Safavid Kurdistan Velāyat-e Kordestān
1508–1736
Status	Province ofSafavid Iran
Capital	Marivan(?–?) Hasanabad(?–1636/37) Sanandaj(1636/37–1736)
Common languages	Kurdish,Persian
Government	Province
Succeeded by Afsharid Iran

Theprovince of Kurdistan (also known asArdalan;Persian:ولایت کردستان,romanized: Velāyat-e Kordestān) was a western province ofSafavid Iran, whose size varied throughout its existence due to political and military developments.

The office ofvali (viceroy) of Kurdistan was generally held by theArdalan dynasty, the leading power amongst theKurdish confederations.

Kurdistan was a western province ofSafavid Iran, whose size varied throughout its existence due to political and military developments.^[1] It was one of the fivevelayats of the country, being ruled by avali (viceroy), who was nearly an independent governor. Thevalis generally belonged to prominent local families, and were officially chosen by theshah (king) as a compromise of regional autonomy. Nevertheless, they ruled in ahereditary manner.^[2][3] In rare occasions avali was appointed to a velayat he had no connection to. This could possibly cause issues, such as in the 1680s Kurdistan, where a non-Kurdishvali chosen byShah Soleyman (r. 1666–1694) was chased out by the locals.[4] The position ofvali of Kurdistan was held by theArdalan dynasty, the leading power amongst the Kurdish confederations. Available records suggest that before the 17th-century, the Safavids rarely intervened in the succession of the Ardalan governors. However, they did occasionally support one claimant against another.^[5]

In 1508, the local rulers of Kurdistan acknowledged the suzerainty of the Safavids.[6]Shah Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) made numerous attempts to integrate the Kurds into his kingdom. The offspring of the Kurdishemirs were welcomed into the royal court and educated alongside the Safavid princes. They were anticipated to develop into devoted servants of the shah, being taught a variety of subjects, such as military expertise.Sharafkhan Bidlisi, who was raised at Tahmasp I's court, described his upbringing there;^[7]

"The late emperor Shah Tahmasp used to admit sons of his emirs and notables, at an early age, to his privateseraglio, arrange for them to be in the intimate company of royal princes, and have them attend on the most honored masters… He encouraged them to learn the Quran, to read judicial decisions, and to be pious and pure, and he inspired them to associate with those who were god-fearing and equipped with the integrity of righteous people… When they reached the age of maturity and discernment, he taught them military skills, archery, polo, equestrianism, the rules for handling arms, and the codes of courtesy and humanity. He also told them to pay some attention to painting."

The modern historian Akihiko Yamaguchi considers Tahmasp I's program to be "nothing less than a hostage policy", but also states that Sharafkhan Bidlisi's description demonstrates that Tahmasp I planned to increase their loyalty to him, and that it significantly strengthened the court's relationship with the local lords. Another important aspect of Tahmasp I's Kurdish policy was the enrollment of young members of Kurdish ruling families into thequrchi (royal guards). A Kurd who had been raised in the court or served as aqurchi was occasionally elevated to become the head of his own tribe. These tribal leaders were anticipated to keep preserve their personal ties with the shah and the royal court due to their court schooling or employment as aqurchi. Nevertheless, during Tahmasp I's rule the Kurds were overlooked in the administration. Prominent positions in the political and military spheres were predominantly allocated to members of theQizilbash; few Kurdish individuals acquired a rank high enough to be recognized in historical Safavid records and alike.^[7] Tahmasp I's goal of ensuring the Kurds loyalty was mainly successful, since only a few Kurdish emirs defected to theOttoman Empire after thePeace of Amasya, which forbid the Safavids and Ottomans from interfering in each others internal affairs.^[8]

Following the death of Tahmasp I in 1576, a power struggle amongst the Qizilbash tribes ensured, shortly followed by an Ottomaninvasion, which impelled the Kurdish tribes under Safavid rule to once again switch back and forth between them and the Ottomans. The conflict was resolved through theTreaty of Constantinople in 1590, which led to the relinquishment of the western portion of Iran to the Ottomans. This also included the majority of Kurdistan, which would remain in Ottoman hands for over ten years.^[9] From 1577 onwards,Sonqor andDinavar came under direct Safavid control, and continued to do so even afterZanganeh tribe were made its hereditary governors in 1639.^[10]

Kurdistan was amongst the areas affected by the reforms ofShah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). From now on, as long as the Kurdish emirs remained faithful to Safavids, their hereditary titles would be acknowledged by the shah. Up to the end of the Safavid kingdom, this policy was in effect.[9] TheDastur al-Muluk, a Safavid administrative manual that portrays the world of the late Safavid era, further demonstrates that the youngsters of the Ardalan dynasty were raised in the royal court even at the conclusion of the Safavid era.^[11]

Kurdish tribal leaders were also given governor posts in provinces outside Kurdistan, particularly on the eastern and southern perimeter of Iran. The Safavids' policy of forcing the Kurdish tribes to migrate was what led to this result. Typically, Abbas I has been credited as the founder of this strategy when he supposedly had some Kurdish tribes moved from Kurdistan toKhorasan to protect the frontier from Uzbek intrusions. In reality, Tahmasp I was the one who first started it by having several Kurdish tribes moved to northern and northeastern Iran for the same reason. This strategy was continued and intensified by Abbas I.^[11]

The size of Kurdistan and autonomy of the Ardalanvalis decreased after the Iranian–OttomanTreaty of Zohab in 1639. The western half of Kurdistan was ceded to the Ottomans, which includedShahrezur,Qaradagh, Qezelja, Sarutchek,Kirkuk,Rawandez,Emayideh,Koy,Harir and the western portion ofAvraman. The extent of Kurdistan was thus now restricted to that of Sanandaj,Marivan, eastern Avraman,Baneh,Saqqeh,Javanrud, and some of theJaf confederacy. This also led to the downfall of the Kurdish principalities of Shahrezur and Dinavar.^[12] The shah now had the authority to freely appoint and dismiss thevali, and Kurdish problems were from now on settled by appealing to Isfahan.^[12]

Near the collapse of the Safavid state, Kurdistan was composed of the following administrative jurisdictions (also referred to as subordinate governorships):Avraman,Baneh,Bakhtiyari,Javanrud,Khorkhoreh, andLorestan-e Feyli.^[13]

The Safavid era played a substantial role in the integration ofIranian Kurdistan into the political structure of Iran. The Kurdish local elites were strongly aware of their affiliation with Iran, which helped shape Iran's western border.^[14]

This is a list of the known figures who governed Kurdistan or parts of it.^[15]Beglerbegi,hakem andvali were all administrative titles designating the governor.^[16]

• Ottoman Kurdistan

• Floor, Willem (2008).Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers.ISBN 978-1933823232.
• Khafipour, Hani (2021). "Beyond charismatic authority". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.).The Safavid World. Routledge. pp. 111–124.
• Matthee, Rudi (2011).Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris.ISBN 978-0857731814.
• Matthee, Rudi (2015). "Relations between the Center and the Periphery in Safavid Iran: The Western Borderlands v. the Eastern Frontier Zone".The Historian.77 (3):431–463.doi:10.1111/hisn.12068.S2CID 143393018.
• Yamaguchi, Akihiko (2021). "The Kurdish frontier under the Safavids". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.).The Safavid World. Routledge. pp. 556–571.
• Yamaguchi, Akihiko (2023). "Mediating between the Royal Court and the Periphery: The Zangana Family's Brokerage in Safavid Iran (1501–1722)".Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies.doi:10.1080/05786967.2023.2170814.

• 16th century in Iran
• 17th century in Iran
• 18th century in Iran
• Provinces of the Safavid dynasty
• History of Kurdistan province
• History of Kurdistan

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• Articles containing Persian-language text