Afshars of Urmia

Iran

Urmia

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Location of Urmia in present-day Iran

The Afshars of Urmia (also spelled Urmiya; Persian: افشارهای ارومیه) are a branch of the Afshar tribe centered in the Iranian city of Urmia. From 1624/25 to 1820/21, the governorship of Urmia was mainly in the hands of the Urmia Afshars. After that, only a few them served as its governor, the last one being Imam Quli Khan, who became governor in 1879/80.[1]

Many of the Afshar governors of Urmia bore the prominent title of beglarbegi,[2] i.e. governor-general.[3]

## History

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Fath-Ali Khan Afshar was in power from 1747 to 1748, and again from 1757 until 1762. Shortly after coming to power, he was expelled by Mehdi Khan Afshar, who was then appointed governor by Ebrahim Shah.[4] However, Mehdi Khan Afshar was then overthrown by Azad Khan Afghan, and Fath 'Ali Khan became his deputy. In the aftermath of Nader Shah's death, the khans of Urmia were able to expand to control practically all the lands of Azerbaijan.[4]

After the fall of Azad Khan Afghan, the people of Tabriz invited Fath 'Ali Khan to become the new ruler. In 1759, Fath 'Ali Khan marched onto Karabakh Khanate, which resulted in 6 months long siege and ultimately, Panah Ali Khan, khan of Karabakh Khanate, accepting to be the dependency of Fath-Ali. Panah Ali Khan's son Ibrahim Khalil Khan was taken hostage after the siege.[5]

In 1761 Karim Khan Zand and Panah Ali Khan's combined forces marched onto Urmia, which resulted in Fath-Ali retreating to the city of Urmia. In May 1762, Karim Khan Zand struck again by capturing the city of Maragha and later sieging the city of Urmia for 9 months, which resulted in it being captured.[6] Fath-Ali was hanged in Shiraz in 1763.

After Fath-'Ali Khan's death, Rustam Khan Afshar succeeded him.[4] In 1768, he was succeeded by Reza Qoli Khan Afshar. In 1772 he was succeeded by Imam Qoli Khan Afshar. After the death of Karim Khan Zand in 1779, Imam Qoli Khan Afshar expanded Urmia once again. It is said that he received taxes from Savojbulagh, Senneh, Maragheh, Tabriz, and Khoy.[4] However, eventually in 1783 the Zand leader 'Ali Morad Khan Zand sent an army to defeat Imam Qoli Khan Afshar. He succeeded in killing the khan and installing Amir Aslam Khan Afshar on the throne as a Zand puppet, but a few months later Mohammad Qoli Khan Afshar overthrew him with the support of the Afshar chieftains.[4]

Eventually in 1824 the governor of Urmia was extinguished as the Afshars lost control of the governorship, but the Afshars continued to play an important role in the politics of Urmia.[4]

## List of governors of Urmia from 1624/25 to 1879/80

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The governors of Urmia from 1624/25 to 1879/80 were the following;[1]

Date  | Governor  | Origin  | Sovereign

|
|
|

1624/25 | Kalb Ali Khan | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629)
1633/34 | Ganj Ali Khan | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Safi (r. 1629–1642)
? | Muhammad Isa Khan | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Abbas II (r. 1642–1666)
? | Muhammad Ali Khan | Afshar tribe. Possibly Imanlu | Shah Abbas II (r. 1642–1666)
? | Shah Virdi Khan | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Abbas II (r. 1642–1666)
? | Ganj Ali Khan II | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Abbas II (r. 1642–1666)
? | Muhammad Isa Khan II | Afshar tribe. Possibly Imanlu | Unknown
1656 | Silspur Khan Jalali | Emigrant from the Ottoman Empire | Unknown
1677/78 | Imam Virdi Khan | Afshar tribe | Shah Suleiman (r. 1666–1694)
? | Fazl Ali Khan | Imanlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Shah Suleiman (r. 1666–1694)
? | Subhan Virdi Khan | Afshar tribe | Shah Suleiman (r. 1666–1694)
? | Jani Khan | Unknown | Shah Suleiman (r. 1666–1694)
1695 | Aghzivar Khan | Shamlu tribe | Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722)
1696 | Fazl Ali Khan | Unknown | Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722)
1707/08 | Khudadad Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722)
1722 | Muhammad Qasim Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722)
1725 | Yusuf Pasha | Unknown | Ahmed III (r. 1703–1730)
? | Farrukh Pasha | Unknown | Ahmed III (r. 1703–1730)
1730 | Paru Khan | Afshar tribe | Tahmasp Qoli Khan (later known as Nader Shah)
1734 | Ashur Khan | From Khorasan. Papalu subgroup of Afshar tribe | Tahmasp Qoli Khan
? | Baktash Khan | From Khorasan. Qirqlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Tahmasp Qoli Khan
1735/36 | Muhammad Isa Khan | Khudadad Khan family from the Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Tahmasp Qoli Khan
? | Muhammad Qasim Khan | Afshar tribe | Tahmasp Qoli Khan
1736 | Muhammad Karim Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747)
1745/46 | Fath-Ali Khan Afshar | Arashlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747)
c. 1747 | Mahdi Khan Afshar | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | None
? | Fath-Ali Khan Afshar | Arashlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Mahdi Khan Afshar
? | Naqi Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Mahdi Khan Afshar
1750 | Azad Khan Afghan | Pashtun | None
1759 | Fath-Ali Khan Afshar | Arashlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | None
1763 | Rustam Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779)
1768/69 | Riza Quli Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779)
1772/73 | Imam Quli Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779)
1783 | Amir Aslan Khan | Sayin-Qalah subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Ali-Morad Khan Zand (r. 1781–1785)
1784 | Muhammad Quli Khan | Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Ali-Morad Khan Zand (r. 1781–1785)
1790 | Qasim Khan | Khudadad Khan family from the Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797)
1792/93 | Muhammad Quli Khan | Khudadad Khan family from the Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797)
1798 | Husayn Quli Khan | Khudadad Khan family from the Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834)
1820/21 | Najaf Quli Khan | Khudadad Khan family from the Qasimlu subgroup of the Afshar tribe | Abbas Mirza
1823/24 | Malik Qasim Mirza | Prince of the Qajar dynasty | Abbas Mirza
1828 | Ibrahim Khan Sardar | Qajar tribe | Abbas Mirza
1832 | Jahangir Mirza | Prince of the Qajar dynasty | Abbas Mirza
1834 | Haydar Ali Khan | From the city of Shiraz | Mohammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834–1848)

## References

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1. ^ a b Kondo 1999, pp. 550–553.
2. ^ Oberling 1984, pp. 582–586.
3. ^ Bournoutian 2021, p. 4.
4. ^ a b c d e f Kondo 1999, pp. 537–556.
5. ^ Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779. John R. Perry. 14 May 2015. p. 86\. ISBN 9780226661025.
6. ^ Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779. John R. Perry. 14 May 2015. p. 89\. ISBN 9780226661025.

## Sources

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* Bournoutian, George (2021). From the Kur to the Aras: A Military History of Russia's Move into the South Caucasus and the First Russo-Iranian War, 1801–1813. Brill. ISBN 978-9004445154.
* Bulookbashi, Ali A.; Negahban, Farzin (2008). "Afshār". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica Online. Brill Online. ISSN 1875-9831.
* Kondo, Nobuaki (1999). "Qizilbash Afterwards: The Afshars in Urmiya from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century". Iranian Studies. 32 (4): 537–556. doi:10.1080/00210869908701968. JSTOR 4310267. (registration required)
* Oberling, P. (1984). "Afšār". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume I/6: Afghanistan–Ahriman. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 582–586. ISBN 978-0-71009-095-9.
* Tapper, Richard (1997). Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-52158-336-7.

*[r.]: reigned
*[c.]: circa