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Hatem "Beg" Ordubadi ( fa, حاتم بیگ اردوبادی), was an
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
aristocrat from the Ordubadi family, who served as the
grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
of the
Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
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 ...
'') Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) from 1591 to 1610/1.


Biography


Background and early life

Hatem was the son of Bahram Khan Ordubadi, the lord of
Ordubad Ordubad is the second largest city of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the capital of an eponymous district. Ordubad is a medieval city of the Caucasus and in its current capacity of a town was founded in the 18th century. The town ...
, the homeland of the Ordubadi family—an Iranian family which was descended from the medieval philosopher and polymath
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
. Hatem later succeeded his father as the lord of Urdubad, and received the title of " Beg" (lord). Due to local disagreements, he resigned however, and went to the royal court. In the ensuing period he served as vizier of the governor of
Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...
. However, when the latter was dismissed later on, Hatem Beg lost his job as well, and settled again in Ordubad and later
Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...
. His fortunes changed in the early rule of Abbas I, when he was appointed as the vizier of the governor of
Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
, Vali Beg Yuz Bashi Afshar and was later made the accountant ('' mostowfi al-mamalek'') of
Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...
.


Vizierate under Shah Abbas I

In 1587-1588, Hatem's brother Abu Taleb Beg, then the ''mostowfi al-mamalek'' was sent as an envoy to the ruler of the
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 ...
,
Abdullah Khan II Abdullah Khan (''Abdollah Khan Ozbeg'') (1533/4–1598), known as "The old Khan (title), Khan", was an Uzbeks, Uzbek ruler of the Khanate of Bukhara (1500–1785). He was the last Shaybanid Dynasty, Shaybanid Khan of Bukhara from 1583 until his ...
, who was trying to take
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 Safēd ...
from the Safavids at the time. Abdullah Khan II was not interested in negotiations, and had Abu Taleb Beg executed by putting him in front of the mouth of a cannon. As a result of this gruesome tale in relation to his close relative, Hatem Beg was taken under Abbas I's wings, and in 1591, he appointed him as the ''mostowfi al-mamalek'' of all of Iran, while six months later he made him his grand vizier. Hatem Beg, who became known by his honorific of ''Etemad-e daulat'' ("Trusty Support of the State"), which was given to every Safavid grand vizier, demonstrated to be a statesman of noteworthy capacity during his tenure as grand vizier. During his tenure he managed to form a highly potent state administration that allowed the country to persist to prosper under considerably less adept shahs after Abbas I's death. The Safavid court historian
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 Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically ...
, who was attached to the retinue of Hatem Beg, states that he "brought security into the lives of Iranians" and "was a model for all in regard to the administration of justice, his knowledge of accounting procedures, and his organisation of
divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
affairs." Hatem Beg was evenly held in high regard by the
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
ans—the
Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...
monk Father Paul Simon, recounted Hatem Beg's calmness in dealing with difficult tasks. He describes how Hatem Beg "used to despatch 200 petitions in a morning, and after having sat and given a hearing for six or seven hours would go out as serene as if he were coming from taking his horse for a walk." Aside from his administrative responsibilities, Hatem Beg also distinguished him as a military commander in the consolidation of the country. It was unusual for a person of Iranian stock to be involved in military affairs—the Iranian statesman
Mirza Salman Jaberi Mirza Salman Jaberi Isfahani ( fa, میرزا سلمان جابری اصفهانی; also spelled Jabiri) was a prominent Persian statesman in Safavid Iran, who served as the grand vizier of Ismail II (r. 1576-77) and Mohammad Khodabanda (r. 1577 ...
, who had served as grand vizier from 1577 to 1583, had as a result of his involvement in military affairs made the
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, the ...
hostile towards him, who felt that their power had been usurped. Mirza Salman Jaberi was eventually murdered by the Qizilbash. Hatem Beg's involvement in military affairs, however, did not arouse the antagonism of the Qizilbash, which, in the words of David Blow, was "a sign of changing times". In 1594/5, Hatem Beg, together with a group of administrators and accountants, were sent to the newly subdued province of Gilan, where they improved the structure of tax charge and contribution, which, supposedly, was done at the demand of the residents who were discontent with the oppressive governorship of Mehdi Qoli Khan Shamlu. More likely, however, this reform took place due to the economic capability the province offered—its rich silk manufacture, tea,
caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...
, and lumber encouraged Abbas I to dispatch his most prominent officers to overhaul the economic system of the province in a just approach.


Death and offspring

Hatem Beg died in 1610/1 near
Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...
during an expedition—he was buried in
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
. His son, Mirza Taleb Khan Ordubadi, succeeded him as grand vizier, occupying the office till 1621. He was reappointed as grand vizier during the reign of shah Safi (r. 1629–1642) from 1632 until 1633, where he was assassinated by the
eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
Saru Taqi Mirza Mohammad Taqi (c. 1579 – 11 October, 1645) ( fa, میرزا محمد تقی), better known as Saru Taqi (, meaning "Taqi the blond") was an eunuch in Safavid Iran, who served as the Grand Vizier of the Safavid king (''shah'') Safi (r. ...
, due to a personal hatred he had towards the Ordubadi family, the reason being that Hatem Beg had denied to give Saru Taqi's father a post which he had asked for.


Burial place

He died near
Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...
and his body brought to
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
and buried under Hatam Khani Dome in Imam Reza Shrine.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatem Beg Ordubadi Grand viziers of the Safavid Empire Ordubadi family People from Ordubad Safavid mayors of Ordubad 16th-century Iranian politicians 17th-century Iranian politicians 16th-century births 1610s deaths Safavid generals 16th-century people of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Burials in Iran Burials in Mashhad Burials at Imam Reza Shrine