Shah Sultan Hossein Safavi

See also : https://www.revolvy.com/page/Sultan-Husayn and https://www.academia.edu/37706507/CMR-Sultan_Husayn.pdf

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Sultan Husayn (also known as Soltan Hosayn and Soltan Hosein), (October 1668 – November 1726) (Persian: شاه سلطان حسین‎‎) reigned 1694–1722; was a Safavid Shah of Iran (Persia). He ruled from 1694 until he was overthrown in 1722 by rebellious marauder Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan of Pashtun ethnic background. His reign saw the downfall of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled Persia since the beginning of the 16th century.

When his father Shah Suleiman was on his deathbed, he asked his court eunuchs to choose between his two sons, saying that if they wanted peace and quiet they should pick the elder, Sultan Husayn, but if they wanted to make the empire more powerful then they should opt for the younger, Abbas. They decided to make Sultan Husayn shah. He had a reputation for being easy-going and had little interest in political affairs, his nickname being Yakhshidir ("Very well!"), the response he was said to give when asked to decide on matters of state. The young king was a devout Muslim and one of his first acts was to give power to the leading cleric Muhammad Baqer Majlesi [ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/majlesi-mohammad-baqer (the
shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan, Muḥammad Bāqir Majlisī (d. 1699),the most prominent cleric of the time, who inspired him to emphasise the importance of enforcing the rules of the sharīʿa from the moment he was enthroned )].

A series of measures against the Sufi order were introduced as well as legislation prohibiting the consumption of alcohol and opium and restrictions on the behaviour of women in public. Provincial governors were ordered to enforce Sharia law.

Sultan Husayn's rule was relatively tranquil until he faced a major revolt in Afghanistan, in the easternmost part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes: the Ghilzais and the Abdalis. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar, under their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule. In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat followed their example and Safavid expeditions to bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' son.

In the meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Muhammad Baqer Majlesi and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah Muhammad Hosein, had led to increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians (particularly Georgians and Armenians). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717–20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and Shirvan revolted. In Shirvan the rebels called on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks and Lezgin tribesmen, to aid them. When the Lezgins took Shamakhi, the main town of Shirvan, in 1721 they massacred the Shia population including the governor. Writer Jonas Hanway wrote that "the city was ransacked".[8] Sultan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm – Arab pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf and there were plagues in the north-western provinces – but he and his court failed to take decisive action.

Sultan Husayn's rule was relatively tranquil until he faced a major revolt in Afghanistan, in the easternmost part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes: the Ghilzais and the Abdalis. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar, under their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule.[6] In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat followed their example and Safavid expeditions to bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' son.

In the meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Muhammad Baqer Majlesi and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah Muhammad Hosein, had led to increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians (particularly Georgians and Armenians). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717–20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and Shirvan revolted. In Shirvan the rebels called on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks and Lezgin tribesmen, to aid them. When the Lezgins took Shamakhi, the main town of Shirvan, in 1721 they massacred the Shia population including the governor. Writer Jonas Hanway wrote that "the city was ransacked".[8] Sultan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm – Arab pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf and there were plagues in the north-western provinces – but he and his court failed to take decisive action.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Husayn

When his father Shah Suleiman was on his deathbed, he asked his court eunuchs to choose between his two sons, saying that if they wanted peace and quiet they should pick the elder, Sultan Husayn, but if they wanted to make the empire more powerful then they should opt for the younger, Abbas. They decided to make Sultan Husayn shah. He had a reputation for being easy-going and had little interest in political affairs, his nickname being Yakhshidir ("Very well!"), the response he was said to give when asked to decide on matters of state. The young king was a devout Muslim and one of his first acts was to give power to the leading cleric Muhammad Baqer Majlesi. A series of measures against the Sufi order were introduced as well as legislation prohibiting the consumption of alcohol and opium and restrictions on the behaviour of women in public. Provincial governors were ordered to enforce Sharia law.[3][4]

However, power soon shifted away from Muhammad Baqer Majlesi to Sultan Husayn's great aunt, Maryam Begum (the daughter of Shah Safi). Under her influence, Hosein became an alcoholic and paid less and less attention to political affairs, devoting his time to his harem and his pleasure gardens.[5]

Revolts against Sultan Husayn

Persian embassy to Louis XIV sent by Sultan Husayn in 1715. Ambassade de Perse auprès de Louis XIV, studio of Antoine Coypel. Sultan Husayn's rule was relatively tranquil until he faced a major revolt in Afghanistan, in the easternmost part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes: the Ghilzais and the Abdalis. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar, under their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule.[6] In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat followed their example and Safavid expeditions to bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' son.[7]

In the meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Muhammad Baqer Majlesi and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah Muhammad Hosein, had led to increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians (particularly Georgians and Armenians). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717–20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and Shirvan revolted. In Shirvan the rebels called on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks and Lezgin tribesmen, to aid them. When the Lezgins took Shamakhi, the main town of Shirvan, in 1721 they massacred the Shia population including the governor. Writer Jonas Hanway wrote that "the city was ransacked".[8] Sultan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm – Arab pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf and there were plagues in the north-western provinces – but he and his court failed to take decisive action.[9]

Russo-Persian War Main article: Russo-Persian War (1722-1723) In June 1722, Peter the Great, the then tsar of the neighbouring Russian Empire, declared war on Safavid Iran in an attempt to expand Russian influence in the Caspian and Caucasus regions and to prevent its rival, Ottoman Empire, from territorial gains in the region at the expense of declining Safavid Iran.

The Russian victory ratified for Safavid Irans' cession of their territories in the Northern, Southern Caucasus and contemporary mainland Northern Iran, comprising the cities of Derbent (southern Dagestan) and Baku and their nearby surrounding lands, as well as the provinces of Gilan, Shirvan, Mazandaran, and Astrabad to Russia per the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1723).[10]

The siege of Isfahan However, the main threat came from the Ghilzai Afghans. In 1722, Mahmud and his army swept westward aiming at the shah's capital Isfahan itself. Rather than biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small Afghan army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet Mahmud's force at Golnabad. Here, on 8 March, the royal army was thoroughly routed and fled back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to escape to the provinces to raise more troops but he decided to remain in the capital which was now encircled by the Afghans. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan lasted from March to October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a long blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of decisiveness and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of such incompetence. Protests against his rule also broke out within Isfahan and the shah's son, Tahmasp, was eventually elevated to the role of co-ruler. In June, Tahmasp managed to escape from the city in a bid to raise a relief force in the provinces, but little came of this plan. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission (it is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants died during the siege). On 23 October, Soltan Hossein abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.[11]

Captivity and death To begin with, Mahmud treated Sultan Husayn considerately, but as he gradually became mentally unbalanced he began to view the former shah with suspicion. In February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons, Safi Mirza, had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid princes who were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself. When Sultan Husayn tried to stop the massacre, he was wounded, but his action saved the lives of two of his young children. Mahmud succumbed to insanity and died on 25 April of the same year.[12]

Mahmud's successor Ashraf at first treated the deposed shah with sympathy. In return, Sultan Husayn gave him the hand of one of his daughters in marriage, a move which would have increased Ashraf's legitimacy in the eyes of his Persian subjects. However, Ashraf was involved in a war with the Ottoman Empire, which contested his claim to the Persian throne. In the autumn of 1726, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad, Ahmad Pasha, advanced with his army on Isfahan, sending a message to Ashraf saying that he was coming to reinstate the rightful shah of Persia. In response, Ashraf had Sultan Husayn's head cut off and sent it to the Ottoman with the message that "he expected to give Ahmad Pasha a fuller reply with the points of his sword and his lance". As Michael Axworthy comments, "In this way Shah Soltan Hossein gave in death a sharper answer than he ever gave in life".

Sultan Husayn married numerous times;

(1); 1694, a daughter of Vahshatu Sultan, Safi Quli Khan.

(2); a daughter of H.M. Vakhtang V (Shah Nawaz Khan II), King of Kartli.

(3); 1710, …Begum, also known as Princess Khoreshan (died 1722, m. second, ca. 1727, the Khan of Erevan), daughter of H.M. Kaikoshrow, King of Kartli and commander-in-chief of the Persian army.

(4); Amina Begum, alias Khair un-nisa Khanum (m. second, ca. 1713, H.H. Amir Fath 'Ali Bahador Khan-e Qajar Quyunlu, Nai'b us-Sultana), daughter of Husain Quli Agha.

Sons

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mahmud Mirza (b.1697-k. 8 February 1725), Vali Ahad

Prince Shahzadeh Safi Mirza (b.1699-k. 8 February 1725)

Tahmasp II

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mehr Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Heydar Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Salim Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Soleyman Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Ismail Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mohammad Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Khalil Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Mohammad Baqer Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Prince Shahzadeh Mohammad Ja'afar Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)

Daughters

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mirza Muqim Khalifa Sultani.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mirza Muhammad Ibrahim.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mir Mahmud Hotaki.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Soltan Begum, married Amanu’llah Sultan, a close adherent of Mir Mahmud Hotaki.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Nawabeh Begum, married Mir Miangi, religious adviser to Mir Mahmud Hotaki.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Shahzadeh Begum, married Ashraf Khan Hotaki .

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Razia Begum (d. 1776, Karbala), married 1st a Georgian Prince and 2nd Nader Shah

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Fatemeh Begum (d. 1736, Mashhad), married Ibrahim Khan Afshar.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Fatemeh Soltan (d. 5 February 1740, Mashhad), married Prince Reza Qoli Mirza eldest son of Nader Shah.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Khan Ahga Begum, married Suleiman II.

Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Maryam Begum, married Sayyid Murtaza Khalifa Sultani.

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At the beginning of the XVIII century in Persia, events occurred that had a significant impact on the fate of the meliks of Karabakh. As a result of the weakening of state power under Shah Sultan Hossein, all her enemies raised their heads. The Afghans rose: the leader of Kandahar, Mir-Mahmud-khan, nassed Isfahan, seized the Persian capital and deposed Shah Sultan Hossein, declaring himself a shah (1722). The Caucasian mountaineers, led by Ali Sultan (1) and Surkhay Khan (2), collapsed like an avalanche and ravaged Georgia and other Persian provinces right up to Lake Sevan and Yeraskh River (1721-1722-1723). At the same time, during the reign of Peter the Great (1722-1723), the Russians seized the Persian provinces on the coast of the Caspian Sea - Gilan, Mazandaran and Astrabad and the cities of Derbent and Baku. It was at this time (1722-1723) that the Ottomans, seeing the Russians approaching their borders and being aware of the aggressive aspirations of Peter the Great in the East, occupied all the Persian provinces adjoining them. For two years, they captured Atrpatakan, Nakhichevan, Yerevan, Tiflis, Gandzak and other Persian possessions, until they reached the possessions of the meliks of Karabakh.
Seeing that weakened Persia is falling apart, the meliks of Karabakh also decided to take advantage of it. Until then, the meliks were considered Persian fallen princes, but now they decided to completely free themselves from Persian domination and establish an independent Armenian state. To discuss their plans and give the necessary orders, they secretly gathered in the Gandzasar monastery, led by the Catholicos Yesai.

In the period described, the meliks of Karabakh were: 1. Melik Abov II Melik-Beglaryan ruled Gulistan. 2. Jraberdom was ruled by Melik Yesai Melik-Israelian. 3. Khachen rules melik Grigor Hasan-Jalalyan, and then his brother melik Alahverdi. 4. Varanda rules melik Hussein Melik-Shahnazaryan. 5. Dizak was ruled by the son of the guard of Hukas, Melik Egan (Avan).

__________________________ (1) Ali Sultan is the ruler of Sheki. (2) Surkhay-khan is the Kazi-Kumiksan ruler of pro-Turkish orientation. From 1728 he was appointed Khan in Shirvan. ref: http://armenianhouse.org/raffi/novels-ru/khamsa/meliks1_14.html