# Safavid Lorestan

The province of Lorestan (Persian: ولایت لرستان, romanized: Velāyat-e Lorestān) was a western province of Safavid Iran, corresponding to the present-day provinces of Ilam and Lorestan. It was one of the five velayats (semi-autonomous provinces) of the country, and was thus ruled by a vali ("viceroy", "governor").

## History

Lorestan was one of the five velayats of the Safavid realm, being ruled by a vali (viceroy), who was nearly an independent governor. The valis generally belonged to prominent local families, and were officially chosen by the shah (king) as a compromise of regional autonomy. Nevertheless, they ruled in a hereditary manner.
The province was composed of three lower-ranking governorships, Khaveh, Sadmareh and Khorramabad, the latter which was also controlled by the vali of Lorestan. Since the closing of the 12th-century, Little Lorestan had been ruled by the Khorshidi dynasty. The area, also known as Lorestan from the 16th-century and onwards, roughly corresponded to the present-day Ilam and Lorestan provinces. In 1508, Lorestan acknowledged the suzerainty of the Safavid shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524). After the latter's return from Baghdad, he confirmed the Khorshidi ruler Shah Rostam Abbasi as the governor of Lorestan, which included the districts of Sadmareh, Harunabad and Silakhur. During the 1540s, the Safavids established more direct control in Lorestan, such as in Khorramabad. Because the governor of Lorestan resided in the latter city, he was also known as the "governor of Khorramabad and Lorestan". From 1578 till 1587, the governors of Lorestan were in league with the Ottoman Empire.
Following the suppression of Shahverdi Abbasi's rebellion and his subsequent execution, Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) had all male members of the Khorshidi family either blinded or jailed, thus marking their end. Shahverdi Abbasi's maternal cousin Hoseyn Khan Solvizi was appointed the governor of Lorestan, while Tahmaspqoli Khan Inanlu was appointed the governor of some of its parts close to Baghdad, such as Sadmareh and Hendamin. From 1603 and onwards, the Solvizi family became the hereditary governors of Lorestan. In the 1670s, however, Shah Soleyman (r. 1666–1694) gave the governorship of Lorestan to a non-Lori, who was later forced out by the locals.
The governor of Lorestan, Ali Mardan Khan Feyli, played a significant role during the upheavals caused by the arrival of the Afghans to the Safavid capital of Isfahan. He participated in the defense of Isfahan in 1722/23 with 5,000 of his soldiers. Even though he had been chosen as the commander-in-chief of the Iranian army, the other khans disobeyed his instructions. In 1725, the Ottoman Empire invaded Iran, seizing Khorramabad and thus forcing Ali Mardan Khan Feyli to withdraw to Khuzestan, where he launched attacks against Baghdad. The Ottoman force that crossed the Bakhtiari domain to get to Firuzan were forced to withdraw.

## List of governors

This is a list of the known figures who governed Lorestan or parts of it. Hakem and beglerbegi were both administrative titles designating the governor.
| Date | Governor | Observations |
| 1508 | Shah Rostam Abbasi | Hakem of Khorramabad and Lorestan |
| ?–1540 | Mir Ughur ibn Shah Rostam | Hakem of Lorestan |
| 1541–1542 | Mir Jahangir | Hakem of Lorestan and Khorramabad |
| ?–1549 | Bahram Mirza | Hakem of Lorestan and Mankara (Sadmareh?) |
| 1549–? | Rostam Khan | Hakem of Lorestan and possibly Mankara |
| 1568 | Gheyb Soltan Ustajlu | Hakem of Lorestan and Kurdistan |
| 1568–1585 | Mohammad Lori | Hakem of half of Lorestan, i.e. Khorramabad and its surroundings |
| 1568–1575–? | Shah Rostam II | Hakem of half of Lorestan, i.e. Khaveh and Lashtar |
| 1578–1587 | Ottoman rule |
| 1589–1593 | Soltan Mohammad Shah | Hakem of Lorestan |
| 1593 | Shahverdi Abbasi | Hakem of Lorestan |
| 1593–1594 | Soltan Hoseyn ibn Shah Rostam | Hakem of Lorestan except Khorramabad |
| 1593–1595 | Mehdiqoli Khan Shamlu | Hakem of Khorramabad |
| 1594–1598 | Shahverdi Abbasi | Second tenure. Hakem of all Lorestan from 1595 onwards |
| 1598–? | Tahmaspqoli Khan Inanlu | Hakem of Sadmareh, Hendamin, and lands close to Baghdad |
| 1598–1631 | Hoseyn Khan Solvizi | Initially hakem of parts of Lorestan, later beglerbegi of the whole province. Also served as the mir of the Bakhtiyaris |
| 1631–1641 | Shahverdi Khan | Son of the previous governor. Beglerbegi of Lorestan |
| 1641–1648–? | Aliqoli Khan | Son of the previous governor. Beglerbegi of Lorestan |
| 1651–? | Manuchehr Khan | Uncle of the previous governor. Hakem of Lorestan |
| 1684 | Unnamed | Qizilbash governor |
| 1694–1695 | Shahverdi Khan | Hakem of Little Lorestan |
| 1722 | Ali Mardan Khan Feyli | Hakem of Lorestan |