ? June 1716 Lezgian Shamkhal of Kumukh
Fath-Ali Khan Turkoman October 1716 October 1716 Turkoman
Hosaynqoli Khan End 1716 End 1716 Georgian Bagrationi dynasty
Lotf-Ali Khan Daghestani 1718 1720 Lezgian Shamkhal of Kumukh
Esmail Khan December 1720 December 1720 Unknown
Shamir 'Ali April 1721 April 1721 Unknown
Mohammad Beg Shamlu September 1721 September 1721 Turkoman Shamlu tribe
Hosaynqoli Khan June 1722 June 1722 Georgian Bagrationi dynasty

Notes

  1. ^ Also spelled as amir al-omara, emir al-omara, or amir al-umara

Sources

  • Floor, Willem (2001). Safavid Government Institutions. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 17–23. ISBN 978-1568591353.
  • Matthee, Rudi (2012). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–371. ISBN 978-1845117450.