Bijan Beg, also known as Bijan Beg Gorji (''Bezhan'', ''Bizhan''), was a Safavid courtier, official, and royal ''

gholam Ghulam ( ar, غلام, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in paradise. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesse ...

'' from the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Saakadze clan. He was one of the most influential and closest servants of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) in the latter's early reign.

Biography

Bijan belonged to the gentry (''

aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility. The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, correspond ...

'') of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

, whose king Luarsab I he served early in his career. Afterwards, he appears to have accompanied David XI of Kartli (Davud Khan) when the latter moved to the Safavid court at

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...

in 1562 to tender his submission to king

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...

(r. 1524–1576). When David XI converted to Islam on this occasion, Bijan Beg did so as well. After the Ottoman conquest of northwestern Iran and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

through the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1690, Bijan followed a son of Davud Khan (either

Bagrat Bagrat ( hy, Բագրատ, in Western Armenian pronounced Pakrad, ka, ბაგრატ) is a male name popular in Georgia and Armenia. It is derived from the Old Persian ''Bagadāta'', "gift of God". The names of the Armenian Bagratuni and ...

or Khosrow) and other nobles to the Safavid court, and settled there decisively. Bijan then served Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) for many years, and was part of the élite ''

'' corps. In the first years of Abbas' reign, in 1590, he appointed ''

darugha ''Darugha'' ( ba, даруга, tt-Cyrl, даруга, translit=daruğa, from Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for th ...

'' (prefect) of the city of Isfahan, a position he would hold for several years. This further stipulates his high-ranking position and close relationship with the reigning Safavid king, for he was entrusted with the rule of the future Safavid capital. In the ''Tarikh-e-Rostam'' (literally, "On the history of Rostam") it is mentioned that Abbas ordered Bijan to guard the royal palace after suppressing the revolt of Yaqub Khan in Fars.

Iskandar Beg Munshi Iskandar Beg Munshi ( fa, اسکندربیگ منشی), a.k.a. Iskandar Beg Turkman () ( – c. 1632), was a Persian historian of Turkoman origin of the Safavid emperor Shah Abbas I. Iskandar Beg began as an accountant in the bureaucracy, but ...

, a court historian at that time, also mentions Bijan and writes in particular about one of his duties whereby he was to guard an important captive. When Bagrat Khan was appointed as ruler of Kartli by Abbas I in 1615/1616, Bijan Beg was appointed to serve as lord chamberlain (''sakhlt'ukhuts'esi'') at his court. Due to his high-ranking position at Luarsab I and Bagrat Khan's courts, Bijan Beg is seen as an open supporter of Davud Khan and his successors pro-Iranian policies.

Family

Bijan's offspring and descendants also held prominent positions in the Safavid Empire. He had three sons:

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a w ...

(died 1644), Aliqoli (died 1667)—both of them high-ranking military commanders—and Isa (died 1654). Kaykhosrow, a grandson by one of his daughters, served as the commander of the musketeer corps in 1670–1674.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite journal, last1=Maeda, first1=Hirotake, authorlink=Hirotake Maeda, title=On the Ethno-Social Backgrounds of the Four Gholam Families from Georgia in Safavid Iran, journal=Studia Iranica, date=2003, pages=250, 257-262, 272, series=32 Safavid prefects of Isfahan Safavid ghilman Iranian people of Georgian descent Converts to Shia Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Shia Muslims from Georgia (country) Nobility of Georgia (country) 16th-century people of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Safavid slaves