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Safavid GeorgiaVelāyat-e Gorjestān
1510s–1736
Northwestern part of the Safavid Empire
Status	Province of the Safavid Empire
Capital	Tiflis (Tbilisi)
Common languages	Georgian, Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian
Government	Velayat
Vali
History
• Establishment	1510s
• Disestablished	1736
Succeeded by Afsharid dynasty
Today part of	Armenia  Azerbaijan  Georgia  Russia

The province of Georgia (Template:Lang-fa) was a velayat (province) of the Safavid Empire located in the area of present-day Georgia. The territory of the province was principally made up of the two subordinate eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli (Template:Lang-fa) and Kakheti (Template:Lang-fa) and, briefly, parts of the Principality of Samtskhe. The city of Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) was its administrative center, the base of Safavid power in the province, and the seat of the rulers of Kartli. It housed an important Safavid mint as well.

Safavid rule was mainly exercised through the approval or appointment of Georgian royals of the Bagrationi dynasty, at times converts to Shia Islam, as valis or khans. The eastern Georgian kingdoms had already been subjected in the early 16th century, their rulers did not convert, and even though Tiflis had been garrisoned as early as Ismail I's reign, relations at the time were somewhat marked by traditional vassalage. Davud Khan was the first Safavid-appointed ruler, whose placement on the puppet throne of Kartli marks the start of about two and a half centuries of Iranian political dominance over eastern Georgia.

From Tahmasp I's reign onwards, the province was of great importance, and many ethnic Georgians, generally from Kartli and Kakheti, rose to prominence in the Safavid state. The men held many of the highest positions in the civil and military administration, and many women entered the harem of the ruling class. By the late Safavid period, Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army as well. The establishment of a large Georgian community in Iran proper dates back to the era of Safavid suzerainty in Georgia. As the province was a border entity, the valis of Georgia were generally granted more autonomy compared with the other provinces; it could therefore be compared to the Arabestan Province (present-day Khuzestan Province), in the southwestern part of the empire. The province of Georgia was one of only four Safavid administrative territories where governors were consistently given the title of vali.

History

16th century

The first Safavid king (shah) Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) made the two kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti his vassals as early as the 1510s. However, distracted by the task of establishing power in Iran, he did not tighten his hold on Georgia. He did send a number of raiding expeditions into Georgia, notably in 1518, that reconfirmed its status as a vassal, and in 1522, which resulted in Tiflis being garrisoned by a large Safavid force, but it was only under his son and successor Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) that a genuine province with Safavid-appointed rulers and governors took shape.

Tahmasp I undertook active steps to integrate Georgia into the Safavid domains. His four campaigns (1540–1541, 1546–1547, 1551, and 1553–1554) resulted in the re-occupation of Kartli and Kakheti, and a Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis from 1551 onwards. A key outcome of these campaigns was, apart from cementing Safavid hold in central-eastern Georgia, that they brought to Iran proper (hereafter, simply "Iran") large numbers of Georgians. From the rule of Tahmasp I onwards, Georgians would contribute greatly to the character of Safavid society and play a major role in its army and civil administration. This newly introduced ethnic element in the Safavid state would later be known as the "third force" alongside the two "founding elements" of the Safavid state, the Persians and the Turkomans.

In 1551 the Safavids gained the eastern part of the principality of Samtskhe (Meskheti). In 1555, during Tahmasp I's reign, the Peace of Amasya was signed with the neighboring Ottoman Empire. According to the terms of the treaty, eastern Georgia (including eastern Samtskhe) remained in Iranian hands while western Georgia (including western Samtskhe) ended up in Turkish hands. Tahmasp I also imposed numerous Iranian political and social institutions in Georgia, and it was during his reign that the first Georgian royal, a convert to Islam named Davud Khan (1569–1578) was put on the puppet throne of Kartli. Davud Khan's reign marks the start of almost 250 years of Iranian political dominance, with only a few brief interruptions, over eastern Georgia.

Eager to take the Safavid possessions in Georgia, the Ottomans invaded it in 1578. Subsequently, the Safavids released Shahnavaz Khan (Simon I of Kartli) from captivity to enable him to join the fight against the Ottomans. Though he achieved considerable success in Kartli, he was eventually captured and executed. In 1580–1581 the Safavid government sent a force accompanied by the tupchi-bashi Morad Khan to Georgia together with a number of cannon founders and the materials needed for casting cannon. By 1582 the Ottomans were in control of the eastern (Safavid) part of Samtskhe–Meskheti. Unable to resist the Ottoman invasion, Manuchar II Jaqeli of Samtskhe accepted the Safavid overlordship as well and moved to the Safavid court, where he served until his death in 1614. Pursuant to the Treaty of Constantinople (1590), the Safavids lost control over the province of Georgia as they were forced to recognize Georgia in its entirety as an Ottoman possession.

17th century

By the beginning of the rule of Abbas I, the importance of Georgia and the influence of ethnic Georgians in the Safavid state markedly increased. Already by 1595 an ethnic Georgian from Kartli, Allahverdi Khan (surnamed Undiladze), had become one of the most powerful figures in the entire Safavid state. By the end of the 16th century, Georgians were already a major threat to the Qizilbash, the traditional backbone of the Safavids, as they were becoming the leading military faction of the state. It is under Abbas I's reign that the "third force" would be fully realized. By and large, Abbas I's policy towards the province can be seen as a continuation of his predecessors' efforts to fully integrate the area in the Safavid Empire.

In the early years of the 17th century, Abbas re-established Safavid influence in the province. However, in 1605 several nobles revolted, overthrew the governor Constantine Khan, and demanded the appointment of Tahmuras Khan (Teimuraz I) to the Kakhetian throne. Abbas I acceded to it. At the same time, he also appointed Lohrasb (Luarsab II) as vali of Kartli. However, when Lohrasb started to work against Safavid interests and refused to convert to Islam, Abbas I had him incarcerated in Astarabad and later executed in Shiraz.

In 1607 Abbas appointed Manuchar III Jaqeli as ruler of (eastern) Samtskhe. By 1613–1614 Abbas had restored Safavid control over eastern Samtskhe. In 1614–1617, as a punishment for disobedience shown by his formerly loyal subjects Lohrasb and Tahmuras Khan, Abbas I launched several major punitive campaigns in his Georgian territories. These campaigns resulted in the sack of Tiflis, the ravaging of the entire area, the massacre of many tens of thousands, and the deportation of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians to Iran. These deportees further augmented the Georgian community in Iran. In the meantime, Abbas I appointed Bagrat Khan as governor of Kartli, and Bektash Beg Torkman as governor of Kakheti. In 1619 Abbas I appointed Bagrat's son Semayun Khan, a loyalist born and raised in Isfahan, as khan, or vali, of Kartli, and appointed another non-royal Safavid official as governor of Kakheti, in order to maintain a tight grip on this part of the province. He also moved a large number of Qizilbash tribal folk to the Georgia province in order to strengthen central control. From the mid-1610s onwards, Kakheti was often under the direct governorship of Qizilbash lords.

Around 1620 Abbas relocated some 8,000 Jews from the province, along with 40,000 Armenians, to the newly built city of Farahabad. In these years, he moved a total of about 15,000 families from the Caucasus to Mazandaran. In 1624/25 Manuchar III Jaqeli, appointed earlier by Abbas I as nominal ruler of Samtskhe, moved to Kartli to join the rebellion of Murav-Beg (Giorgi Saakadze) against Safavid rule. Some time later, while away from Samtskhe, he decided to accept Ottoman suzerainty. However, when he returned to Samtskhe in 1625 for negotiations in the western (Ottoman) part of Samtskhe, he was killed by his own uncle. Subsequently, the Ottomans incorporated the western part of Samtskhe as a pashalik. The Safavids retained control of the eastern part. The remaining century of Safavid rule in Georgia, after Abbas I's death in 1629, was marked by unprecedented Iranian influence. Under the vali Khosrow Mirza, Safavid Georgia saw a period of relative peace and prosperity. In return for his loyalty, the then-incumbent king, Safi (r. 1629–1642), had given him the title of Rostam Khan, and had made him governor of Kartli, a post which he held for a long period of time. Kakheti however, came under direct Safavid rule.

Rostam Khan was a childless widower, however, and thus needed a wife and offspring. Being the loyal servant he was, after consulting the Safavid king, Rostam was allowed to marry a sister of Levan II Dadiani, ruler of Mingrelia (western Georgia), named Mariam. The marriage fit well in the political ambitions of the Safavid state and of Rostam himself. Not only would this alliance with the Dadiani, i.e. Mingrelia, give Rostam an ally against Tahmuras Khan (Teimuraz I) and George III of Imereti, but it would also provide Rostam with a line of successors who would be as loyal to the Safavid crown as he was. Also important was the fact that it would enhance Safavid plans to conquer Imereti. It would create a perfect circumstance if a campaign was needed against the Ottomans, with whom they were at war at the time over Imereti. King Safi paid for the wedding gifts, and sent some 50,000 marchil, roughly half a ton of silver, to the ruler of Mingrelia, and provided him with an annual salary of 1,000 tomans (3-gram gold coins); an alliance was thus founded with the Mingrelians. The marriage preparations alarmed the Imeretians. The groom's party was a 30,000-strong army marching to meet Levan's heavily armed entourage. George III of Imereti blocked the border with Kartli, compelling Rostom's wedding party to take a circuitous route via Akhaltsikhe, and intercepted Dadiani on his way to the marriage, but he was defeated and taken prisoner by Levan at the Kaka Bridge near Baghdati.

In 1639, by the Treaty of Zuhab (which ended the 1623–1639 war), the Caucasus was decisively partitioned between the Safavids and Ottomans roughly along the lines of the earlier Amasya treaty of 1555. Kartli and Kakheti were reconfirmed as Iranian domains, while everything to the west of it remained in Ottoman hands. Samtskhe–Meskheti, including its eastern part, was irrevocably lost, however.

In 1654, during the reign of king Abbas II (1642–1666), Kartli was turned into crown land (khasseh), and therefore subjected to direct Safavid taxation. The amount of land directly taxed by the state reached its greatest extent in this year. Also during Abbas II's reign, an earlier plan was revived to populate the eastern part of the province, Kakheti, with Turkic nomads. This measure incited a general uprising in 1659. The rebels succeeded in expelling the nomads, but still had to accept the Safavid kings's suzerainty. In 1675 a wall was built around Tiflis by king Suleiman I (1666–1694). By the 1690s ethnic Georgians formed the mainstay of the Safavid army.

18th century

In 1701 one of the artillerymen (tupchis) in Tiflis was appointed vakil ("regent") of the tupchi-bashi of Tiflis fortress. Emamqoli Khan (David II), born and raised in Isfahan, and known for his loyal service to his Safavid overlords, was made governor of Kakheti in 1703–1709 by Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722) due to his father, Nazar-Ali Khan (Heraclius I), being stationed at Isfahan during the entire period. In 1709, following his father's death, he was formally appointed as the new governor of Kakheti. However, until 1715, he served as vali in absentia due to his obliged stay at the court in Isfahan. To the west, in Kartli, the administration was given to two successive governors who both served as vali in absentia due to being stationed in other parts of the empire: Shah-Navaz Khan II, Gorgin Khan (George XI), and Kaykhosrow Khan. Due to this, in the years 1703–1714, the administration there was led by two successive regents (janeshins) namely Shah-Qoli Khan (Levan) and Hosayn-Qoli Khan (Vakhtang VI).

In 1712–1719 Hosayn-Qoli Khan was kept in Iran, and the Safavid king therefore gave the governorships of Kartli to others, amongst them Ali-Qoli Khan (Jesse) and janeshins such as Shah-Navaz, Bakar Mirza. In 1719 the Iranian government decided to send Hosayn-Qoli Khan, who had occupied several other high positions since 1716, back to Georgia with the task of handling the Lezgin rebellion. Assisted by the ruler of neighboring Kakheti, as well as the governor (beglarbeg) of Shirvan, Hosayn-Qoli made significant progress in putting a halt to the Lezgins. However, in the winter of 1721, at a crucial moment in the campaign, he was recalled. The order, which came after the fall of grand vizier Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, was made at the instigation of the eunuch faction within the royal court, who had persuaded the shah that a successful end of the campaign would do the Safavid realm more harm than good. In their view, it would enable Vakhtang, the Safavid vali, to form an alliance with Russia with an eye to conquering Iran. Shortly after, the Lezgins overran Shirvan, whereafter they sacked and looted the provincial capital of Shamakhi and massacred much of its population. In 1722 Emamqoli Khan died and was buried in Qom. Sultan Husayn then appointed his brother Mahmad Qoli Khan (Constantine II) as the new governor of Kakheti.

When the capital of Isfahan was put under siege in 1722, Hosayn-Qoli Khan defied the royal orders and refused to send the requested relief force. In the meantime, Russia took full advantage of the situation. With the Safavids on the brink of collapse, they launched a campaign in 1722–1723 that resulted in the annexation of its coastal territories. The Ottomans, also taking advantage of the situation, overran the province of Georgia and other territories to the west of the area that the Russians had captured. By the Treaty of Constantinople (1724), the two powers further divided the annexed territories between them, with the Ottomans again retaining Georgia. The rebellious Hosayn-Qoli Khan, who had sided with the Russians during their invasion in 1722–1723, died in exile in Russia in 1737, in what turned out to be an ill-fated alliance. When the Safavids were restored by Nader Qoli Beg (later known as Nader Shah), the de facto ruler of Iran, he restored Iranian dominance in the Caucasus and made Teimuraz II vali of Kakheti, while appointing an Iranian as the governor of Kartli. In 1736 Nader deposed the Safavids and became king himself, establishing the Afsharid dynasty.

Safavid valis, khans, and vassals

of Kartli

of Kakheti

of (eastern) Samtskhe–Meskheti

Mint

One of the most important mints was located in the province of Georgia, in Tiflis. Close to the border with the Ottoman Empire, the Tiflis mint was of extremely high value to the Safavids, for bullion (i.e. silver bars, Spanish reals, Dutch rijksdaalders) for the minting of coins was largely imported from and through the Ottoman Empire (and Russia). Upon arrival in Iran, the bullion was always brought to Tiflis, Erivan, or Tabriz to be melted into Iranian coins. Tiflis was thus a major stopping point for merchants who returned with silver. It was also one of the few mints, alongside the ones at Tabriz and Erivan (Yerevan), where re-minting took place. In the 17th century the Tiflis mint was one of the most active Safavid mints.

The Tiflis mint also lay on a route widely used by silk traders. According to French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier, traders who went to Gilan to negotiate over silk, went to the mint at Tiflis, for the mint master (zarrab-bashi) gave a 2% discount on silver for silk traders. Tavernier notes that this is partly due to the silver coins from Tiflis being a little less fine.

The coins minted at Tiflis were mostly used for the local citizens, rather than for the local Safavid garrison. The coins always had to bear the Safavid rulers' name and follow the Safavid types, legends, and weight standards. In many other regards, however, the appointed valis were granted a great deal of autonomy in terms of minting practises. For example, the vali reportedly was allowed to benefit from the profit accrued by the mints in the province.

During the reign of Suleiman I, the economic situation worsened. The amount of precious material coming into the country decreased, and as a result the quality of the coins diminished. This deficiency in weight was also apparent regarding the Tiflis mint; in 1688, the abbasis and mahmudis struck at the mint were 22.5% below the standard weight they usually were supposed to have. The royal treasury was aware of the issue, and subsequently stopped accepting mahmudis that had been minted in Tiflis.

In the years 1682–1685 the only Safavid mints that were recorded to have some activity were the ones at Tiflis and Tabriz. According to a 1687 report, money played close to no role in Georgia. French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort confirms this: according to his texts of 1701, people in major parts of Georgia preferred to be paid in materials such as bracelets, rings, necklaces, and so forth.

Stationed Safavid force

The province of Georgia hosted a large number of Safavid forces, as it was considered a territory of utmost importance. At the same time, it was a province that bordered the Ottoman Empire. A Safavid force was permanently stationed in Tiflis from 1551 onwards. According to Venetian reports, some 4,000 Safavid cavalry were stationed in Georgia and Ganja in the 1570s. According to traveller Jean Chardin, towards the end of Abbas I's reign, a large number of troops were stationed in Georgia, of which some 5,000 were "battle-experienced and trained". In the mid-17th century, during the reign of Abbas II (1642–1666), some 50,000 Safavid troops were stationed in the province according to Chardin's figures. The French missionary and traveller Père Sanson, who was in the Safavid Empire during the latter part of king Suleiman I's reign (1666–1694), wrote that a "large number" of troops were stationed in Georgia. Towards the end of Sultan Husayn's reign (1694–1722), the troops at the behest of the then-governor of Kartli, Hosayn-Qoli Khan (Vakhtang VI), numbered some 10,000 Georgians and 3,000–4,000 Iranians.

The vali of Georgia had a corps of qurchis at his disposal, including a qurchi-bashi, and a legion of specialized qurchis for his "accoutrements" (i.e. qurchi-e zereh, qurchi-e kafsh, qurchi-e tarkesh, etc.). Apart from that, they also had the institution of vakil ("regent"), who could take care of all matters in case it was needed.

Silk and wine production

Although the province contributed to the overall silk production, its silk was said, together with that of Karabakh–Ganja, to be of lesser quality than that of Gilan and Mazandaran. Following Abbas I's (1588–1629) decisive subduing of Georgia, he ordered that the province should produce more silk in the future. According to Nicolaas Jacobus Overschie, a Dutch representative in the Safavid Empire, of the 2,800 bales of silk that had been produced in 1636, the provinces of Georgia and Karabakh–Ganja had yielded a total of 300 bales.

According to Jean Chardin, the wines produced in Georgia and Shiraz were of excellent quality. Every six months the province of Georgia supplied the royal wine cellars of the Safavid court with some three hundred liters of wine, as part of the total amount of taxes it paid. The governors were responsible for the supervision of the viticulture of their area.

Cultural influences

on Georgian culture

From the 16th century there was an increasing influence of Iranian elements in Georgian culture. The genres in which it was most apparent were literature, painting, and architecture. During the Safavid period, many Georgian rulers, princes, and nobles had spent time in Iran. Therefore, Iranian traditions also spread throughout Georgia. According to Jean Chardin, who was in Georgia in 1672, the Georgians followed Iranian traditions. Chardin assumed that the process had been influenced by those nobles who had converted to Islam (in order to obtain positions as state officials), as well as those who encouraged their female relatives to become ladies at court.

In the Safavid period, "a great number of books" were translated from Persian into Georgian. The Rostomiani, the Georgian version of the Shahnameh, was further developed and improved, as well as Visramiani, the Georgian version of Vis o Ramin. According to a letter sent to the Pope by a Catholic missionary who flourished in the 17th century, Padre Bernardi, it was to his "great regret" that literate Georgians preferred to read works such as the Rostomiani (Shahnameh), Bezhaniani, and Baramguriani and were less interested in religious texts.

A person who cannot be omitted when dealing with this period, is Teimuraz I of Kakheti (Tahmuras Khan). Though he is perhaps mostly remembered for creating issues for the central government for a period of time, Teimuraz was fluent in Persian and fond of Persian poetry, which he "highly valued". In his words:

The sweetness of Persian speech urged me to compose the music of verse.

Teimuraz wrote several poems influenced by the contemporary Persian tradition, packed with "Persian imagery and allusions, loanwords, and phraseology". A later Georgian ruler, Vakhtang VI (Hosayn-Qoli Khan), was also important in this regard. When he was forced to stay in Iran, he learned to excell in Persian. He later used this skill to translate works into Georgian. He created a Georgian version of the Persian Qabusnameh known as Amirnasariani ("The story of Amirnasar", Amirnasar being the mythical Iranian king Kaykavus). During his detention in Iran, Vakhtang also translated into Georgian Kashefi's Kalīleh o Demneh by himself. Later, back in Georgia, he ordered the entire story to be translated once more, while his tutor, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, also made a revised version of Vakhtang's own translation. Though Vakhtang, individually, was heavily involved in further developing Georgian-Iranian literary ties (in other words, by his own writings), he also founded an entire school dedicated to translators from Persian into Georgian. During this period, a number of folk stories (i.e. dastans) that were extremely popular in Iran, were translated into Georgian upon his orders. One of these was the Bakhtiarnameh, a collection of several novellas, as well as the Baramgulandamiani ("Bahram o Golandam"), originally written by Katebi Nishapuri. The many other Persian-Georgian literary efforts of this era include translations of the Qoran and books on Shia jurisprudence.

on Iranian culture

In another, perhaps "unorthodox way", Georgia also influenced the culture of Iran. According to a story, an ethnic Georgian named Scedan Cilaze was so renowned for being able to "hold" his liquor, that Safavid king Safi (r. 1629–1642) invited him to the court in order to hold a drinking competition. Beating everyone in the process, the king himself challenged Cilaze, and reportedly died doing so. Though Prof. Matthee reports that the story may be "apocryphal", as alcoholism did kill Safi, but not in relation to a drinking contest, it does show that Georgian habits had spread to Iran.

In the Safavid period, large amounts of ethnic Georgians entered Safavid governmetn service, whereas many Georgian women entered the harems of the ruling elite and the royal court. Drinking alcohol, a prominent part of Georgian habits, influenced Iranian society, and more importantly, court culture, during this period. It is especially evident in the taxes the province had to pay – many liters of wine. The royal harem, the private area of the royal court, was where Safavid rulers grew up; after Abbas I's reign, all Safavid rulers grew up there surrounded by mostly Georgian women. There were also many gholams who drank. Matthee therefore suggests that it is quite likely that the "fondness" for wine by Safavid rulers originated in this very environment.

Notes

1. Eastern Samtskhe was part of the Safavid Empire from 1551 to 1582, as well as for several years after 1613–1614.
2. Before Abbas I's r. (1588–1629), governors of Georgia were usually referred to as hakem. Sometimes they were also styled as soltan (salatin).
3. The "third force" included the Circassians and Armenians as well.
4. Simon I was earlier known for his fierce resistance against the Safavid domination, which resulted in his being imprisoned for numerous years at the Alamut Castle.
5. Amongst the deportees there were also Muslims from Georgia, and sections of the population of Shirvan and Karabakh.
6. The vakil functioned sometimes also as tutor (laleh), in case the governor was still too young.

References

1. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 17–18.
2. ^ Floor 2008, p. 85.
3. Floor 2001, p. 83.
4. ^ Floor 2001, p. 86.
5. Rayfield 2013, pp. 164, 166.
6. ^ Hitchins 2001, pp. 464–470.
7. Rayfield 2013, p. 166.
8. ^ Floor 2008, pp. 295–296.
9. Rayfield 2013, p. 173.
10. Mikaberidze 2015, p. xxxi.
11. Floor 2001, p. 233.
12. ^ Floor 2001, p. 85.
13. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, p. 379.
14. Savory 2007, p. 81.
15. Suny 1994, p. 50.
16. Blow 2009, p. 174.
17. Mikaberidze 2015, pp. 291, 536.
18. Rayfield 2013, p. 191.
19. Mikaberidze 2015, p. 536.
20. Mikaberidze 2015, p. 164.
21. Mikaberidze 2015, p. 600.
22. ^ Matthee 2012, p. 145.
23. Matthee 1999, p. 44.
24. Blow 2009, p. 105.
25. ^ Mikaberidze 2015, pp. 194, 379.
26. Suny 1994, p. 52.
27. Floor 2008, p. 140.
28. ^ Gelashvili 2012, p. 494.
29. ^ Rayfield 2013, p. 199.
30. ^ Barendse 2002, p. 209.
31. Floor 2008, p. 309.
32. Rayfield 2013, p. 211.
33. Matthee 2012, p. 114.
34. Floor 2001, p. 198.
35. Mikaberidze 2015, p. 249.
36. ^ Matthee 2012, p. 225.
37. Suny 1994, p. 54.
38. Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 142.
39. Matthee 2012, pp. 226–227.
40. Rayfield 2013, p. 164.
41. ^ Babaie et al. 2004, p. 68. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBabaieBabayanBaghdiantz-McGabeFarhad2004 (help)
42. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 53.
43. Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 5, 15.
44. Barendse 2002, p. 221.
45. Babaie et al. 2004, pp. 68–69. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBabaieBabayanBaghdiantz-McGabeFarhad2004 (help)
46. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 17.
47. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, pp. 130–131.
48. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 131.
49. Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 119.
50. ^ Matthee, Floor & Clawson 2013, p. 44.
51. Floor 2001, pp. 82–83.
52. Floor 2001, pp. 135–136.
53. Floor 2001, p. 207.
54. Floor 2001, p. 212.
55. Floor 2001, p. 149.
56. ^ Floor 2001, p. 7.
57. Matthee 1999, p. 37.
58. ^ Matthee 1999, p. 41.
59. ^ Matthee 2005, p. 44.
60. Matthee 2005, pp. 43–44.
61. ^ Gvakharia 2001, pp. 481–486.
62. Giunashvili 2016.
63. ^ Matthee 2005, p. 43.

Sources

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• Barendse, R.J. (2002). The Arabian Seas: The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0765633644. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who became an Iranian Legend. London, UK: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1845119898. LCCN 2009464064. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Floor, Willem (2001). Safavid Government Institutions. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. ISBN 978-1568591353. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Floor, Willem M.; Faghfoory, Mohammad H. (2007). The Dastur Al-moluk: A Safavid State Manual, by Mohammad Rafi' al-Din Ansari. Mazda Publishers. pp. 1–355. ISBN 978-1568591957. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Floor, Willem M. (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers. pp. 1–324. ISBN 978-1933823232. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gelashvili, Nana (2012). "Iranian-Georgian relations during the Reign of Rostom (1633-58)". In Floor, Willem; Herzig, Edmund (eds.). Iran and the World in the Safavid Age. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1780769905. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Giunashvili, Jemshid (2016). "GORGIJANIDZE, PARSADAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gvakharia, Aleksandre (2001). "GEORGIA iv. Literary contacts with Persia". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 5. pp. 481–486. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hitchins, Keith (2001). "GEORGIA ii. History of Iranian-Georgian Relations". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. X, Fasc. 4. pp. 464–470. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Maeda, Hirotake (2003). "On the Ethno-Social Background of Four Gholām Families from Georgia in Safavid Iran". Studia Iranica (32): 1–278. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999). The Politics of Trade in Safavid Iran: Silk for Silver, 1600–1730. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-521-64131-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Matthee, Rudolph P. (2005). The Pursuit of Pleasure: Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History, 1500-1900. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691118550. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Matthee, Rudi (2012). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–371. ISBN 978-1-84511-745-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Matthee, Rudi; Floor, Willem; Clawson, Patrick (2013). The Monetary History of Iran: From the Safavids to the Qajars. I.B. Tauris. pp. 1–320. ISBN 978-0857721723. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442241466. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Mousavi, Mohammad A., ed. (2008). "The Autonomous State in Iran: Mobility and Prosperity in the Reign of Shah 'Abbas the Great (1587–1629)". 12. Brill: 17–33. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rayfield, Donald (2013). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1780230702. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Savory, Roger (2007). Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521042512. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994). The Making of the Georgian Nation. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253209153. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

v t e Provinces of Safavid Iran
Astarabad Azarbaijan Baghdad Daghestan Diyarbakr Erivan (Chokhur-e Sa'd) Fars Georgia Gilan Hamadan Herat Isfahan Kandahar Karabakh Kerman Khuzestan Kuhgiluyeh Kurdistan Lorestan Makran Mashhad Marv Mazandaran Shirvan Sistan

• Safavid Empire
• 16th century in Georgia (country)
• 17th century in Georgia (country)
• 18th century in Georgia (country)
• Kingdom of Kartli
• Kingdom of Kakheti