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Safavid Georgia

The province of Georgia (Persian: ولایت گرجستان, romanizedVelāyat-e Gorjestān) was a velayat (province) of Safavid Iran located in the area of present-day Georgia.[1] The territory of the province was principally made up of the two subordinate eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli (Persian: کارتیل, romanizedKartil) and Kakheti (Persian: کاخت, romanizedKakhet) and, briefly, parts of the Principality of Samtskhe.[a] The city of Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) was its administrative center, the base of Safavid power in the province, and the seat of the rulers of Kartli. It also housed an important Safavid mint.

Safavid Georgia
Velāyat-e Gorjestān
1510s – 1736
Northwestern part of Safavid Iran
StatusProvince of Safavid Iran
CapitalTiflis (Tbilisi)
Common languagesGeorgian, Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian
GovernmentVelayat
Succeeded by
Today part ofArmenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Russia

Safavid rule was mainly exercised through the approval or appointment of Georgian royals of the Bagrationi dynasty, at times converts to Shia Islam, as valis or khans.[b] The eastern Georgian kingdoms had been subjected in the early 16th century, their rulers did not commonly convert. Tiflis was garrisoned by an Iranian force as early as Ismail I's reign, but relations between the Georgians and Safavids at the time mostly bore features of traditional vassalage. David XI (Davud Khan) was the first Safavid-appointed ruler, whose placement on the throne of Kartli in 1562 marked the start of nearly two and a half centuries of Iranian political control of eastern Georgia. During the same period, Iranian cultural influence dominated eastern Georgia.

From Tahmasp I's reign onwards (r. 1524–1576), the province was of great strategic importance. Many ethnic Georgians, generally from Kartli and Kakheti, rose to prominence in the Safavid state. These men held many of the highest positions in the civil and military administration, and many women entered the harem of the ruling class. By the late Safavid period, Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army as well. The establishment of a large Georgian community in Iran proper dates back to the era of Safavid suzerainty in Georgia. As the province was a border entity, the valis of Georgia exercised more autonomy than other provinces of Safavid Iran; it could therefore be compared to the Arabestan Province (present-day Khuzestan Province), in the southwestern part of the empire.[1] The province of Georgia was one of only four Safavid administrative territories where governors were consistently given the title of vali.

History edit

16th century edit

The first Safavid king (shah) Ismail I (r.1501–1524) made the two kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti his vassals as early as the 1510s.[5] However, distracted by the task of establishing power in Iran, he did not tighten his hold on Georgia. He did raid Georgia a number of times, notably in 1518, which reconfirmed its status as a vassal, and in 1522, which resulted in Tiflis being garrisoned by a large Safavid force, but it was only under his son and successor Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) that a genuine province with Safavid-appointed rulers and governors began to take shape.[6][7]

Tahmasp I undertook active steps to integrate Georgia into the Safavid domains. His four campaigns against Luarsab I of Kartli (1540–1541, 1546–1547, 1551, and 1553–1554) resulted in the re-occupation of Kartli, and a Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis in 1551.[6][8] A key outcome of these campaigns, apart from cementing Safavid hold in central-eastern Georgia, was that they brought to Iran proper (hereafter, simply "Iran") large numbers of Georgian prisoners of war.[6] Beyond this, the sons of notable Georgians were frequently brought up at the shah's court as part of their tributary relationship with the Safavids.[9] Beginning with the rule of Tahmasp I, Georgians would contribute greatly to the character of Safavid society and play a major role in its army and civil administration.[6] This newly introduced ethnic element in the Safavid state would later be known in historiography as the "third force" alongside the two "founding elements" of the Safavid state, the Persians and the Turkomans.[c]

 
Safavid courtiers leading Georgian captives. A mid-16th century Persian textile panel from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1551 the Safavids gained the eastern part of the principality of Samtskhe.[10][2] In 1555, during Tahmasp I's reign, the Peace of Amasya was signed with the neighboring Ottoman Empire. According to the terms of the treaty, eastern Georgia (including eastern Samtskhe) remained in Iranian hands while western Georgia (including western Samtskhe) ended up in Turkish hands.[11] To speed up the process of integration into the empire, Tahmasp I imposed numerous Iranian political and social institutions such as bilingual Georgian–Persian farmâns, with the aim of establishing Persian as the official administrative language of Safavid Georgia.[6] It was also during his reign that the first Georgian royal, a convert to Islam named Davud Khan (1569–1578) was put on the puppet throne in Tiflis.[6] These events marked the start of almost 250 years of Iranian political dominance, with a few brief intermissions, over eastern Georgia.[6][12]

In 1559, the first provincial vizier was assigned to the Azerbaijan province, with authority over the Georgia province as well as Shirvan including Shakki.[13] These provincial viziers, also known as royal viziers, held the title of vazir-e koll, and received instructions from the central government located in the royal capital, instead of the local governor.[13] Challenging the Safavid possession of eastern Caucasus, the Ottomans invaded the Georgian polities in a victorious campaign in 1578. As a result, the Safavids released the Georgian rebel ruler Shahnavaz Khan (Simon I of Kartli) from captivity to enable him to join the fight against the Ottomans.[d] Though Simon achieved considerable success in Kartli, he was eventually captured by the Ottoman troops and died in captivity in Constantinople.[6] In the period 1580–1581 the Safavid government sent a force accompanied by the tupchi-bashi Morad Khan to Georgia together with a number of cannon founders and the materials needed for casting cannon.[14] By 1582 the Ottomans were in control of the eastern, Safavid portion of Samtskhe.[15] Unable to resist the Ottoman invasion, Manuchar II Jaqeli of Samtskhe accepted the Iranian overlordship as well and moved to the Safavid court, where he lived until his death in 1614.[16] By the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590, the Safavids lost control over Georgia as they were forced to recognize the whole province as an Ottoman possession.[6]

17th century edit

 
Rostam Khan (Rostom), vali of Kartli, eastern Georgia, 1633–1658

At the beginning of the rule of Abbas I, the importance of Georgia and the influence of ethnic Georgians in the Safavid state increased and they came to be known as the "third force". Already by 1595 an ethnic Georgian from Kartli, Allahverdi Khan, originally surnamed Undiladze, had become one of the most powerful figures in the Safavid state.[17] By the end of the 16th century, Georgians, forming an increasingly influential military faction, became a major threat to the Qizilbash, the traditional backbone of the Safavid army.[6] At the same time, the Georgians at the Safavid court vied for influence among each other as well as against their Circassian counterparts.[18] By and large, Abbas I's policy towards the province can be seen as a continuing the previous efforts to fully integrate the area in the Safavid Empire.

In the early years of the 17th century, Abbas re-established Safavid influence in eastern Georgia. There was a resistance in Kakheti in 1605, when the rebels overthrew pro-Iranian patricide Constantine Khan and Abbas I acceded to their demands to approve Tahmuras Khan (Teimuraz I) as the new king of Kakheti.[19][6] At the same time, he also confirmed Lohrasb (Luarsab II) as vali of Kartli. However, when Lohrasb started to work against Safavid interests and refused to convert to Islam, Abbas I had him incarcerated in Astarabad and later executed in Shiraz.[6]

In 1607 Abbas appointed Manuchar III Jaqeli as ruler of (eastern) Samtskhe.[16] By 1613–1614 Abbas had restored Safavid control over eastern Samtskhe.[15] In 1614–1617, as a punishment for disobedience shown by his formerly loyal subjects Lohrasb and Tahmuras Khan, Abbas I launched several major punitive campaigns in his Georgian territories. These campaigns resulted in the sack of Tiflis, the ravaging of the entire area, the massacre of many tens of thousands, and the deportation of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians to Iran.[20][21][22] These deportees further augmented the Georgian community in Iran.[23] In the meantime, Abbas I appointed Bagrat Khan as governor of Kartli, and Bektash Beg Torkman as governor of Kakheti.[24] In 1619 Abbas I appointed Bagrat's son Semayun Khan, a loyalist born and raised in Isfahan, as khan, or vali, of Kartli, and appointed another non-royal Safavid official as governor of Kakheti, in order to maintain a tight grip on this part of the province.[6][25] He also moved many Qizilbash tribal folk to the Georgia province in order to strengthen central control.[26] From the mid-1610s onwards, Kakheti was often under the direct governorship of Qizilbash lords.[4]

Around 1620 Abbas relocated some 8,000 Jews from the province, along with 40,000 Armenians, to the newly built city of Farahabad.[27] In these years, he moved a total of about 15,000 families from the Caucasus to Mazandaran.[28][e] In 1624–25 Manuchar III Jaqeli, appointed earlier by Abbas I as nominal ruler of Samtskhe, moved to Kartli to join the rebellion of Murav-Beg (Giorgi Saakadze) against Safavid rule.[29] Some time later, while away from Samtskhe, he decided to accept Ottoman suzerainty.[29] However, when he returned to Samtskhe in 1625 for negotiations in the western (Ottoman) part of Samtskhe, he was killed by his own uncle.[29] Subsequently, the Ottomans incorporated the western part of Samtskhe as a pashalik.[30] The Safavids retained control of the eastern part.[31] The remaining century of Safavid rule in Georgia, after Abbas I's death in 1629, was marked by unprecedented Iranian influence.[6] Under the vali Khosrow Mirza, Safavid Georgia saw a period of relative peace and prosperity. In return for his loyalty, the then-incumbent king, Safi (r. 1629–1642), had given him the title of Rostam Khan, and had made him governor of Kartli, a post which he held for more than twenty years. Kakheti however, came under direct Safavid rule.[6]

Rostam Khan was a childless widower, however, and thus needed a wife and offspring. Being the loyal servant he was, after consulting the Safavid king, Rostam was allowed to marry a sister of Levan II Dadiani, ruler of Mingrelia (western Georgia), named Mariam.[32][33] The marriage fit well with the political ambitions of the Safavid state and of Rostam himself.[32][33] Not only would this alliance with the Dadiani, i.e. Mingrelia, give Rostam an ally against Tahmuras Khan (Teimuraz I) and George III of Imereti, but it would also provide Rostam with a line of successors who would be as loyal to the Safavid crown as he was.[32][33] Also important was the fact that it would enhance Safavid plans to conquer Imereti.[32][33] It would create a perfect circumstance if a campaign was needed against the Ottomans, with whom they were at war at the time over Imereti.[32][33] King Safi paid for the wedding gifts, and sent some 50,000 marchil, roughly half a ton of silver, to the ruler of Mingrelia, and provided him with an annual salary of 1,000 tomans (3-gram gold coins); an alliance was thus founded with the Mingrelians.[32][33] The marriage preparations alarmed the Imeretians. The groom's party was a 30,000-strong army marching to meet Levan's heavily armed entourage. George III of Imereti blocked the border with Kartli, compelling Rostom's wedding party to take a circuitous route via Akhaltsikhe, and intercepted Dadiani on his way to the marriage, but he was defeated and taken prisoner by Levan at the Kaka Bridge near Baghdati.[33]

In 1639, by the Treaty of Zuhab which ended the 1623–1639 war, the Caucasus was decisively partitioned between the Safavids and Ottomans roughly along the lines of the earlier Amasya treaty of 1555. Kartli and Kakheti were reconfirmed as Iranian domains, while everything to the west of it remained in Ottoman hands. Samtskhe–Meskheti, including its eastern part, was irrevocably lost.[15]

In 1654, during the reign of King Abbas II (r. 1642–1666), Kartli was turned into crown land (khasseh), and therefore subjected to direct Safavid taxation.[34][35] The amount of land directly taxed by the state reached its greatest extent in this year.[34] Also during Abbas II's reign, an earlier plan was revived to populate the eastern part of the province, Kakheti, with Turkic nomads. This measure incited a general uprising in 1659. The rebels succeeded in expelling the nomads, but still had to accept the Safavid kings's suzerainty.[6] In 1675 a wall was built around Tiflis by king Suleiman I (1666–1694).[36] By the 1690s ethnic Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army.[37]

18th century edit

In 1701 one of the artillerymen (tupchis) in Tiflis was appointed vakil ("regent") of the tupchi-bashi of Tiflis fortress.[38] Emamqoli Khan (David II), born and raised in Isfahan, and known for his loyal service to his Safavid overlords, was made governor of Kakheti in 1703–1709 by Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722) due to his father, Nazar-Ali Khan (Heraclius I), being stationed at Isfahan during the entire period.

 
Emamqoli Khan (David II of Kakheti)

In 1709, following his father's death, he was formally appointed as the new governor of Kakheti. However, until 1715, he served as vali in absentia due to his being obliged to stay at the court in Isfahan.[39] To the west, in Kartli, the administration was given to two successive governors who both served as vali in absentia due to being stationed in other parts of the empire: Shah-Navaz Khan II, Gorgin Khan (George XI); and Kaykhosrow Khan. Due to this, in the years 1703–1714, the administration there was led by two successive regents (janeshins) namely Shah-Qoli Khan (Levan) and Hosayn-Qoli Khan (Vakhtang VI).

In 1712–1719 Hosayn-Qoli Khan was forced to stay in Iran, and the Safavid king therefore gave the governorships of Kartli to others, amongst them Ali-Qoli Khan (Jesse) and janeshins such as Shah-Navaz, Bakar Mirza. In 1719 the Iranian government decided to send Hosayn-Qoli Khan, who had occupied several other high positions since 1716, back to Georgia with the task of handling the Lezgin rebellion.[40] Assisted by the ruler of neighboring Kakheti, as well as the governor (beglarbeg) of Shirvan, Hosayn-Qoli made significant progress in putting a halt to the Lezgins.[40] However, in the winter of 1721, at a crucial moment in the campaign, he was recalled.[40] The order, which came after the fall of grand vizier Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, was made at the instigation of the eunuch faction within the royal court, who had persuaded the shah that a successful end to the campaign would do the Safavid realm more harm than good. In their view, it would enable Vakhtang, the Safavid vali, to form an alliance with Russia with an eye to conquering Iran.[40] Shortly after, the Lezgins overran Shirvan, whereafter they sacked and looted the provincial capital of Shamakhi and massacred much of its population. In 1722 Emamqoli Khan died and was buried in Qom. Sultan Husayn then appointed his brother Mahmad Qoli Khan (Constantine II) as the new governor of Kakheti.

When the capital of Isfahan was put under siege in 1722, Hosayn-Qoli Khan defied the royal orders and refused to send the requested relief force.[41] In the meantime, Russia took full advantage of the situation. With the Safavids on the brink of collapse, they launched a campaign in 1722–1723 that resulted in the annexation of the coastal territories. The Ottomans, also taking advantage of the situation, overran the province of Georgia and other territories to the west of the area that the Russians had captured.[42] By the Treaty of Constantinople, the two powers further divided the annexed territories between them, with the Ottomans again retaining Georgia.[43] The rebellious Hosayn-Qoli Khan, who had sided with the Russians during their invasion in 1722–1723, in what turned out to be an ill-fated alliance, died in exile in Russia in 1737. When the Safavids were restored by Nader Qoli Beg (later known as Nader Shah), the de facto ruler of Iran, he restored Iranian dominance in the Caucasus and made Teimuraz II vali of Kakheti, while appointing an Iranian as the governor of Kartli.[6] In 1736 Nader deposed the Safavids and became king himself, establishing the Afsharid dynasty.

Mint edit

 
Silver coin of Abbas II (r.1642–1666) minted in Tiflis, dated 1665/6
 
Silver abbasis minted in Tiflis during the reign of Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722), with minting dates varying from 1717–1718 to 1719–1720.

One of the most important Safavid mints was located in the province of Georgia, in Tiflis. Close to the border with the Ottoman Empire, the Tiflis mint was important to the Safavids, for bullion (i.e. silver bars, Spanish reals, Dutch rijksdaalders) for the minting of coins was largely imported from and through the Ottoman Empire (and Russia).[44][45] Upon arrival in Iran, the bullion was usually brought to the provincial mints in the border area with the Ottoman Empire such as Tiflis, Erivan (Yerevan), or Tabriz in order to be melted into Iranian coins.[46] Tiflis was thus a major stopping point for merchants who returned with silver.[44] In the 17th century the Tiflis mint was one of the most active Safavid mints.[47]

The Tiflis mint also lay on a route widely used by silk traders.[44] According to French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier, traders who went to Gilan to negotiate over silk, went to the mint at Tiflis, for the mint master (zarrab-bashi) gave a 2% discount on silver for silk traders.[44] Tavernier notes that this is partly due to the silver coins from Tiflis being a little less fine.[48]

The coins minted at Tiflis were mostly used for the local citizens, rather than for the local Safavid garrison.[49] The coins always had to bear the Safavid rulers' name and follow the Safavid types, legends, and weight standards.[1] In many other regards, however, the appointed valis were granted a great deal of autonomy in terms of minting practises.[1] For example, the vali reportedly was allowed to benefit from the profit accrued by the mints in the province.[49]

In the 1660s and 1670s, the office of mint master (zarrab-bashi) of Tiflis was held by a series of local Armenians.[50]

During the reign of Suleiman I, the economic situation worsened.[51] The amount of precious metal coming into the country decreased, and as a result the quality of the coins diminished.[51] This deficiency in weight was also apparent in coins from the Tiflis mint; in 1688, the abbasis and mahmudis struck at the mint were 22.5% below the standard weight they were supposed to have.[52] The royal treasury was aware of the issue, and subsequently stopped accepting mahmudis that had been minted in Tiflis.[52]

In the years 1682–1685 the only Safavid mints that were recorded as active were the ones at Tiflis and Tabriz.[53] According to a 1687 report, money played close to no role in Georgia.[54] French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort confirms this: according to his texts of 1701, people in large parts of Georgia preferred to be paid in materials such as bracelets, rings, necklaces, and so forth.[54]

Stationed military force edit

The province of Georgia hosted many Safavid soldiers, as it was considered a territory of the utmost importance. At the same time, it was a province that bordered the Ottoman Empire.[55] A Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis from 1551 onwards.[8] According to Venetian reports, some 4,000 Safavid cavalry were stationed in Georgia and Ganja in the 1570s.[56] According to traveller Jean Chardin, towards the end of Abbas I's reign many troops were stationed in Georgia, of which some 5,000 were "battle-experienced and trained".[57] In the mid-17th century, during the reign of Abbas II (1642–1666), some 50,000 Safavid troops were stationed in the province according to Chardin's figures.[26] The French missionary and traveller Père Sanson, who was in Safavid Iran during the latter part of King Suleiman I's reign (1666–1694), wrote that a "large number" of troops were stationed in Georgia.[58] Towards the end of Sultan Husayn's reign (1694–1722), the troops at the behest of the then-governor of Kartli, Hosayn-Qoli Khan (Vakhtang VI), numbered some 10,000 Georgians and 3,000–4,000 Iranians.[40]

Public offices edit

According to the Georgian geographer and historian Vakhushti Bagrationi, vali/king Rostom orchestrated changes in the nomenclature of various public offices, substituting Georgian titles with Persian equivalents.[59] Examples include the transformation of msakhurt’ukhuts’esi (master of servants) to qurchi-bashi, ezosmodzghvari (housekeeper) to nazer (steward), and monat’ukhuts’esi (master of slaves) to qollar-aghasi (commander of the royal guard), among others.[59] Despite these alterations in office names, the fundamental structure of the state machinery in Georgia remained largely intact.[59] Furthermore, during Rostom's rule, positions characteristic of the Safavid state, such as vazir (adviser, minister), mostowfi (chief financial clerk), and monshi (scribe), were introduced, serving as supervisory roles for the royal court.[59]

Historical records from the 1570s also document the roles of malek and darugha, officials in the town administration of Georgia, which are associated with the political influence of Iran during that period.[59]

The vali of Georgia had a corps of qurchis at his disposal, including a qurchi-bashi, and a legion of specialized qurchis for his "accoutrements" (i.e. qurchi-e zereh, qurchi-e kafsh, qurchi-e tarkesh, etc.).[60] They also had the institution of vakil ("regent"), who could take care of all matters in case it was needed.[61][f]

Silk and wine production edit

Although the province contributed to the overall silk production, its silk was said, together with that of Karabakh–Ganja, to be of lesser quality than that of Gilan and Mazandaran.[62] Following Abbas I's (1588–1629) decisive subduing of Georgia, he ordered that the province should produce more silk in the future.[63] According to Nicolaas Jacobus Overschie, a Dutch representative in the Safavid Empire, of the 2,800 bales of silk that had been produced in 1636, the provinces of Georgia and Karabakh–Ganja had yielded a total of 300 bales.[63]

According to Jean Chardin, the wines produced in Georgia and Shiraz were of excellent quality.[64] Every six months the province of Georgia supplied the royal wine cellars of the Safavid court with some three hundred liters of wine, as part of the total amount of taxes it paid.[65] The governors were responsible for the supervision of the viticulture of their province.[64]

Salary and rank of the vali of Kartli edit

As outlined in the Dastur al-Moluk, the Kartli vali's annual salary was linked to the profits generated from the Poshkuh, Tarom, and Qazvin regions. This data, as reported by Georgian sources, also indicates that the Kartli vali received compensation from the revenues of Gilan, Khuyin, and Lahijan.[66] Following Iranian customs, the vali was granted villages in exchange for his service to the Iranian Shah. It is worth noting that these villages were not confined to Kartli but also extended to northern Iran, mirroring the similar rewards bestowed upon Georgian nobles.[66]

According to the Tadhkirat al-Moluk, the vali of Kartli was the third of the top-ranking officials not residing at court, and held a higher status than the second category of great amirs, those attached to the palace.[66]

Cultural influences edit

Georgian culture edit

From the 16th century there was an increase of Iranian influence in Georgian culture.[32] The genres in which it was most apparent were literature, painting, and architecture.[32] During the Safavid period, many Georgian rulers, princes, and nobles had spent time in Iran. Therefore, Iranian traditions also spread throughout Georgia.[32] The placement of Davud Khan (David XI) on the puppet throne of Kartli in 1562 did not just initiate a lengthy period of Iranian political dominance; in the same two and a half centuries that followed, until the coming of the Russians in the 19th century, Iranian cultural influence dominated eastern Georgia (Kartli–Kakheti).[12] According to Jean Chardin, who was in Georgia in 1672, the Georgians followed Iranian traditions.[32] Chardin assumed that the process had been influenced by those nobles who had converted to Islam (in order to obtain positions as state officials), as well as those who encouraged their female relatives to become ladies at court.[32]

In the Safavid period, "a great number of books" were translated from Persian into Georgian. The Rostomiani, the Georgian version of the Shahnameh, was further developed and improved, as well as Visramiani, the Georgian version of Vis o Ramin.[32] According to a letter sent to the Pope by a Catholic missionary who flourished in the 17th century, Padre Bernardi, it was to his "great regret" that literate Georgians preferred to read works such as the Rostomiani (Shahnameh), Bezhaniani, and Baramguriani and were less interested in religious texts.[67]

Teimuraz I of Kakheti (Tahmuras Khan) is perhaps mostly remembered for creating issues for the central government, but he was fluent in Persian and fond of Persian poetry, which he "highly valued".[67] In his words:[67]

The sweetness of Persian speech urged me to compose the music of verse.

Teimuraz wrote several poems influenced by the contemporary Persian tradition, packed with "Persian imagery and allusions, loanwords, and phraseology". A later Georgian vali, Vakhtang VI (Hosayn-Qoli Khan),[40] was also important in this regard.[67] When he was forced to stay in Iran, he learned to excel in Persian. He later used this skill to translate works into Georgian.[67] He created a Georgian version of the Persian Qabusnameh known as Amirnasariani ("The story of Amirnasar", Amirnasar being the mythical Iranian king Kaykavus). During his detention in Iran, Vakhtang also translated into Georgian Kashefi's Kalīleh o Demneh.[67] Later, back in Georgia, he ordered the entire story to be translated once more, while his tutor, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, also made a revised version of Vakhtang's own translation.[67] Though Vakhtang, individually, was heavily involved in further developing Georgian-Iranian literary ties (in other words, by his own writings), he also founded an entire school dedicated to translators from Persian into Georgian.[67] During this period, a number of folk stories (i.e. dastans) that were extremely popular in Iran, were translated into Georgian on his orders.[67] One of these was the Bakhtiarnameh, a collection of several novellas, as well as the Baramgulandamiani ("Bahram o Golandam"), originally written by Katebi Nishapuri. The many other Persian-Georgian literary efforts of this era include translations of the Qur'an and books on Shia jurisprudence.[67][68]

Iranian culture edit

In another, perhaps unorthodox, way Georgia also influenced the culture of Iran. According to a story, an ethnic Georgian named Shedan Chiladze was so renowned for being able to "hold" his liquor, that Safavid King Safi (r. 1629–1642) invited him to the court in order to hold a drinking competition.[69] After beating everyone at court, the king himself challenged Chiladze, and reportedly died doing so. Though historian Rudi Matthee reports that the story may be "apocryphal", as alcoholism did kill Safi, but not in relation to a drinking contest, it does show that Georgian habits had spread to Iran.[69]

In the Safavid period, large numbers of ethnic Georgian men entered Safavid government service, whereas many Georgian women entered the harems of the ruling elite and the royal court.[69] Drinking alcohol, a prominent Georgian habits, influenced Iranian society, and more importantly, court culture, during this period.[69] It is especially evident in the taxes the province had to pay – they included many liters of wine. The royal harem, the private area of the royal court, was where Safavid rulers grew up; after Abbas I's reign, all Safavid rulers grew up there surrounded by mostly Georgian women.[69] There were also many gholams who drank. Matthee therefore suggests that it is quite likely that the "fondness" for wine exhibited by Safavid rulers originated in this environment.[69]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Eastern Samtskhe was part of Safavid Iran from 1551 to 1582, as well as for several years after 1613.[2]
  2. ^ Before Abbas I's reign (1588–1629), governors of Georgia were usually referred to as hakem.[3] Sometimes they were also styled as soltan (salatin).[4]
  3. ^ The "third force" included the Circassians and Armenians.
  4. ^ Simon I was earlier known for his fierce resistance against the Safavid domination, which resulted in his being imprisoned for several years at the Alamut Castle.
  5. ^ Amongst the deportees there were also Muslims from Georgia, and sections of the Shirvan and Karabakh population.
  6. ^ The vakil sometimes also functioned as a tutor (laleh), in cases when the governor was young.[61]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 17–18.
  2. ^ a b Floor 2008, p. 85.
  3. ^ Floor 2001, p. 83.
  4. ^ a b Floor 2001, p. 86.
  5. ^ Rayfield 2012, pp. 164, 166.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Hitchins 2001, pp. 464–470.
  7. ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 166.
  8. ^ a b Floor 2008, pp. 295–296.
  9. ^ Babaie et al. 2004, p. 28.
  10. ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 173.
  11. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. xxxi.
  12. ^ a b Suny 1994, p. 48.
  13. ^ a b Floor 2001, pp. 108–109.
  14. ^ Floor 2001, p. 233.
  15. ^ a b c Floor 2001, p. 85.
  16. ^ a b Mikaberidze 2015, p. 379.
  17. ^ Savory 2007, p. 81.
  18. ^ Babaie et al. 2004, p. 17.
  19. ^ Suny 1994, p. 50.
  20. ^ Blow 2009, p. 174.
  21. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, pp. 291, 536.
  22. ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 191.
  23. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. 536.
  24. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. 164.
  25. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. 600.
  26. ^ a b Matthee 2012, p. 145.
  27. ^ Matthee 1999, p. 44.
  28. ^ Blow 2009, p. 105.
  29. ^ a b c Mikaberidze 2015, pp. 194, 379.
  30. ^ Suny 1994, p. 52.
  31. ^ Floor 2008, p. 140.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gelashvili 2012, p. 494.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g Rayfield 2012, p. 199.
  34. ^ a b Barendse 2002, p. 209.
  35. ^ Floor 2008, p. 309.
  36. ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 211.
  37. ^ Matthee 2012, p. 114.
  38. ^ Floor 2001, p. 198.
  39. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. 249.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Matthee 2012, p. 225.
  41. ^ Suny 1994, p. 54.
  42. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 142.
  43. ^ Matthee 2012, pp. 226–227.
  44. ^ a b c d Babaie et al. 2004, p. 68.
  45. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 53.
  46. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 5, 15, 53.
  47. ^ Barendse 2002, p. 221.
  48. ^ Babaie et al. 2004, pp. 68–69.
  49. ^ a b Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 17.
  50. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 14.
  51. ^ a b Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 130–131.
  52. ^ a b Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 131.
  53. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 119.
  54. ^ a b Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 44.
  55. ^ Floor 2001, pp. 82–83.
  56. ^ Floor 2001, pp. 135–136.
  57. ^ Floor 2001, p. 207.
  58. ^ Floor 2001, p. 212.
  59. ^ a b c d e Sanikidze 2021, pp. 387–388.
  60. ^ Floor 2001, p. 149.
  61. ^ a b Floor 2001, p. 7.
  62. ^ Matthee 1999, p. 37.
  63. ^ a b Matthee 1999, p. 41.
  64. ^ a b Matthee 2005, p. 44.
  65. ^ Matthee 2005, pp. 43–44.
  66. ^ a b c Sanikidze 2021, p. 389.
  67. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gvakharia 2001, pp. 481–486.
  68. ^ Giunashvili 2016.
  69. ^ a b c d e f Matthee 2005, p. 43.

Sources edit

  • Babaie, Sussan; Babayan, Kathryn; Baghdiantz-McCabe, Ina; Farhad, Massumeh (2004). Slaves of the Shah: New Elites of Safavid Iran. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–256. ISBN 978-0857716866.
  • Barendse, R.J. (2002). The Arabian Seas: The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0765633644.
  • Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend. London, UK: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1845119898. LCCN 2009464064.
  • Floor, Willem (2001). Safavid Government Institutions. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. ISBN 978-1568591353.
  • Floor, Willem (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers. pp. 1–324. ISBN 978-1933823232.
  • Gelashvili, Nana (2012). "Iranian-Georgian relations during the Reign of Rostom (1633–58)". In Floor, Willem; Herzig, Edmund (eds.). Iran and the World in the Safavid Age. London: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1780769905.
  • Giunashvili, Jemshid (2016). "Gorgijanidze, Parsadan". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  • Gvakharia, Aleksandre (2001). "Georgia iv. Literary contacts with Persia". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume X/5: Geography IV–Germany VI. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 481–486. ISBN 978-0-933273-53-5.
  • Hitchins, Keith (2001). "Georgia ii. History of Iranian-Georgian Relations". Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 4. pp. 464–470.
  • Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999). The Politics of Trade in Safavid Iran: Silk for Silver, 1600–1730. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-521-64131-9.
  • Matthee, Rudolph P. (2005). The Pursuit of Pleasure: Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History, 1500-1900. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691118550.
  • Matthee, Rudi (2012). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. London: I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–371. ISBN 978-1-84511-745-0.
  • Matthee, Rudi; Floor, Willem; Clawson, Patrick (2013). The Monetary History of Iran: From the Safavids to the Qajars. London; New York: I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–320. ISBN 978-0857721723.
  • Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442241466.
  • Rayfield, Donald (2012). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1780230702.
  • Sanikidze, George (2021). "The Evolution of the Safavid Policy towards Eastern Georgia". In Melville, Charles (ed.). Safavid Persia in the Age of Empires, the Idea of Iran Vol. 10. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0755633807.
  • Savory, Roger (2007). Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521042512.
  • Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994). The Making of the Georgian Nation. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253209153.

Further reading edit

  • Akopyan, Alexander V. (2021). "Coinage and the monetary system". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge.
  • Floor, Willem; Faghfoory, Mohammad H. (2007). The Dastur Al-moluk: A Safavid State Manual, by Mohammad Rafi' al-Din Ansari. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 1–355. ISBN 978-1568591957.
  • Floor, Willem (2021). "The economy". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge.
  • Floor, Willem (2021). "The Safavid court and government". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge.
  • Floor, Willem (2021). "Trade in Safavid Iran". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge.
  • Maeda, Hirotake (2003). "On the Ethno-Social Background of Four Gholām Families from Georgia in Safavid Iran". Studia Iranica (32). Peeters Publishers: 1–278. doi:10.2143/SI.32.2.563203.
  • Maeda, Hirotake (2021). "Against all odds: the Safavids and the Georgians". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge.
  • Paghava, Irakli; Bennett, Kirk (2015). "THE EARLIEST DATE FOR THE KINGDOM OF K'AKHETI SILVER ISSUES OF THE 16TH CENTURY" (PDF). Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society. 225: 25–26.
  • Paghava, Irakli (2016). "K'ak'i (Kākhed, Kākhetābād): One More Georgian Coin-Minting Urban Center". Pro Georgia. 26: 117–140.
  • Paghava, Irakli (2019). "Kākhetābād, a new Georgian-Safavid mint" (PDF). Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society. 235: 23–25. ISSN 1818-1252.
  • Mousavi, Mohammad A. (2008). "The Autonomous State in Iran: Mobility and Prosperity in the Reign of Shah 'Abbas the Great (1587–1629)". Iran and the Caucasus. 12 (1): 17–33. doi:10.1163/157338408X326172. JSTOR 25597352.

safavid, georgia, province, georgia, persian, ولایت, گرجستان, romanized, velāyat, gorjestān, velayat, province, safavid, iran, located, area, present, georgia, territory, province, principally, made, subordinate, eastern, georgian, kingdoms, kartli, persian, ک. The province of Georgia Persian ولایت گرجستان romanized Velayat e Gorjestan was a velayat province of Safavid Iran located in the area of present day Georgia 1 The territory of the province was principally made up of the two subordinate eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli Persian کارتیل romanized Kartil and Kakheti Persian کاخت romanized Kakhet and briefly parts of the Principality of Samtskhe a The city of Tiflis present day Tbilisi was its administrative center the base of Safavid power in the province and the seat of the rulers of Kartli It also housed an important Safavid mint Safavid GeorgiaVelayat e Gorjestan1510s 1736Northwestern part of Safavid IranStatusProvince of Safavid IranCapitalTiflis Tbilisi Common languagesGeorgian Persian Azerbaijani ArmenianGovernmentVelayatSucceeded by Afsharid IranToday part ofArmeniaAzerbaijanGeorgiaRussia Safavid rule was mainly exercised through the approval or appointment of Georgian royals of the Bagrationi dynasty at times converts to Shia Islam as valis or khans b The eastern Georgian kingdoms had been subjected in the early 16th century their rulers did not commonly convert Tiflis was garrisoned by an Iranian force as early as Ismail I s reign but relations between the Georgians and Safavids at the time mostly bore features of traditional vassalage David XI Davud Khan was the first Safavid appointed ruler whose placement on the throne of Kartli in 1562 marked the start of nearly two and a half centuries of Iranian political control of eastern Georgia During the same period Iranian cultural influence dominated eastern Georgia From Tahmasp I s reign onwards r 1524 1576 the province was of great strategic importance Many ethnic Georgians generally from Kartli and Kakheti rose to prominence in the Safavid state These men held many of the highest positions in the civil and military administration and many women entered the harem of the ruling class By the late Safavid period Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army as well The establishment of a large Georgian community in Iran proper dates back to the era of Safavid suzerainty in Georgia As the province was a border entity the valis of Georgia exercised more autonomy than other provinces of Safavid Iran it could therefore be compared to the Arabestan Province present day Khuzestan Province in the southwestern part of the empire 1 The province of Georgia was one of only four Safavid administrative territories where governors were consistently given the title of vali Contents 1 History 1 1 16th century 1 2 17th century 1 3 18th century 2 Mint 3 Stationed military force 4 Public offices 5 Silk and wine production 6 Salary and rank of the vali of Kartli 7 Cultural influences 7 1 Georgian culture 7 2 Iranian culture 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Sources 12 Further readingHistory edit16th century edit The first Safavid king shah Ismail I r 1501 1524 made the two kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti his vassals as early as the 1510s 5 However distracted by the task of establishing power in Iran he did not tighten his hold on Georgia He did raid Georgia a number of times notably in 1518 which reconfirmed its status as a vassal and in 1522 which resulted in Tiflis being garrisoned by a large Safavid force but it was only under his son and successor Tahmasp I r 1524 1576 that a genuine province with Safavid appointed rulers and governors began to take shape 6 7 Tahmasp I undertook active steps to integrate Georgia into the Safavid domains His four campaigns against Luarsab I of Kartli 1540 1541 1546 1547 1551 and 1553 1554 resulted in the re occupation of Kartli and a Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis in 1551 6 8 A key outcome of these campaigns apart from cementing Safavid hold in central eastern Georgia was that they brought to Iran proper hereafter simply Iran large numbers of Georgian prisoners of war 6 Beyond this the sons of notable Georgians were frequently brought up at the shah s court as part of their tributary relationship with the Safavids 9 Beginning with the rule of Tahmasp I Georgians would contribute greatly to the character of Safavid society and play a major role in its army and civil administration 6 This newly introduced ethnic element in the Safavid state would later be known in historiography as the third force alongside the two founding elements of the Safavid state the Persians and the Turkomans c nbsp Safavid courtiers leading Georgian captives A mid 16th century Persian textile panel from the Metropolitan Museum of Art In 1551 the Safavids gained the eastern part of the principality of Samtskhe 10 2 In 1555 during Tahmasp I s reign the Peace of Amasya was signed with the neighboring Ottoman Empire According to the terms of the treaty eastern Georgia including eastern Samtskhe remained in Iranian hands while western Georgia including western Samtskhe ended up in Turkish hands 11 To speed up the process of integration into the empire Tahmasp I imposed numerous Iranian political and social institutions such as bilingual Georgian Persian farmans with the aim of establishing Persian as the official administrative language of Safavid Georgia 6 It was also during his reign that the first Georgian royal a convert to Islam named Davud Khan 1569 1578 was put on the puppet throne in Tiflis 6 These events marked the start of almost 250 years of Iranian political dominance with a few brief intermissions over eastern Georgia 6 12 In 1559 the first provincial vizier was assigned to the Azerbaijan province with authority over the Georgia province as well as Shirvan including Shakki 13 These provincial viziers also known as royal viziers held the title of vazir e koll and received instructions from the central government located in the royal capital instead of the local governor 13 Challenging the Safavid possession of eastern Caucasus the Ottomans invaded the Georgian polities in a victorious campaign in 1578 As a result the Safavids released the Georgian rebel ruler Shahnavaz Khan Simon I of Kartli from captivity to enable him to join the fight against the Ottomans d Though Simon achieved considerable success in Kartli he was eventually captured by the Ottoman troops and died in captivity in Constantinople 6 In the period 1580 1581 the Safavid government sent a force accompanied by the tupchi bashi Morad Khan to Georgia together with a number of cannon founders and the materials needed for casting cannon 14 By 1582 the Ottomans were in control of the eastern Safavid portion of Samtskhe 15 Unable to resist the Ottoman invasion Manuchar II Jaqeli of Samtskhe accepted the Iranian overlordship as well and moved to the Safavid court where he lived until his death in 1614 16 By the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590 the Safavids lost control over Georgia as they were forced to recognize the whole province as an Ottoman possession 6 17th century edit nbsp Rostam Khan Rostom vali of Kartli eastern Georgia 1633 1658 At the beginning of the rule of Abbas I the importance of Georgia and the influence of ethnic Georgians in the Safavid state increased and they came to be known as the third force Already by 1595 an ethnic Georgian from Kartli Allahverdi Khan originally surnamed Undiladze had become one of the most powerful figures in the Safavid state 17 By the end of the 16th century Georgians forming an increasingly influential military faction became a major threat to the Qizilbash the traditional backbone of the Safavid army 6 At the same time the Georgians at the Safavid court vied for influence among each other as well as against their Circassian counterparts 18 By and large Abbas I s policy towards the province can be seen as a continuing the previous efforts to fully integrate the area in the Safavid Empire In the early years of the 17th century Abbas re established Safavid influence in eastern Georgia There was a resistance in Kakheti in 1605 when the rebels overthrew pro Iranian patricide Constantine Khan and Abbas I acceded to their demands to approve Tahmuras Khan Teimuraz I as the new king of Kakheti 19 6 At the same time he also confirmed Lohrasb Luarsab II as vali of Kartli However when Lohrasb started to work against Safavid interests and refused to convert to Islam Abbas I had him incarcerated in Astarabad and later executed in Shiraz 6 In 1607 Abbas appointed Manuchar III Jaqeli as ruler of eastern Samtskhe 16 By 1613 1614 Abbas had restored Safavid control over eastern Samtskhe 15 In 1614 1617 as a punishment for disobedience shown by his formerly loyal subjects Lohrasb and Tahmuras Khan Abbas I launched several major punitive campaigns in his Georgian territories These campaigns resulted in the sack of Tiflis the ravaging of the entire area the massacre of many tens of thousands and the deportation of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians to Iran 20 21 22 These deportees further augmented the Georgian community in Iran 23 In the meantime Abbas I appointed Bagrat Khan as governor of Kartli and Bektash Beg Torkman as governor of Kakheti 24 In 1619 Abbas I appointed Bagrat s son Semayun Khan a loyalist born and raised in Isfahan as khan or vali of Kartli and appointed another non royal Safavid official as governor of Kakheti in order to maintain a tight grip on this part of the province 6 25 He also moved many Qizilbash tribal folk to the Georgia province in order to strengthen central control 26 From the mid 1610s onwards Kakheti was often under the direct governorship of Qizilbash lords 4 Around 1620 Abbas relocated some 8 000 Jews from the province along with 40 000 Armenians to the newly built city of Farahabad 27 In these years he moved a total of about 15 000 families from the Caucasus to Mazandaran 28 e In 1624 25 Manuchar III Jaqeli appointed earlier by Abbas I as nominal ruler of Samtskhe moved to Kartli to join the rebellion of Murav Beg Giorgi Saakadze against Safavid rule 29 Some time later while away from Samtskhe he decided to accept Ottoman suzerainty 29 However when he returned to Samtskhe in 1625 for negotiations in the western Ottoman part of Samtskhe he was killed by his own uncle 29 Subsequently the Ottomans incorporated the western part of Samtskhe as a pashalik 30 The Safavids retained control of the eastern part 31 The remaining century of Safavid rule in Georgia after Abbas I s death in 1629 was marked by unprecedented Iranian influence 6 Under the vali Khosrow Mirza Safavid Georgia saw a period of relative peace and prosperity In return for his loyalty the then incumbent king Safi r 1629 1642 had given him the title of Rostam Khan and had made him governor of Kartli a post which he held for more than twenty years Kakheti however came under direct Safavid rule 6 Rostam Khan was a childless widower however and thus needed a wife and offspring Being the loyal servant he was after consulting the Safavid king Rostam was allowed to marry a sister of Levan II Dadiani ruler of Mingrelia western Georgia named Mariam 32 33 The marriage fit well with the political ambitions of the Safavid state and of Rostam himself 32 33 Not only would this alliance with the Dadiani i e Mingrelia give Rostam an ally against Tahmuras Khan Teimuraz I and George III of Imereti but it would also provide Rostam with a line of successors who would be as loyal to the Safavid crown as he was 32 33 Also important was the fact that it would enhance Safavid plans to conquer Imereti 32 33 It would create a perfect circumstance if a campaign was needed against the Ottomans with whom they were at war at the time over Imereti 32 33 King Safi paid for the wedding gifts and sent some 50 000 marchil roughly half a ton of silver to the ruler of Mingrelia and provided him with an annual salary of 1 000 tomans 3 gram gold coins an alliance was thus founded with the Mingrelians 32 33 The marriage preparations alarmed the Imeretians The groom s party was a 30 000 strong army marching to meet Levan s heavily armed entourage George III of Imereti blocked the border with Kartli compelling Rostom s wedding party to take a circuitous route via Akhaltsikhe and intercepted Dadiani on his way to the marriage but he was defeated and taken prisoner by Levan at the Kaka Bridge near Baghdati 33 In 1639 by the Treaty of Zuhab which ended the 1623 1639 war the Caucasus was decisively partitioned between the Safavids and Ottomans roughly along the lines of the earlier Amasya treaty of 1555 Kartli and Kakheti were reconfirmed as Iranian domains while everything to the west of it remained in Ottoman hands Samtskhe Meskheti including its eastern part was irrevocably lost 15 In 1654 during the reign of King Abbas II r 1642 1666 Kartli was turned into crown land khasseh and therefore subjected to direct Safavid taxation 34 35 The amount of land directly taxed by the state reached its greatest extent in this year 34 Also during Abbas II s reign an earlier plan was revived to populate the eastern part of the province Kakheti with Turkic nomads This measure incited a general uprising in 1659 The rebels succeeded in expelling the nomads but still had to accept the Safavid kings s suzerainty 6 In 1675 a wall was built around Tiflis by king Suleiman I 1666 1694 36 By the 1690s ethnic Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army 37 18th century edit In 1701 one of the artillerymen tupchis in Tiflis was appointed vakil regent of the tupchi bashi of Tiflis fortress 38 Emamqoli Khan David II born and raised in Isfahan and known for his loyal service to his Safavid overlords was made governor of Kakheti in 1703 1709 by Sultan Husayn r 1694 1722 due to his father Nazar Ali Khan Heraclius I being stationed at Isfahan during the entire period nbsp Emamqoli Khan David II of Kakheti In 1709 following his father s death he was formally appointed as the new governor of Kakheti However until 1715 he served as vali in absentia due to his being obliged to stay at the court in Isfahan 39 To the west in Kartli the administration was given to two successive governors who both served as vali in absentia due to being stationed in other parts of the empire Shah Navaz Khan II Gorgin Khan George XI and Kaykhosrow Khan Due to this in the years 1703 1714 the administration there was led by two successive regents janeshins namely Shah Qoli Khan Levan and Hosayn Qoli Khan Vakhtang VI In 1712 1719 Hosayn Qoli Khan was forced to stay in Iran and the Safavid king therefore gave the governorships of Kartli to others amongst them Ali Qoli Khan Jesse and janeshins such as Shah Navaz Bakar Mirza In 1719 the Iranian government decided to send Hosayn Qoli Khan who had occupied several other high positions since 1716 back to Georgia with the task of handling the Lezgin rebellion 40 Assisted by the ruler of neighboring Kakheti as well as the governor beglarbeg of Shirvan Hosayn Qoli made significant progress in putting a halt to the Lezgins 40 However in the winter of 1721 at a crucial moment in the campaign he was recalled 40 The order which came after the fall of grand vizier Fath Ali Khan Daghestani was made at the instigation of the eunuch faction within the royal court who had persuaded the shah that a successful end to the campaign would do the Safavid realm more harm than good In their view it would enable Vakhtang the Safavid vali to form an alliance with Russia with an eye to conquering Iran 40 Shortly after the Lezgins overran Shirvan whereafter they sacked and looted the provincial capital of Shamakhi and massacred much of its population In 1722 Emamqoli Khan died and was buried in Qom Sultan Husayn then appointed his brother Mahmad Qoli Khan Constantine II as the new governor of Kakheti When the capital of Isfahan was put under siege in 1722 Hosayn Qoli Khan defied the royal orders and refused to send the requested relief force 41 In the meantime Russia took full advantage of the situation With the Safavids on the brink of collapse they launched a campaign in 1722 1723 that resulted in the annexation of the coastal territories The Ottomans also taking advantage of the situation overran the province of Georgia and other territories to the west of the area that the Russians had captured 42 By the Treaty of Constantinople the two powers further divided the annexed territories between them with the Ottomans again retaining Georgia 43 The rebellious Hosayn Qoli Khan who had sided with the Russians during their invasion in 1722 1723 in what turned out to be an ill fated alliance died in exile in Russia in 1737 When the Safavids were restored by Nader Qoli Beg later known as Nader Shah the de facto ruler of Iran he restored Iranian dominance in the Caucasus and made Teimuraz II vali of Kakheti while appointing an Iranian as the governor of Kartli 6 In 1736 Nader deposed the Safavids and became king himself establishing the Afsharid dynasty Mint edit nbsp Silver coin of Abbas II r 1642 1666 minted in Tiflis dated 1665 6 nbsp Silver abbasis minted in Tiflis during the reign of Sultan Husayn r 1694 1722 with minting dates varying from 1717 1718 to 1719 1720 See also Abbasi currency and Georgian abazi One of the most important Safavid mints was located in the province of Georgia in Tiflis Close to the border with the Ottoman Empire the Tiflis mint was important to the Safavids for bullion i e silver bars Spanish reals Dutch rijksdaalders for the minting of coins was largely imported from and through the Ottoman Empire and Russia 44 45 Upon arrival in Iran the bullion was usually brought to the provincial mints in the border area with the Ottoman Empire such as Tiflis Erivan Yerevan or Tabriz in order to be melted into Iranian coins 46 Tiflis was thus a major stopping point for merchants who returned with silver 44 In the 17th century the Tiflis mint was one of the most active Safavid mints 47 The Tiflis mint also lay on a route widely used by silk traders 44 According to French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier traders who went to Gilan to negotiate over silk went to the mint at Tiflis for the mint master zarrab bashi gave a 2 discount on silver for silk traders 44 Tavernier notes that this is partly due to the silver coins from Tiflis being a little less fine 48 The coins minted at Tiflis were mostly used for the local citizens rather than for the local Safavid garrison 49 The coins always had to bear the Safavid rulers name and follow the Safavid types legends and weight standards 1 In many other regards however the appointed valis were granted a great deal of autonomy in terms of minting practises 1 For example the vali reportedly was allowed to benefit from the profit accrued by the mints in the province 49 In the 1660s and 1670s the office of mint master zarrab bashi of Tiflis was held by a series of local Armenians 50 During the reign of Suleiman I the economic situation worsened 51 The amount of precious metal coming into the country decreased and as a result the quality of the coins diminished 51 This deficiency in weight was also apparent in coins from the Tiflis mint in 1688 the abbasis and mahmudis struck at the mint were 22 5 below the standard weight they were supposed to have 52 The royal treasury was aware of the issue and subsequently stopped accepting mahmudis that had been minted in Tiflis 52 In the years 1682 1685 the only Safavid mints that were recorded as active were the ones at Tiflis and Tabriz 53 According to a 1687 report money played close to no role in Georgia 54 French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort confirms this according to his texts of 1701 people in large parts of Georgia preferred to be paid in materials such as bracelets rings necklaces and so forth 54 Stationed military force editThe province of Georgia hosted many Safavid soldiers as it was considered a territory of the utmost importance At the same time it was a province that bordered the Ottoman Empire 55 A Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis from 1551 onwards 8 According to Venetian reports some 4 000 Safavid cavalry were stationed in Georgia and Ganja in the 1570s 56 According to traveller Jean Chardin towards the end of Abbas I s reign many troops were stationed in Georgia of which some 5 000 were battle experienced and trained 57 In the mid 17th century during the reign of Abbas II 1642 1666 some 50 000 Safavid troops were stationed in the province according to Chardin s figures 26 The French missionary and traveller Pere Sanson who was in Safavid Iran during the latter part of King Suleiman I s reign 1666 1694 wrote that a large number of troops were stationed in Georgia 58 Towards the end of Sultan Husayn s reign 1694 1722 the troops at the behest of the then governor of Kartli Hosayn Qoli Khan Vakhtang VI numbered some 10 000 Georgians and 3 000 4 000 Iranians 40 Public offices editAccording to the Georgian geographer and historian Vakhushti Bagrationi vali king Rostom orchestrated changes in the nomenclature of various public offices substituting Georgian titles with Persian equivalents 59 Examples include the transformation of msakhurt ukhuts esi master of servants to qurchi bashi ezosmodzghvari housekeeper to nazer steward and monat ukhuts esi master of slaves to qollar aghasi commander of the royal guard among others 59 Despite these alterations in office names the fundamental structure of the state machinery in Georgia remained largely intact 59 Furthermore during Rostom s rule positions characteristic of the Safavid state such as vazir adviser minister mostowfi chief financial clerk and monshi scribe were introduced serving as supervisory roles for the royal court 59 Historical records from the 1570s also document the roles of malek and darugha officials in the town administration of Georgia which are associated with the political influence of Iran during that period 59 The vali of Georgia had a corps of qurchis at his disposal including a qurchi bashi and a legion of specialized qurchis for his accoutrements i e qurchi e zereh qurchi e kafsh qurchi e tarkesh etc 60 They also had the institution of vakil regent who could take care of all matters in case it was needed 61 f Silk and wine production editAlthough the province contributed to the overall silk production its silk was said together with that of Karabakh Ganja to be of lesser quality than that of Gilan and Mazandaran 62 Following Abbas I s 1588 1629 decisive subduing of Georgia he ordered that the province should produce more silk in the future 63 According to Nicolaas Jacobus Overschie a Dutch representative in the Safavid Empire of the 2 800 bales of silk that had been produced in 1636 the provinces of Georgia and Karabakh Ganja had yielded a total of 300 bales 63 According to Jean Chardin the wines produced in Georgia and Shiraz were of excellent quality 64 Every six months the province of Georgia supplied the royal wine cellars of the Safavid court with some three hundred liters of wine as part of the total amount of taxes it paid 65 The governors were responsible for the supervision of the viticulture of their province 64 Salary and rank of the vali of Kartli editAs outlined in the Dastur al Moluk the Kartli vali s annual salary was linked to the profits generated from the Poshkuh Tarom and Qazvin regions This data as reported by Georgian sources also indicates that the Kartli vali received compensation from the revenues of Gilan Khuyin and Lahijan 66 Following Iranian customs the vali was granted villages in exchange for his service to the Iranian Shah It is worth noting that these villages were not confined to Kartli but also extended to northern Iran mirroring the similar rewards bestowed upon Georgian nobles 66 According to the Tadhkirat al Moluk the vali of Kartli was the third of the top ranking officials not residing at court and held a higher status than the second category of great amirs those attached to the palace 66 Cultural influences editGeorgian culture edit From the 16th century there was an increase of Iranian influence in Georgian culture 32 The genres in which it was most apparent were literature painting and architecture 32 During the Safavid period many Georgian rulers princes and nobles had spent time in Iran Therefore Iranian traditions also spread throughout Georgia 32 The placement of Davud Khan David XI on the puppet throne of Kartli in 1562 did not just initiate a lengthy period of Iranian political dominance in the same two and a half centuries that followed until the coming of the Russians in the 19th century Iranian cultural influence dominated eastern Georgia Kartli Kakheti 12 According to Jean Chardin who was in Georgia in 1672 the Georgians followed Iranian traditions 32 Chardin assumed that the process had been influenced by those nobles who had converted to Islam in order to obtain positions as state officials as well as those who encouraged their female relatives to become ladies at court 32 In the Safavid period a great number of books were translated from Persian into Georgian The Rostomiani the Georgian version of the Shahnameh was further developed and improved as well as Visramiani the Georgian version of Vis o Ramin 32 According to a letter sent to the Pope by a Catholic missionary who flourished in the 17th century Padre Bernardi it was to his great regret that literate Georgians preferred to read works such as the Rostomiani Shahnameh Bezhaniani and Baramguriani and were less interested in religious texts 67 Teimuraz I of Kakheti Tahmuras Khan is perhaps mostly remembered for creating issues for the central government but he was fluent in Persian and fond of Persian poetry which he highly valued 67 In his words 67 The sweetness of Persian speech urged me to compose the music of verse Teimuraz wrote several poems influenced by the contemporary Persian tradition packed with Persian imagery and allusions loanwords and phraseology A later Georgian vali Vakhtang VI Hosayn Qoli Khan 40 was also important in this regard 67 When he was forced to stay in Iran he learned to excel in Persian He later used this skill to translate works into Georgian 67 He created a Georgian version of the Persian Qabusnameh known as Amirnasariani The story of Amirnasar Amirnasar being the mythical Iranian king Kaykavus During his detention in Iran Vakhtang also translated into Georgian Kashefi s Kalileh o Demneh 67 Later back in Georgia he ordered the entire story to be translated once more while his tutor Sulkhan Saba Orbeliani also made a revised version of Vakhtang s own translation 67 Though Vakhtang individually was heavily involved in further developing Georgian Iranian literary ties in other words by his own writings he also founded an entire school dedicated to translators from Persian into Georgian 67 During this period a number of folk stories i e dastans that were extremely popular in Iran were translated into Georgian on his orders 67 One of these was the Bakhtiarnameh a collection of several novellas as well as the Baramgulandamiani Bahram o Golandam originally written by Katebi Nishapuri The many other Persian Georgian literary efforts of this era include translations of the Qur an and books on Shia jurisprudence 67 68 Iranian culture edit In another perhaps unorthodox way Georgia also influenced the culture of Iran According to a story an ethnic Georgian named Shedan Chiladze was so renowned for being able to hold his liquor that Safavid King Safi r 1629 1642 invited him to the court in order to hold a drinking competition 69 After beating everyone at court the king himself challenged Chiladze and reportedly died doing so Though historian Rudi Matthee reports that the story may be apocryphal as alcoholism did kill Safi but not in relation to a drinking contest it does show that Georgian habits had spread to Iran 69 In the Safavid period large numbers of ethnic Georgian men entered Safavid government service whereas many Georgian women entered the harems of the ruling elite and the royal court 69 Drinking alcohol a prominent Georgian habits influenced Iranian society and more importantly court culture during this period 69 It is especially evident in the taxes the province had to pay they included many liters of wine The royal harem the private area of the royal court was where Safavid rulers grew up after Abbas I s reign all Safavid rulers grew up there surrounded by mostly Georgian women 69 There were also many gholams who drank Matthee therefore suggests that it is quite likely that the fondness for wine exhibited by Safavid rulers originated in this environment 69 See also editList of rulers of Safavid GeorgiaNotes edit Eastern Samtskhe was part of Safavid Iran from 1551 to 1582 as well as for several years after 1613 2 Before Abbas I s reign 1588 1629 governors of Georgia were usually referred to as hakem 3 Sometimes they were also styled as soltan salatin 4 The third force included the Circassians and Armenians Simon I was earlier known for his fierce resistance against the Safavid domination which resulted in his being imprisoned for several years at the Alamut Castle Amongst the deportees there were also Muslims from Georgia and sections of the Shirvan and Karabakh population The vakil sometimes also functioned as a tutor laleh in cases when the governor was young 61 References edit a b c d Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 pp 17 18 a b Floor 2008 p 85 Floor 2001 p 83 a b Floor 2001 p 86 Rayfield 2012 pp 164 166 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Hitchins 2001 pp 464 470 Rayfield 2012 p 166 a b Floor 2008 pp 295 296 Babaie et al 2004 p 28 Rayfield 2012 p 173 Mikaberidze 2015 p xxxi a b Suny 1994 p 48 a b Floor 2001 pp 108 109 Floor 2001 p 233 a b c Floor 2001 p 85 a b Mikaberidze 2015 p 379 Savory 2007 p 81 Babaie et al 2004 p 17 Suny 1994 p 50 Blow 2009 p 174 Mikaberidze 2015 pp 291 536 Rayfield 2012 p 191 Mikaberidze 2015 p 536 Mikaberidze 2015 p 164 Mikaberidze 2015 p 600 a b Matthee 2012 p 145 Matthee 1999 p 44 Blow 2009 p 105 a b c Mikaberidze 2015 pp 194 379 Suny 1994 p 52 Floor 2008 p 140 a b c d e f g h i j k l Gelashvili 2012 p 494 a b c d e f g Rayfield 2012 p 199 a b Barendse 2002 p 209 Floor 2008 p 309 Rayfield 2012 p 211 Matthee 2012 p 114 Floor 2001 p 198 Mikaberidze 2015 p 249 a b c d e f Matthee 2012 p 225 Suny 1994 p 54 Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 142 Matthee 2012 pp 226 227 a b c d Babaie et al 2004 p 68 Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 53 Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 pp 5 15 53 Barendse 2002 p 221 Babaie et al 2004 pp 68 69 a b Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 17 Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 14 a b Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 pp 130 131 a b Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 131 Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 119 a b Matthee Floor amp Clawson 2013 p 44 Floor 2001 pp 82 83 Floor 2001 pp 135 136 Floor 2001 p 207 Floor 2001 p 212 a b c d e Sanikidze 2021 pp 387 388 Floor 2001 p 149 a b Floor 2001 p 7 Matthee 1999 p 37 a b Matthee 1999 p 41 a b Matthee 2005 p 44 Matthee 2005 pp 43 44 a b c Sanikidze 2021 p 389 a b c d e f g h i j Gvakharia 2001 pp 481 486 Giunashvili 2016 a b c d e f Matthee 2005 p 43 Sources editBabaie Sussan Babayan Kathryn Baghdiantz McCabe Ina Farhad Massumeh 2004 Slaves of the Shah New Elites of Safavid Iran I B Tauris pp 1 256 ISBN 978 0857716866 Barendse R J 2002 The Arabian Seas The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century Armonk N Y M E Sharpe ISBN 978 0765633644 Blow David 2009 Shah Abbas The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend London UK I B Tauris ISBN 978 1845119898 LCCN 2009464064 Floor Willem 2001 Safavid Government Institutions Costa Mesa California Mazda Publishers ISBN 978 1568591353 Floor Willem 2008 Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran A Third Manual of Safavid Administration by Mirza Naqi Nasiri Washington D C Mage Publishers pp 1 324 ISBN 978 1933823232 Gelashvili Nana 2012 Iranian Georgian relations during the Reign of Rostom 1633 58 In Floor Willem Herzig Edmund eds Iran and the World in the Safavid Age London I B Tauris ISBN 978 1780769905 Giunashvili Jemshid 2016 Gorgijanidze Parsadan In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Online Edition Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation Gvakharia Aleksandre 2001 Georgia iv Literary contacts with Persia In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Volume X 5 Geography IV Germany VI London and New York Routledge amp Kegan Paul pp 481 486 ISBN 978 0 933273 53 5 Hitchins Keith 2001 Georgia ii History of Iranian Georgian Relations Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol X Fasc 4 pp 464 470 Matthee Rudolph P 1999 The Politics of Trade in Safavid Iran Silk for Silver 1600 1730 Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 120 ISBN 978 0 521 64131 9 Matthee Rudolph P 2005 The Pursuit of Pleasure Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History 1500 1900 Princeton New Jersey Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0691118550 Matthee Rudi 2012 Persia in Crisis Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan London I B Tauris pp 1 371 ISBN 978 1 84511 745 0 Matthee Rudi Floor Willem Clawson Patrick 2013 The Monetary History of Iran From the Safavids to the Qajars London New York I B Tauris pp 1 320 ISBN 978 0857721723 Mikaberidze Alexander 2015 Historical Dictionary of Georgia 2 ed Lanham Maryland Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 9781442241466 Rayfield Donald 2012 Edge of Empires A History of Georgia London Reaktion Books ISBN 978 1780230702 Sanikidze George 2021 The Evolution of the Safavid Policy towards Eastern Georgia In Melville Charles ed Safavid Persia in the Age of Empires the Idea of Iran Vol 10 Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978 0755633807 Savory Roger 2007 Iran Under the Safavids Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521042512 Suny Ronald Grigor 1994 The Making of the Georgian Nation Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0253209153 Further reading editAkopyan Alexander V 2021 Coinage and the monetary system In Matthee Rudi ed The Safavid World Routledge Floor Willem Faghfoory Mohammad H 2007 The Dastur Al moluk A Safavid State Manual by Mohammad Rafi al Din Ansari Costa Mesa California Mazda Publishers pp 1 355 ISBN 978 1568591957 Floor Willem 2021 The economy In Matthee Rudi ed The Safavid World Routledge Floor Willem 2021 The Safavid court and government In Matthee Rudi ed The Safavid World Routledge Floor Willem 2021 Trade in Safavid Iran In Matthee Rudi ed The Safavid World Routledge Maeda Hirotake 2003 On the Ethno Social Background of Four Gholam Families from Georgia in Safavid Iran Studia Iranica 32 Peeters Publishers 1 278 doi 10 2143 SI 32 2 563203 Maeda Hirotake 2021 Against all odds the Safavids and the Georgians In Matthee Rudi ed The Safavid World Routledge Paghava Irakli Bennett Kirk 2015 THE EARLIEST DATE FOR THE KINGDOM OF K AKHETI SILVER ISSUES OF THE 16TH CENTURY PDF Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 225 25 26 Paghava Irakli 2016 K ak i Kakhed Kakhetabad One More Georgian Coin Minting Urban Center Pro Georgia 26 117 140 Paghava Irakli 2019 Kakhetabad a new Georgian Safavid mint PDF Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 235 23 25 ISSN 1818 1252 Mousavi Mohammad A 2008 The Autonomous State in Iran Mobility and Prosperity in the Reign of Shah Abbas the Great 1587 1629 Iran and the Caucasus 12 1 17 33 doi 10 1163 157338408X326172 JSTOR 25597352 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Safavid Georgia amp oldid 1222167781, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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