Qazaq Khan Cherkes was a military commander in Safavid Iran of Circassian origin, who also served as the governor (beglarbeg) of Shirvan (1624–1633) and Astarabad (1639–1640). A high-ranking member of the gholam military corps, he was furthermore appointed head of the Qaramanlu and Keneslu Qizilbash troops by then incumbent king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) as part of the latter's policy to diminish the political influence of the Qizilbash. In 1632, during king Safi's (r. 1629–42) bloody purges, his relative, the prominent Circassian courtier Yusuf Agha was murdered, while Qazaq Khan Cherkes was deposed and imprisoned in 1633. He nevertheless later returned on the political scene in the last years of Safi's reign, when he was given a new governorship in 1639. His son Najafqoli Khan Cherkes would hold several influential positions as well.
Qazaq Khan Cherkes | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Shirvan | |
| In office 1624–1633 | |
| Monarchs | Abbas the Great, Safi of Persia |
| Preceded by | Yusuf Khan |
| Succeeded by | Farrokh Khan |
| Governor of Astarabad | |
| In office 1639–1640 | |
| Monarch | Safi of Persia |
| Preceded by | Khosrow Khan Cherkes |
| Succeeded by | Hoseyn Khan b. Zaman Beg Mazandarani |
| Personal details | |
| Children | Najafqoli Khan Cherkes |
| Occupation | Military leader, official |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Safavid Iran |
Sources
edit- Floor, Willem M. (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers. pp. 153, 286. ISBN 978-1933823232.
- Manz, Beatrice; Haneda, Masashi (1990). "ČARKAS". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 7. pp. 816–819. Archived from the original on 2014-11-02.
- Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999). The Politics of Trade in Safavid Iran: Silk for Silver, 1600–1730. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0521641319.