Abolnasr Sam Mirza Safavi (16 October 1517 – 1566) 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 ...

prince, a son 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 ...

'')

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. 1501–1514). He was an art lover and was the author of the book ''Tazkare ye Sami'' or ''Tohfe ye Sami'' about

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and poets.

Career

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 t ...

, Sam Mirza's elder brother, appointed him as a teenager, to be the governor of

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 ...

in his third

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

and appointed Aghzivar Khan as Sam Mirza's custodian. Sam Mirza balked at his brother's action upon his retainers' instigation, but he regretted later and asked his brother for forgiveness. Tahmasp I forgave him and took him from

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

. In Qazvin, Sam Mirza was a companion of Tahmasp I. In 1549, Sam Mirza asked his brother to allow him to remain in a place for praying. Tahmasp I appointed him as custodian of the mausoleum of Safi-ad-din Ardabili and the governor of

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 ...

. At the time he was a governor and custodian and his house was the meeting place of scientists, poets and artists. In 1561, Sam Mirza asked Tahmasp I to send him to Khorasan. The Shah agreed, but he changed his mind later and sent his and his two children to the

Qahqaheh castle Qahqaheh Castle ( fa, قلعه قهقهه) is a castle located 85 kilometres away from Meshginshahr in Ardabil Province, Iran. This castle was built in the mountains and was used as a jail for anti-kingdom politicians during the Safavid dynasty. ...

near

Ardebil 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 Azerbaijan ...

. Finally in 1566, Tahmasp I ordered the death of Sam Mirza and his children and also

Alqas Mirza Abu'l Ghazi Sultan Alqas Mirza ( fa, ابوالقاسم غازی سلطان القاص میرزا), better known as Alqas Mirza (; 15 March 1516 – 9 April 1550), was a Safavid prince and the second son of king (shah) Ismail I (r. 1501–1524). ...

's children.

Personal life

Sam Mirza was born by one of Ismail I's

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 ...

wives. In 1578, 'Isa Khan Gorji (Jesse) married a daughter of Sam Mirza, by his wife, a daughter of Husain Khan-e

Shamlu The Shamlu tribe (also: Shamloo, Shomloo, Chamlou; fa, ایل شاملو) was one of the seven original and the most powerful Qizilbash tribes of Turcoman origin in Iran. List of the Khans of Shamlu *Ahmad Sultan Shamlu *Abdu Beg Shamlu ( F ...

Career

Personal life

References

Sources

Further reading