Qarachaqay Khan ( fa, قرچغای خان; died 1625) was a military commander in Safavid Iran of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

origin. He was known for his great collection of porcelain items and loyal service to

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...

. Qarachaqay Khan was killed while commanding an expedition against 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 ...

rebels.

Career

Born as a Christian Armenian in

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, Qarachaqay was enslaved in childhood and brought to the Safavid court to be raised as a ''

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 ...

''. He began his career in a royal tailoring workshop and was soon distinguished in the Safavid army as an artillery officer. In 1605, Qarachaqay Beg, being in charge of a musketeer regiment, under the command of

Allahverdi Khan Allahverdi Khan ( fa, اللّه وردی خان, ka, ალავერდი-ხანი) (c. 1560 – June 3, 1613) was an Iranian general and statesman of Georgian origin who, initially a '' gholām'' ("military slave"), rose to high offic ...

—also originally a ''gholam'' of

origin—contributed to Abbas I's victory over the Ottoman forces at Sufiyan near

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 ...

. During his career in the Safavid army and administration, Qarachaqay amassed a valuable collection of Chinese porcelain which he presented to Shah Abbas around 1610. Shortly afterwards, Qarachaqay was bestowed with the title of ''muqarab al-hazrat'' ("intimate of the illustrious"), reserved for the Shah's close companions. In 1616, he received the title of khan and was appointed commander-in-chief ('' sepahsalar-e Iran'') of the Safavid army. A year after the defeat of the Ottoman troops led by Khalil Pasha, he became governor of Tabriz and all 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 ...

, but was soon recalled by the shah to continue his service as governor of Mashhad in northeastern Khorasan in 1618. When Abbas I decided to marry his granddaughter to Semayun Khan of Kartli (Simon II) in 1624, Qarachaqay Khan ordered Yusuf Khan, likewise of Christian Armenian origin and a childhood friend, to host the banquet in the first term of the wedding party. In the same year, Qarachaqay Khan, accompanied by the Safavid Georgian officer Murav-Beg (Giorgi Saakadze), captained a punitive expedition against the rebels in Georgia. Murav-Beg conspired with the insurgents, who unexpectedly attacked and destroyed the Iranian camp at

Martqopi Martkopi ( ka, მარტყოფი) is a village in Gardabani Municipality of Georgia. It is located on the left side of Ialno range, in the gorges of the rivers Alikhevi and Tevali, and is at an altitude of 770 meters. It is 55 kilometre ...

, killing Qarachaqay Khan and one of his sons, Imam Verdi Khan. Both were buried within a family shrine complex in Mashhad. Of Qarachaqay Khan's other sons, Abu al-Fath Manuchihr Khan (died 1636) rose to the governorship of Mashhad and Ali Quli Khan became prefect of Qom and head of the shah's library. Manuchihr Khan's son, Qarachaqay Khan (died c. 1668), was also governor of Mashhad. All of them were known as sponsors of learning and culture.

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References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Qarachaqay 1625 deaths Converts to Shia Islam from Christianity Ethnic Armenian Shia Muslims Persian Armenians Military personnel from Yerevan Armenian former Christians Safavid governors of Mashhad Safavid governors of Azerbaijan Qollar-aghasi Commanders-in-chief of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Safavid ghilman Patrons of the arts

Career

See also

Notes

References