Ganj Ali Khan
Ganj Ali Khan | |
|---|---|
Qandahar | |
| In office 1622–1624/5 | |
| Monarch | Abbas the Great |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ali Mardan Khan |
| Personal details | |
| Died | c. 1624 Safavid Empire |
Ganj Ali Khan (
Abbas I. Ganj Ali Khan continuously aided the shah on almost all of his military campaigns until his own death in 1624/5. He was also a great builder, the Ganjali Khan Complex
being one of his finest achievements.
Biography
Ganj Ali Khan originally belonged to a Kurdish tribe roaming in western
Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–18.[3]
In the mid 1600s, the
Zoroastrian community of Kerman protested against the hostile treatment by the local Islamic clergy, and also accused Ganj Ali Khan of seizing and destroying their homes to make space for his construction projects. This made Abbas travel to Kerman to investigate the matter in 1606, where he found that Ganj Ali Khan was not the real perpetrator. Abbas then returned to his capital, Isfahan, where he issued an edict that ordered protection for the Zoroastrians.[4]
In 1611, a rebellion in
Qandahar.[5] He later died in 1624/5, while the governorship of Qandahar went to his son Ali Mardan Khan[3] and the governorship of Kerman to a certain Tahmasp Qoli Khan.[4]
Building activities
Ganj Ali Khan is mostly remembered for his building activities, such as the
Loot desert
between Khorasan and Kerman.
His most prominent construction, is, however, the Ganjali Khan Complex in Kerman.
See also
References
- ^ Babaie 2004, p. 94.
- ^ Newman 2008, p. 184.
- ^ a b c Parizi 2000, pp. 284–285.
- ^ a b Matthee 2014.
- ^ Matthee 2010, pp. 478–484.
Sources
- Matthee, Rudi (2014). "KERMAN vii. In the Safavid Period". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Matthee, Rudi (2010). "KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasion Through the Safavid Era". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 5. pp. 478–484.
- Parizi, Mohammad-Ebrahim Bastani (2000). "GANJ-ʿALĪ KHAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 3. pp. 284–285.
- Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend. London, UK: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. LCCN 2009464064.
- Matthee, Rudi (2011). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–371. ISBN 978-0857731814.
- Babaie, Sussan (2004). Slaves of the Shah: New Elites of Safavid Iran. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–218. ISBN 9781860647215.
- Newman, Andrew J. (2008). Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–281. ISBN 9780857716613.
- Roemer, H.R. (1986). "The Safavid period". The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Timurid and Safavid periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–351. ISBN 9780521200943.