Allahverdi Khan

Allahverdi Khan (, ; c. 1560 – June 3, 1613) was an Iranian general and statesman of Georgian origin who, initially a gholām ("military slave"), rose to high office in the Safavid state. Iskandar Beg Munshi, the Safavid court historian at the time, describes him as "one of the most powerful statesman to hold office under this dynasty", and a "man of great forbearance, modest and chaste.” Shah Abbas I demonstrated his genuine respect and affection for him by personally supervising the funeral arrangements, and by going to his house the day after his death to offer his personal condolences to his family. Biography Background Allahverdi was born a Christian Georgian, surnamed Undiladze. Like many of his compatriots and fellow Christian Georgians, Armenians and Circassians, he was taken prisoner in the course of one of the Caucasian campaigns of shah Tahmasp I of Persia and converted to Islam to be trained for service in the gholam army, a special military structure consisting of Christian captives that was created later by Abbas I to counterpoise the power of the Qizilbash, which constituted the nucleus of the Safavid military aristocracy.