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(d. 1645), išik-āqāsi-bāši (master of ceremony) and qurči-bāši (head of the tribal guards) under the Safavid Shah Ṣafi I (r. 1629-42) and Shah ʿAbbās II (r. 1642-66). A version of this article is available in print Volume XIV, Fascicle 5, pp. 544-545 JĀNI BEG KHAN BIGDELI ŠĀMLU (or JĀNI BEYG; d. 26 Šaʿbān 1055/15 October 1645), išik-āqāsi-bāši (master of ceremony) and qurči-bāši (head of the tribal guards) under the Safavid Shah Ṣafi I (r. 1629-42) and Shah ʿAbbās II (r. 1642-66). Little is known about Jāni Beg’s background. Adam Olearius (p. 671) called …

Safavid king of Iran (1052-77/1642-66). The expedition to Kandahar, which had been lost to the Mughals under Shah Ṣafi I, counts as Shah ʿAbbās II’s main military venture. ʿABBĀS II, Shah, seventh Safavid king, son of Shah Ṣafi I (r. 15 Ṣafar 1052-25 Rabiʿ I 1077/15 May 1642-25 September 1666). Shah ʿAbbās II, known as Solṭān-Moḥammad Mirzā prior to his enthronement, was born in Qazvin, most likely, as the Dutch report, on Monday 14 Ṣafar 1042/30 August 1632, as the first of Shah Ṣafi’s five sons (NA, VOC 1106, 8 May 1633, …

(b. Beja, Portugal, 1575; d. Manzanares, Spain, 1628), Augustinian missionary and Portuguese envoy who visited Persia three times between 1602 and 1613 and who wrote on Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 177-179 GOUVEA, ANTONIO DE (b. Beja, Portugal, 1575; d. Manzanares, Spain, 1628), Augustinian missionary and Portuguese envoy who visited Persia three times between 1602 and 1613 and who wrote on Persia. De Gouvea first visited Persia in 1602 on the order of the archbishop of Goa, Aleixo de Menzes, who had convinced th…

known in Persia as Bohtam Beg; Polish envoy of Georgian-Armenian origin and first permanent Polish resident in Safavid Persia (d. Moscow, 1700). A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 4, pp. 403-404 GURDZIECKI, BOGDAN (known in Persia as Bohtam Beg), Polish envoy of Georgian-Armenian origin and first permanent Polish resident in Safavid Persia (d. Moscow, 12 April 1700). Little more is known about Bogdan Gurdziecki’s early life other than that he was a native of Georgia of Armenian background who until the mid-17th century lived…

military commander of Shah ʿAbbās I, executed at the Shah’s orders in 1598. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 3, pp. 258-260 FARHĀD KHAN QARAMĀNLŪ, ROKN-AL-SALṬANA, military commander of Shah ʿAbbās I (q.v.), executed at the Shah’s orders in 1007/1598. He was a descendent of Bayram Beg Qaramānlū, one of the great amirs under Shah Esmāʿīl, and son of Ḥosām Beg b. Bahrām Beg. Originally Farhād Khan was a retainer of Ḥamza Mīrzā, son of Shah Moḥammad Ḵodā-banda and one of the pretenders to the Safavid throne in the turbulent period p…

also known as Giorgio XI and Šāhnavāz Khan II; Georgian prince (d. 1709), who was alternately ruler of Georgia and holder of high positions in the Safavid administration and military. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 163-165 GORGIN KHAN (also known as Giorgio XI and Šāhnavāz Khan II), Georgian prince (d. 1709), who was alternately ruler of Georgia and holder of high positions in the Safavid administration and military. Gorgin Khan was the son of Šāhnavāz Khan I (Wakhtang V), the Safavid viceroy ( wāli) of Kartli (Kārtil), the eastern half of Ge…

or LODEWYCK (b. Brazil, 1648; died Stockholm, 1729), Swedish envoy to the Safavid court. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 2, pp. 138-140 FABRITIUS, LUDVIG (LODEWYCK), Swedish envoy to the Safavid court (b. 1648 in Brazil, of Dutch parentage; d. 1729 in Stockholm). Fabritius headed three missions to Persia representing the Swedish crown in 1679-80, 1683-84, and 1697-1700. Fabritius came to Moscow with his stepfather in 1660 or 1661 and subsequently pursued a career as an officer in the Russian army. He took part in a number …

(1668-1727), the ninth and last Safavid king, the eldest son of Shah Solaymān I. Like most Safavid rulers, he was most comfortable speaking Turkish, although he appears to have learned Persian as well. SOLṬĀN ḤOSAYN, the ninth and last Safavid king (1078-105/1668-1727; r. 1105-35/1694-1722). Solṭān Ḥosayn, the eldest son of Shah Solaymān I (r. 1077-1105/1666-1694), was born and reared in the royal harem, where he is said to have done little more than read the Qurʾan under the tutelage of Mir Moḥammad-Bāqer Ḵātunābādi, who would later become the shah’s chaplain ( mollā-bāši; ʿAbd-al-Ḥo…

To Persians, as to other Muslim peoples, Europe was long synonymous with Christendom and was thus closely associated with Rūm, the realm of Byzantium or eastern Christianity. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 1, pp. 70-76 EUROPE, PERSIAN IMAGE OF. To Persians, as to other Muslim peoples, Europe was long synonymous with Christendom and was thus closely associated with Rūm, the realm of Byzantium or eastern Christianity. Prior to the Mongol era, information available to Persians about Europe beyond the Byzan…

Originating from a mystical order at the turn of the 14th century, the Safavids ruled Persia from 1501 to 1722. SAFAVID DYNASTY. Originating from a mystical order at the turn of the 14th century, the Safavids ruled Persia from 1501 to 1722. Introduction. The period of the Safavids, the dynasty that took control of Persia in the early 16th century, is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history, just as the state they created is said to mark the genesis of the Persian nation-state. It would be anachronistic to call Safavid P…

(1592/93-1654), grand vizier under Shah ʿAbbās I (r. 1588-1629) and then again under Shah ʿAbbās II (r. 1642-66). A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 4, pp. 382-384 ḴALIFA SOLṬĀN (Solṭān-al-ʿOlamāʾ, b. Isfahan, 1001/1592-93, d. Māzandarān, March 1654), grand vizier under Shah ʿAbbās I (r. 1588-1629) and then again under Shah ʿAbbās II (r. 1642-66). Ḵalifa Solṭān, whose original name was Sayyed ʿAlāʾ-al-Din Ḥosayn, was the son of Mirzā Rafiʿ-al-Din Moḥammad and a scion of a well-know family of Marʿ…

lit. "Society of Muslim brethren"; the first modern religio-political movement in the Islamic world, founded in 1928 by Ḥasan Bannāʾ in Esmāʿīlīya Egypt. A version of this article is available in print Volume VIII, Fascicle 3, pp. 293-294 EḴWĀN AL-MOSLEMĪN, JAMʿĪYAT AL- (Society of Muslim bretheren), the first modern religio-political movement in the Islamic world, founded in 1928 by Ḥasan Bannāʾ (1906-49) in Esmāʿīlīya Egypt. Mass membership and a forceful stance against the corrupt ruling elite and for national sovereignty gave the E…

administrative and then military office in the pre-modern Iranian world. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 5, pp. 544-548 ḤĀJEB, an administrative and then military office in the pre-modern Iranian world. ḤĀJEB i. IN THE MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PERIOD The office of ḥājeb, implying military command, appears in the Iranian world with the Samanids, where it probably grew out of the amir’s domestic household, in which the ḥājeb had had duties similar to those of the Umayyad and Abbasid ḥājebs or doorkeepers/chamberlains. The office of chief ḥājeb of the Samanids ( al…

(Pers. Gorjestān; Ar. al-Korj). This series of entries covers Georgia and its relations with Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 5, pp. 460-497 GEORGIA (Pers. Gorjestān; Ar. al-Korj). GEORGIA i. The land and the people Located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea to the south of the Caucasus Mountains, Georgia experienced continuous, decisive, political relations and cultural contacts with Persia from the Achaemenid period until the early 19th century (Figure 1). Sakartvelo, or land of the Georgians, as the Georgians call their country, h…

the second most important city in the country and the capital of Kandahar province. This entry is divided into seven parts: i. Historical geography to 1979. ii. Pre-Islamic monuments and remains. iii. Early Islamic period. iv. From the Mongol invasion through the Safavid era. v. In the 19th century. vi. 20th century, 1901-73. vii. From 1973 to the present. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 5, pp. 466-494 KANDAHAR (Qandahār), city in southern Afghanistan (lat 31°36ʹ28ʹ N, long 65°42ʹ19ʹ E), the second most important in the country and …