{{Short description|Province in southwestern Safavid Iran}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Safavid Fars |native_name = Velāyat-e Fārs |settlement_type = Province |subdivision_type=Country|subdivision_name=[[Safavid Iran]] |seat_type=Capital|seat = [[Shiraz]] }} The '''province of Fars''' ({{Langx|fa|ولایت فارس|translit=Velāyat-e Fārs}}) was a southwestern province of [[Safavid Iran]].{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=280}} Like today, [[Shiraz]] also served as the capital of Fars. The terms "governor of Shiraz" and "governor of Fars" were used interchangeably, as they described the same position.{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=280}}
== History == On the coastal region, the jurisdiction of Fars stretched from [[Bushehr]] to the [[Shatt al-Arab]], while the rest of the coast was mostly ruled by the [[Kingdom of Hormuz]].{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=280}} [[Larestan County|Lar]] was an autonomous principality that minted its own coins, but still acknowledged the authority of the Safavids.{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=230}}
Fars was conquered in 1503 by [[Shah Ismail I]] ({{reign|1501|1524}}). With the exception of two short periods in 1505 and 1509, Fars was always governed by a member of the Dhu'l-Qadr tribe until 1590.{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=280}} The [[vizier]] of the first Dhu'l-Qadr governor was a member of the [[Jaberi Ansari family]] from [[Isfahan]], which remained influential in the administration of Fars until the 18th century.{{sfn|Newman|2008|p=16}} In 1602, Lar and [[Safavid Bahrain|Bahrain]] was incorporated into Fars.{{sfn|Floor|2008|pp=158, 230}} After the execution of [[Emamqoli Khan]] in 1632, Fars became a ''[[khasseh]]'' (crown land) under the jurisdiction of a vizier. Compared to the earlier governors, these viziers were far less powerful.{{sfn|Floor|2006|p=281}}
The [[shah]] now had direct control over the dependencies of Fars, transitioning them from sub-provinces into independent administrative units reporting to the central government.{{sfn|Floor|2006|p=281}} Because of this, appointments now heavily relied on court connections.{{sfn|Floor|2006|p=282}} Lar subsequently became its own province, separate from Fars.{{sfn|Floor|2006|p=439}} In 1696, Fars experienced a drought and famine.{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=94}} In 1712, Fars was no longer a crown domain and had a governor again.{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=281}} From 1724 to early 1730, Fars was occupied by the [[Afghan (ethnonym)|Afghan]] [[Hotak dynasty]].{{sfn|Floor|2008|p=283}}
In March 1734, [[Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi]] was installed as the governor of Fars by [[Nader Shah|Nader]],{{sfn|Axworthy|2006|p=143}} an Iranian military commander who later ousted the Safavid dynasty and crowned himself shah in 1736.{{sfn|Tucker|2006}}
== Economy == [[Image:Coin of Tahmasp I, minted in Shiraz.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Shah Tahmasp I]], minted in [[Shiraz]], dated 1523/24]] Fars was one of Iran's highest-revenue provinces.{{sfn|Matthee|2011|p=155}} Travelers generally described it as a prosperous region, using Shiraz as their primary example. However, the 17th century travelers [[Jean Chardin]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Tavernier]], along with sources in Persian, provide a contrasting depiction of Fars. According to Chardin, the conversion of Fars to crown land and its reduction in size in 1632 caused it to shift from a prospering province to one in rapid decline.{{sfn|Matthee|2011|p=156}}
== Population and religion == [[File:76 Chardin Shiraz.jpg|thumb|300px|An illustration of Shiraz by French traveler [[Jean Chardin]] in 1670s]] Shiraz was seemingly inhabited by 75,000 people under Ismail I, a figure that appears to have stayed nearly the same until its decline in the late 17th century.{{sfn|Matthee|2011|p=155}}
Under the Safavids, Fars underwent a [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|mass conversion to Shia Islam]] but [[Sunni Islam]] persisted in Lar and some coastal settlements. The rate at which Shia Islam was adopted in the urban and rural areas of Fars is uncertain. During the early Safavid era in Fars, as in other parts of Iran, Sunnis faced persecution, most notably in a massacre at [[Kazerun]].{{sfn|Lambton|1999}}
The [[Iranian Jews|Jewish]] community in Shiraz was one of the oldest in Iran and made up a sizable portion of the city's non-Muslim population.{{sfn|Yeroushalmi|2009|pp=209–210}}
== List of governors == This is a list of the known figures who governed Fars.{{sfn|Floor|2008|pp=280–283}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Date !! Governor |- | 1503–1505 || Elyas Beg aka Kachal Beg Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1506 || Mansur Beg Afshar |- | 1506–1520 || Ommat Beg Sarusheykhlu Dhu'l-Qadr |- | ?–1510 || Qadi Mohammad Kashi |- | 1520–1524 || Ali Beg Soltan Dhu'l-Qadr Chichkelu |- | 1525 || Morad Soltan Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1525–1533 || Hamzeh Beg Jameselu Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1533–1540 || [[Ghazi Khan Dhu'l-Qadr]] |- | 1540–1555 || [[Ebrahim Khan Dhu'l-Qadr]] |- | 1555–1558 || Ali Soltan Tati-oghlu Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1558–1566 || Shahvali Soltan Tati-oghlu Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1566–? || Mohammad Khan Beg Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1571 || Shahqoli Khalifeh Mohrdar Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1571–1576 || Vali Soltan Khan Qalkhanji-oghlu Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1577–? || Aliqoli Khan Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1580 || Khalil Khan Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1581–1586 || Ommat Beg Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1586 || Ali Khan Shadi Begluy Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1586–1588 || Mehdiqoli Soltan Sheikh Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1587 || Shahqoli Khalifeh Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1588–1590 || Ya'qub Beg Dhu'l-Qadr ibn Ebrahim Khan |- | October 1590 || Bonyad Beg Dhu'l-Qadr |- | 1592–1593 || Hoseyn Khan Mosaheb Qajar |- | 1594 || Unnamed Dhu'l-Qadr member |- | 1595 || Allahqoli Beg |- | 1595–1596 || [[Farhad Khan Qaramanlu]] |- | 1596–1613 || [[Allahverdi Khan]] |- | 1613–1632 || [[Emamqoli Khan]] |- | 1632–? || Mirza Mo'en |- | 1642–? || Mir Mohammad Ahmad |- | 1644–? || Badadeh Arestu Beg |- | ?–1651–1656 || Mirza Hadi ibn Mirza Mo'en |- | 1656–? || Babunah Beg |- | 1696 || Shahverdi Khan Seyl-Sopor |- | 1698 || Mohammad Ali Beg |- | ?–1712 || Mohammad Baqer Beg |- | April 1714 || Kalb Ali Khan |- | April 1714–? || Mirza Mohammad Hoseyn |- | January 1717 || Safiqoli Beg |- | January 1717 || Mortezaqoli Khan |- | 22 October 1717 – December 1720 || [[Lotf-Ali Khan Daghestani]] |- | 1722 || Mohammad Ali Jaberi Ansari |- | 1723 || Nurollah Khan Farahani |- | 1724–1730 || [[Hotak dynasty|Afghan occupation]] |- | 1734–1736 || [[Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi]] |}
== References == {{reflist|2}}
== Sources == * {{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Axworthy |title=The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant |date=2006 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |isbn=978-1850437062}} * {{cite book |last=Floor |first=Willem|author-link=Willem Floor|date=2006 |title=A political and economic history of five port cities, 1500-1730 |url=https://archive.org/details/politicaleconomi0000floo/mode/1up |publisher=Mage Publishers |isbn=978-1933823126}} * {{cite book|last1=Floor|first1=Willem|title=Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri|date=2008|publisher=Mage Publishers|isbn=978-1933823232}} * {{cite book |last=Yeroushalmi|first=David|date=2009|title=The Jews of Iran in the Nineteenth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYlGS3s3zTQC&newbks |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-9004152885}} * {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fars-iii/|title=Fārs iii. History in the Islamic Period|first=Ann K. S.|last=Lambton|authorlink=Ann Lambton|year=1999|isbn = 978-0933273351}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFLambton1999}} * {{cite book | title = Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan | year = 2011 | publisher = I.B.Tauris | last = Matthee | first = Rudi |author-link=Rudi Matthee| isbn = 978-0857731814 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fFaw4od7nfUC }} * {{cite book | title = Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire | year = 2008 | publisher = I.B.Tauris | last = Newman | first = Andrew J. | author-link = Andrew J. Newman | isbn = 978-0857716613 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KPgBAwAAQBAJ}} * {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nader-shah/|title=Nāder Shāh |first=Ernest|last=Tucker|year=2006|isbn = 978-1934283295}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFTucker2006}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book | title = The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran: Power, Religion and Rhetoric | year = 2009 | publisher = I.B.Tauris | last = Mitchell | first = Colin P. | isbn = 978-0857715883 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=APcBAwAAQBAJ}} {{Safavid Provinces}}
[[Category:16th century in Iran]] [[Category:17th century in Iran]] [[Category:18th century in Iran]] [[Category:Provinces of the Safavid dynasty|Fars]] [[Category:History of Fars province]]