Bijan Beg (''Bezhan'', ''Bizhan''; fl. 17th-century) was a Safavid official and ''

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'' of

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origin. He served as a governor (''beglarbeg'') of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

during the reign of king Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694).

Biography

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of the Saakadze family, Bijan was the son of the former '' sepahsalar'' (commander-in-chief), Rostam Khan (c. 1588 – 1 March 1643), and an uncle of the later ''sepahsalar'' and ''divanbegi'' (chancellor, chief justice), also named Rostam Khan. He was a namesake to his grandfather. His brother Safiqoli (d. 1679) held influential positions in the Safavid ranks as well. Though Bijan's family had always been amongst the king's favorites according to the Italian traveller

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, Bijan himself had "fallen into disgrace" during the tenure of the grand vizier Shaykh Ali Khan Zanganeh (1669–1689). Shaykh Ali Khan had made him "suspect" with king Suleiman I, by claiming that he was a "madman" and a "drunkard". Careri adds that it was only through the mediation of his powerful nephew Rostam Khan, that the king could finally be convinced of his sanity.

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Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beg, Bijan 17th-century deaths Shia Muslims from Georgia (country) Iranian people of Georgian descent Safavid governors of Azerbaijan Safavid ghilman 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Safavid slaves