List of Tupchi-bashis

Commanders of Safavid artillery corps From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tupchi-bashi (Persian: توپچی‌باشی, lit. 'head of the tupchis') was the commander of the Safavid Empire's artillery corps. He was responsible for the artillery battery (tup-khaneh) and needed materials in relation to the artillery pieces as well. The tupchi-bashi received assistance by an administrative staff, as well as by various officers of lower rank. The term tupchi-bashi was also used to designate the commanders of local artillery batteries in the various cities and provinces of the empire.

List of Tupchi-bashis

Reign of Ismail I

  • Hamza Beg (1507)
  • Mahmud Beg (1516)

Reign of Tahmasp I

  • Ostad Sheikhi Beg (1528–1529)
  • Sheikh Ali (1538–1539)
  • Darvish Beg (1551–1552)
  • Soleiman Beg (1556–1557)

Reign of Mohammad Khodabanda

  • Morad Khan (1580–1581)

Reign of Abbas I

  • Qoreiqchi Khan (1605–1606)[a]
  • Barkhordar Beg (1610)

Reign of Safi

  • Mortezaqoli Beg (1637–1638)[b]
  • Morad Beg (1642)

Reign of Abbas II

  • Morad Beg (1642)
  • Mohammad Beg (1649)
  • Hoseinqoli Khan (1655)[c]
  • Qalandar Soltan Chuleh Chaghatay (1660–1661)[d]

Reign of Suleiman I

  • Najafqoli Beg (1669–1679)[e]
  • Mohammad Hosein Beg (1679–?)
  • Musa Beg (1692)
  • Abd ol-Razzaq Beg (1693–1695)

Reign of Soltan Hoseyn

  • Abd ol-Razzaq Beg (1693–1695)
  • Abdi Aqa (1697–1698)
  • Aliqoli Khan (1711–1714)
  • Mohebb-Ali Khan (1716–1721)[f]
  • Ahmad Khan (1721)
  • Mohammad-Ali Khan (1722)[g]
  • His son (1722)[h]

Reign of Tahmasp II

  • Emin Khan (1728–1729)
  • Taher Beg (1730–1731)
  • Mohammadqoli Khan (1731–1732)
  • Yar Beg Khan (1732)

Reign of Abbas III

  • Yar Beg Khan (1732)
  • Mehdi Khan (1733)

Notes

  1. [a]
    A gholam, he started his career in the qeichigari ("tailors workshop") and rose to further importance from there.
  2. [b]
    Son of Barkhordar Beg.
  3. [c]
    After Hoseinqoli Khan died in 1655, Abbas II did not appoint a new tupchi-bashi. The jabbehdar-bashi ("head of the royal arsenal") took over its role temporarily until 1660-1661. Floor mentions that the post may have become vacant afterwards.
  4. [d]
    The actual role of tupchi-bashi was still performed by the jabbehdar-bashi during these years. However, Qalandar Soltan Chuleh did keep command over the artillery and its related logistics at Qandahar.
  5. [e]
    He was also rekabdar.
  6. [f]
    Died at Gulnabad in 1722.
  7. [g]
    He was the son of Aslamas Beg.
  8. [h]
    After Mohammad-Ali Khan was dismissed on 14 June 1722, he was succeeded by his seven year old son.

Sources

  • Floor, Willem (2001). Safavid Government Institutions. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 188–199. ISBN 978-1568591353.
  • Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 362. ISBN 978-1442241466.
  • Savory, Roger (2007). Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 59, 92. ISBN 978-0521042512.

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