Abd-ol-Ghaffar Amilakhori ( fa, عبدالقفار امیلخوری, translit=Abd-ol-Qaffār Amilakhori, ka, ანდუყაფარ ამილახორი, tr; died ) was an early 17th-century noble from 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 ...

Amilakhori The Amilkhvari ( ka, ამილახვარი) was a noble house of Georgia which rose to prominence in the fifteenth century and held a large fiefdom in central Georgia until the Imperial Russian annexation of the country in 1801. They were ...

family of Kartli, prominent in the

Safavid Iran 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 ...

ian service.

Biography

Abd-ol-Ghaffar Amilakhori was raised at the Safavid court in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

and was a "typical member of the new Georgian converted elite". Abd-ol-Ghaffar was a son of Faramarz Amilakhori by his wife Tamar, a great-grandson of King Luarsab I of Kartli. His sister Tamar was a favourite concubine of the Safavid shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). When in 1624, Abbas I married off his granddaughter to the ruler of Kartli, Semayun Khan (Simon II), Abd-ol-Ghaffar's wife was a companion to the bride. Amilakhori and another leading Georgian noble, Zurab, '' eristavi'' of Aragvi, entertained the guests of the wedding party on the orders of the Safavid-Georgian officer Murav Beg (Giorgi Saakadze). Around the same time, the Shah arranged the marriage of Abd-ol-Ghaffar Amilakhori to a daughter of

Imam-Quli Khan Imam Quli Khan may refer to: * Imam Quli Khan of Bukhara (1582–1644) * Imam Quli Khan (Safavid governor) (died 1632) *David II of Kakheti (1678–1722) See also * Imam Quli (given name) * Khan (title) Khan ''khan/qan''; tr, han; Azerbaij ...

, a prominent Safavid military and political leader of Georgian descent. According to the contemporary Safavid historian Fazli Khuzani, Amilakhori was 22-years old at the time of his marriage. While in Kartli, Amilakhori was known as a champion of the Safavid interests in the country. He further expanded his estates at the expense of the neighbouring noble families, exterminated the Ghazneli and had the area around

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...

ravaged. In 1625/26, Amilakhori and his wife were captured by the rebellious Georgians and imprisoned in the fortress of Arshi. After the rebels' defeat at the

battle of Marabda The Battle of Marabda took place on 30 June 1625, or July 1, 1625, "Marabda, Battle of (1625)", in ''Historical Dictionary of Georgia'', by Alexander Mikaberidze (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p. 454 "Iranian Conflict 1609-25", in ''Early Modern War ...

, Abbas I sent a force to rescue them. According to Fazli Khuzani, upon being informed of this, the rebels sent the Amilakhori and his wife to Amilakhori's relatives, as well as those 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 ...

(the father of Imam-Quli Khan). Amilakhori, thereafter, disappears from historical records.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amilakhori, Abd-ol-Ghaffar 1620s deaths People from Isfahan Iranian people of Georgian descent Shia Muslims from Georgia (country) Converts to Shia Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Nobility of Georgia (country) 17th-century people of Safavid Iran 17th-century people from Georgia (country)