Undiladze

Undiladze

The Undiladze ( _ka. უნდილაძე) were a Georgian noble family whose members rose in prominence in the service of Iran’s Safavid dynasty and dominated the Shah’s court at a certain period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

The first known member of this family, Allahverdi Khan, was born to a Christian family in Georgia, but captured by the Persians during one of their raids, coverted into Islam and trained for the "ghulam" army, a special military structure consisting of Christian captives. His raise to the governorship of Fars in 1595 marked the beginning of Shah Abbas I’s policy of replacing Turkic Qizilbash officers with the former ghulams. By 1600, Allahverdi-Khan made it into the most influential minister of the Saffavid empire, being succeeded upon his death in 1613 by his older son, Imam-Quli Khan. Both father and son were responsible for the army reforms and major military exploits, including a series of successful campaigns that brought the Portuguese colonial gains in the Persian Gulf to an end. Allahverdi’s younger son, Daud Khan, served as governor of Ganja and Karabakh from 1625 to 1630, and had more intimate ties with Georgia, the country of the family’s origin.

Shah Abbas I placed complete trust in the family and did not feel threatened by their wealth and power. With Abbas’s death in 1629, the family’s influence began to fade. The new shah, Safi, extremely suspicious of Abbas’s favorites, resorted to bloody repressions, not without the advice and involvement of his new ministers, including the shah’s mentor Khosrow Mirza (Rostam Khan), a Muslim Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty. Things came to a head in 1633, after Daud Khan Undiladze, recently removed from his position in the majlis, defected to Georgia and joined his brother-in-law, Teimuraz I, in his rebellion against the Saffavid hegemony. The same year, at Shah Safi’s orders, Imam-Quli Khan and his family were massacred and his possessions added to the crown domain. Daud Khan’s sons were captured and castrated. Daud himself, being pressured by the Persian troops in Georgia, fled to the Ottoman Empire and disappeared from history. The family has left a visible trace in Iranian culture. Their patronage of arts and education and zeal for building resulted in some of the most notable examples of the Saffavid architecture, especially in Shiraz and Esfahan. A [http://www.aftab.ir/e_card/photos/XFB1901Q.jpgstatue to Imam-Quli Khan] has recently been installed on the island of Qeshm.

References

*Roger M. Savory, [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f8/v1f8a133.html Allāhverdī Khan] . "Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition". Accessed on September 20, 2007.
*Roger M. Savory, [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v8f4/v8f451.html Emāmqolī Khan] . "Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition". Accessed on September 20, 2007.
*Valerian N. Gabashvili. The Undiladze Feudal House in the Sixteenth to Seventeenth-Century Iran According to the Georgian Sources. "Iranian Studies", Volume 40, Issue 1 March 2007, pp. 37-58.
*Maeda, H. On the Ethno-Social Background of Four "gholem" Families from Georgia in Safavid Iran. "Studia Iranica", Volume 32, Issue 2 2003, pp. 243–278.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Daoud Khan Undiladzé — (en persan : داوود خان ; mort après 1633) est un chef militaire, un gouverneur séfévide d’origine géorgienne et un beglarbeg de Gandja et du Karabagh de 1625 à 1630. Biographie Daoud Khan Undiladzé est le fils cadet du général et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Iman Qouli Khan Undiladzé — Imam Qouli Khan Undiladzé (en persan : امامقلی خان،, Emāmqolī Khan ; exécuté en 1633) est un ministre et chef militaire séfévide d’origine géorgienne, gouverneur du Fars et de Bahreïn pour le compte de Chah Abbas et de Chah Safi.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Daud Khan Undiladze — Daud Khan (Persian: داوود خان) an Iranian military commander and politician of Georgian origin who served as governor (beglarbeg) of Ganja and Karabakh from 1625 to 1630. He was the son of Allahverdi Khan, a former Georgian ghulam from the… …   Wikipedia

  • Iranian Georgians — are an ethnic group living in Iran. Today s Georgia was a subject to the Safavid empire in 17th century and Shah Abbas I relocated Georgians as part of his programs to develop industrial economy, strengthen the military and populate newly built… …   Wikipedia

  • Allahverdi Khan — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Khan (homonymie). Allahverdi Khan (en persan : الله وردی خان) est un général iranien de l époque safavide d origine géorgienne né vers 1560 et mort en 1613. Biographie Chrétien né en Géorgie, Allahverdi,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Safi Ier — (né en 1611, mort le 11 mai 1642) est le sixième Chah séfévide d Iran (1629 1642). Biographie Fils du prince Sultan Muhammad Baqir Safi Mirza, exécuté par ordre de son père Abbas Ier en février 1615, il devient Chah le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abbas I of Persia — Shah ‘Abbās I شاه عباس بزرگ Shahanshah Shah of Iran Reign 1 October 1587 19 January 1629 ( 1000000000000004100000041 years …   Wikipedia

  • Daud Khan — may refer to: Mohammed Daoud Khan, President of the Republic of Afghanistan Nawab Daud Khan, Nawab of Carnatic David XI of Kartli, aka Daud Khan of Kartli, Muslim Georgian king (16th century) Daud Khan Undiladze, a Georgian official in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Daud — Daud, also spelled Daoud, Dawud, Dawood, and more, (Arabic: داوود ) is a male Arabic given name which is the Arabic equivalent of the Biblical name David. People named Daud (or similar);As a given name *Dawud of Kanem *Dawud Wharnsby Ali *Dawda… …   Wikipedia

  • Rostom of Kartli — Rostom or Rustam Khan (1565–1658) was a ruler of Kartli, eastern Georgia, from 1633 until his death. Appointed by a Persian shah as a Wali (i.e. viceroy) of Kartli, he styled himself king of kings and sovereign . Life A son of Daud Khan, a… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”