Khalifeh Soltan

Sayyed Ala al-Din Hoseyn (

He was, however, in 1632, disgraced and exiled by the ruthless newly-crowned shah Safi. Later, in 1645, Khalifeh Soltan was re-appointed as grand vizier by the latter's son and successor, Abbas II, whom he became a close companion of, and gained considerable influence. Khalifeh Soltan later died in 5 March 1654 in his ancestral homeland of Mazandaran due to illness, and was succeeded by Mohammad Beg.

Origins

Khalifeh Soltan's full name was Sayyed Ala al-Din Hoseyn al-Hoseyni Marashi Amoli Isfahani;

Even though the Khalifeh sayyid family was renowned of being descendants of the celebrated Marashi ruler Mir-i Buzurg (r. 1359–1362), they still weren't one of the leading families of Isfahan yet. But they were still affluent and distinguished enough to intermarry with local well-known families.^[6] According to the Safavid court historian Iskandar Munshi, "The Khalifeh family had held estates in the Isfahan area for generations."^[3]

Khalifeh Soltan had a brother named Mirza Qavam al-Din Mohammad, who later, like himself and their father, would occupy high offices.^[7]

Biography

First term as grand vizier (1623/4-1632)

On November 28, 1607, Khalifeh Soltan married shah Abbas I's third daughter, Khan-Agha Begum. After the marriage, Khalifeh Soltan asked for the governorship of Tabriz as an outcome of the cheerful circumstance, which was, however, declined. This demonstrates Khalifeh Soltan's early passion in getting a role in the state bureaucracy.^[8]

Khalifeh Soltan was later in 1623/4 appointed by the shah as his grand vizier.

However, this was not the case; Khalifeh Soltan, enraged by his soldiers treatment of the monks, threatened to kill the officer who led the soldiers. The monks, however, urged Khalifeh Soltan to spare him, which he did. Khalifeh Soltan and his officials then began asking the monks several questions about Christianity. He then discovered that the monks were not Augustinian monks, whom he had been advised to move to Shiraz, "because of Portuguese at Basra, which were considered contrary to Persian interests." He then let the Carmelites go.^[9]

Dismissal and exile

Abbas I died in 1629 and was succeeded by his grandson

On 11 October 1645, the grand vizier Saru Taqi was murdered under the orders of Abbas II, who appointed Khalifeh Soltan as his grand vizier on October 14. Khalifeh Soltan had at first declined the offer, but quickly alter accepted.^[4] His established bureaucratic proficiency and past knowledge were definitely the deciding factors in this reappointment, albeit it may be possible that Abbas II recalled him into duty in part with the goal of compressing the discontent about the scarcity of the positions given to men of religion under his predecessor.^[4] The Dutch trader Winninx, who was in Isfahan for transactions with the royal court at that time, commented the following about the situation; "He first refused to accept the post claiming to be too old and not competent enough to carry out the task. However, everybody expected him to accept the function. Khalifeh Soltan was universally liked and considered to be an upright person."^[11]

Khalifeh Soltan's actions during his second term as grand vizier are much better described and unveils a complex identity. Committing up to his notoriety as a dedicated man and a cleric, he started his second term with an operation countering "sinful behaviour", which targeted betting, prostitution, and wine drinking-activities that were normal in coffee houses and taverns. The operation was mainly aimed against well-known forms of

Khalifeh Soltan is also said to have assembled constant public gatherings for people with appeals and gripes, a routine that was cancelled under his successors. He additionally demonstrated to be an insightful diplomat with the deputies of the foreign naval companies.^[4] Khalifeh Soltan was chosen as a representative for the wealthy and pure-blooded Iranian clerical elite. He possessed the village of Golnabad on the road linking Isfahan and Yazd, and he had an important madrasa constructed in Qazvin.^[4]

After having been ill for 40 days, Khalifeh Soltan died on 5 March 1654 in

Khalifeh Soltan's four sons, whom were all blinded in 1632 by Safi, were due to this not able to hold any post. They did, however, become renowned ulama. One of these sons, Mirza Sayyed Hasan, was one of the most dominant ulama of his time. He had married the Safavid princess Zobeydeh Khanum, who was the daughter of the later Shah Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694), and the sister of Shah Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722).^[12] She bore him Mirza Mohammad Baqer and Mir Sayyed Morteza, who both served as the sadr-i khasseh and sadr-i mamalik under their cousin Soltan Hossein.^[13]

Khalifeh Soltan also had several daughters—in 1651/2, one of his daughters married the son of the minister of religion (sadr-i mamalik)

^ a: Also spelled Khalifa Sultan and Khalifeh Sultan.

References

Sources