Amin Ghezelbashan

 

Independent Researcher

Tehran, Iran

The place of the Georgian nobles of Khuzestan in the history of Iran

Although the Georgians of Khuzestan (a province located in the south-west of Iran) are little known, in the history of Iran from the Safavid era to the Pahlavi rule, they have continuously held the highest state positions in various fields, which is confirmed by modern historiographical studies. Representatives of the Georgian clans of Khuzistan in different periods were Beglarbegs, Divanbegs, ambassadors to India and Ottomans, heads of the state treasury (Mostoufi), commanders of the Shah's Guard (Qullaraghasi), crown princes (during Shah Tahmasb II) and also holders many other important political, administrative, military, court and religious positions. It is interesting the fact that the representatives of Georgian nobles from Khuzistan kept their high positions in the administrative structures of the state even after the Islamic revolution of Iran. Special mention should be made of the Baratashvili clan of Khuzistan, whose representatives held about 100 high positions in 120 years, both in the central government and in various regions, which will surprise any researcher with its scale.

Another sign of the distinctiveness of the small Georgian community of Khuzestan is that, compared to the Georgians of other regions of Iran, apart from the ordinary Georgian origin of some lineages, they were mostly descendants of high aristocratic families of late medieval Georgian society. These lineages have either an individual feudal history or a long history of service in the state government system. Such well-known families are: Baratashvili, Abinezadegan, Mirshekarbashian, etc., whose representatives are mentioned in the sources as having a good name, doing great service and honor to the people and the rulers of the state, and being extremely loyal people. That is why, representatives of Georgian clans from the Safavid era were actively represented at various levels of government from the extreme eastern region of the Iranian state, including Kandahar (today's southwestern region of Afghanistan), Kerman, Khuzestan in the west, the central part of the country, Fars and the Persian Gulf regions in the south, and this process continues in modern Iran. As it is known, the Baratashvili family had a great name and influence in Georgia itself for centuries, and many representatives of this family were distinguished artists, poets, state, secular, religious, military and public figures who left an important mark in the history of the Georgian nation.

The representatives of the Georgian clans of Khuzestan made a name for themselves in the history of Iran as scientists, champions of culture, artistic calligraphers, poets, writers, translators, patrons of other scientists and artists, builders of religious and secular architecture, and those with great military success (seven wars won between Iran and India). The dynastic marriage of the daughter of one of the Georgian clans to the representative of one of the great Arab clans of Khuzistan laid the foundation for a new Arabic-Georgian clan, whose representatives trace their genealogy from the Arab and Georgian lineages of the father's line and the mother's line.

In the presented work, the activity of the representatives of Georgian descent from Khuzestan in the history of Iran will be briefly reviewed in the Safavid era and after it, the place and role of the influential Georgian nobles in the last 450 years of the history of the Iranian state will be shown.

Keywords: Iranian-Georgian relations, Georgian clans, Khuzistan, Baratashvili.