List of Tofangchi-aghasis

The Tofangchi-aghasi, also spelled Tufangchi-aqasi, and otherwise known as the Tofangchi-bashi, was the commander of the Safavid Empire's musketeer corps. The tofangchi-aghasi was assisted by numerous officers, i.e. minbashis, yuzbashis, dahbashis, as well as an administrative staff (i.e. vizier, mostoufi). Though the tofangchi-aghasi was considered to be a high-ranking office on paper, de facto, it was one of the lowest on the "military totem-pole" compared to the other commanding offices. Nevertheless, the post was generally held by scions of noble families.

List of Tofangchi-aghasis

Reign of Ismail I

Mirza Shah Hosein (1516)

Reign of Tahmasp I

Kur Hasan (1529)
?
Mir Saheb-e Qoshun (1576)

Reign of Ismail II

Mir Saheb-e Qoshun (1576)
?

Reign of Mohammad Khodabanda

?

Reign of Abbas I

Esma'il Beg (1614-1615)
Zaman Beg (1629)^[a]

Reign of Shah Safi

Rostam Beg (1630)
Mir Fatteh Qumesheh'i (1634-1635)
Aqa Taher (1635-1643)^[b]

Reign of Abbas II

Aqa Taher (1635-1643)
Qalander Soltan Chuleh (1643-1661)^[c]
Budaq Soltan (1661-1668)

Reign of Suleiman I

Budaq Soltan (1661-1668)
Sheikh 'Ali Khan Zanganeh (1668-1669)
Abbas Beg Zanganeh (1669-1670)^[d]
Kaykhosrow Khan (1670-1674)
Hajji 'Ali Khan Zanganeh (1674-1691)
Eshaq Khan (?)

Reign of Sultan Husayn

Eshaq Khan (?)
Musa Khan (1711-1715)
Hosein Ali Khan (1717-1720)^[e]
Mohammad Ali Khan Mokri (1720-1722)

Reign of Tahmasp II

Ahmad Khan (1723)
Shahverdi Khan Cheshmkazik (1724)^[f]

Notes

^ Held the posts of nazer and tofangchi-aghasi.
^ Brother of his predecessor. Also known as Mir Fattah-e Thani.
^ Tofangchi-aghasi and tupchi-bashi in 1660-1661. "He also received Aberqu as a teyul, which, since then, always has been bestowed on the tofangchi-aghasi."
^ Eldest son of his predecessor, Sheikh 'Ali Khan Zanganeh. Later became mīr shekār-bāshi ("master of the hunt") as well.
^ Appointed on 27 September 1715. Was disgraced in the "alleged conspiracy" of 1720.
^ Also referred to as Shahverdi Khan Kivanlu by Mostoufi.

Sources

Floor, Willem (2001). Safavid Government Institutions. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 176–188. ISBN 978-1568591353.
Matthee, Rudi (2012). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. p. 258. ISBN 978-1845117450.

[1] Held the posts of nazer and tofangchi-aghasi.

[2] Brother of his predecessor. Also known as Mir Fattah-e Thani.

[3] Tofangchi-aghasi and tupchi-bashi in 1660-1661. "He also received Aberqu as a teyul, which, since then, always has been bestowed on the tofangchi-aghasi."

[4] Eldest son of his predecessor, Sheikh 'Ali Khan Zanganeh. Later became mīr shekār-bāshi ("master of the hunt") as well.

[5] Appointed on 27 September 1715. Was disgraced in the "alleged conspiracy" of 1720.

[6] Also referred to as Shahverdi Khan Kivanlu by Mostoufi.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]