Qāsem Sultan Afshar or Qāsem Sultan Imānlū Afshar, was a

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 ...

military leader and official during the reign of 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 (1588–1629).

Biography

Qāsem Sultan was a member of the Imānlū branch of the Afshar tribe, one of the original

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 ...

tribes that had supplied power to the

Safavids 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 ...

since its earliest days. During King Abbas I's early reign, Qāsem Sultan became the head of a group of Afshars whose duty it was to protect the marshes surrounding the city of

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

. In the early 17th century, marked by

wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against the archrivals of the Safavids — the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

— Qāsem Sultan fought with great distinction, which earned him the governorshop of

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

in 1622. However, shortly after, following the outbreak of a plague, he moved towards the western part 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 th ...

with the rest of his tribe. He became the founder of the Afshar community of the city of

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 ...

. His son Kalb-e ʿAlī Beg (or Kalb' Ali Sultan Afshar) was appointed governor of Urmia in 1627-28, or 1630, until 1648. The descendants of both formed the Qāsemlū clan — named in honor of Qāsem Sultan.

References

Sources

* * * * 17th-century deaths Rulers of Mosul Safavid governors Safavid generals Iranian Turkmen people 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Ethnic Afshar people {{Authority control