Durmish (Dormish) Khan Shamlu was a

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...

officer of Turkoman origin, who occupied high offices under the Safavid king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

)

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

(r. 1501–1524) and the latter's son

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). Durmish Khan later died in 1525.

Biography

Durmish Khan was the son of Abdi Beg Shamlu, while his mother was a sister of shah Ismail I. Furthermore, Durmish Khan had a brother named Husayn Khan Shamlu. In 1503, Durmish Khan was appointed as the governor of Isfahan, but chose to stay in the Safavid capital of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

and appointed Mirza Shah Husayn as his ''

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

''. In 1514, while the Safavid forces were at Chaldiran and planning on how to confront the Ottomans, who had declared war against the Safavid Empire. Mohammad Khan Ustajlu, who served as the governor of

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

, and

Nur-Ali Khalifa Nur-Ali Khalifa, also known as Nur-Ali Khalifa Rumlu, was an early 16th-century Iranian military leader and official from the Turkoman Rumlu tribe. He served as the governor of Erzincan from during the reign of Safavid Shah Ismail I (1501–15 ...

, a commander who knew how the Ottomans fought, proposed that they should attack as quickly as possible. However, this proposal was rejected by Durmish Khan, who rudely said that Muhammad Khan Ustajlu was only interested in the province which he governed. The proposal was also rejected by Ismail himself, who said; "I am not a caravan-thief, whatever is decreed by God, will occur." A battle shortly ensured, which, however, resulted in an absolute disaster for the Safavids, who lost most of their troops and commanders. In 1518/9, Durmish Khan suppressed several rebellions in Mazandaran, and later in 1520 he was sent to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

to defend the city against the Ottoman sultan

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...

, who, however, died of sickness before he managed to reach the city. In 1521, Mirza Shah Husayn, who now served as Ismail's ''vizier'' and had become so powerful that he chose to send Durmish Khan far away from the Safavid court—to

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

in Khorasan, where he was forced to serve as its governor. When Durmish Khan arrived to the city, he appointed Ahmad Sultan Afshar as the governor of several districts of the province. In May 1522, the Mughal ruler Babur seized Qandahar from Durmish Khan. In 1523/4, Herat was attacked a by a group of

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

, which Durmish Khan managed to repel. Durmish Khan later died in 1525 and was succeeded by his brother Husayn Khan Shamlu.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Durmish Khan Shamlu Safavid generals 1525 deaths 15th-century births Iranian Turkmen people Shamlu Safavid governors of Herat Governors of Isfahan Safavid governors Safavid military officers 16th-century people of Safavid Iran Safavid governors of Azerbaijan