Safavid Fars

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.^[1] Lar was an autonomous principality that minted its own coins, but still acknowledged the authority of the Safavids.^[2]

Fars was conquered in 1503 by Shah Ismail I (r. 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.^[1] 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.^[3] In 1602, Lar and Bahrain was incorporated into Fars.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[5] Because of this, appointments now heavily relied on court connections.^[6] Lar subsequently became its own province, separate from Fars.^[7] In 1696, Fars experienced a drought and famine.^[8] In 1712, Fars was no longer a crown domain and had a governor again.^[9] From 1724 to early 1730, Fars was occupied by the Afghan Hotak dynasty.^[10]

In March 1734, Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi was installed as the governor of Fars by Nader,^[11] an Iranian military commander who later ousted the Safavid dynasty and crowned himself shah in 1736.^[12]

Fars was one of Iran's highest-revenue provinces.^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[13]

Under the Safavids, Fars underwent a 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.^[15]

The Jewish community in Shiraz was one of the oldest in Iran and made up a sizable portion of the city's non-Muslim population.^[16]

This is a list of the known figures who governed Fars.^[17]