
Safavid Karabakh

The Province of Karabakh () was a "velayat" (province) of the Safavid Empire of Iran, centered on the geographic region of Karabakh.
These provinces were headed by the shah's governors-general, who were called "beglarbegs", or at other times "hakems". The main urban center of the Province of Karabakh was the city of Ganja.
The first Safavid governor of Karabakh ("hakem") was Piri Beg Qajar, and was appointed as such in 1501. Shahverdi-Sultan, from the Ziyad-oglu clan of the Qajar tribe, was appointed by Shah Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576) in 1554. The nobility of the tribe was granted pastures and land plots in Karabakh. The authority of the governors of Qarabagh covered a vast territory – from the Georgian border near “Sinig Korpu” Bridge (currently “Red Bridge”) to Khudafarin Bridges on the Aras River.
The Province of Karabakh was one of the largest provinces in the Safavid Empire. Its borders were Kur River to the north, Borchali to the south, also in the northern-east Goycha lake and Bargushad included to the territory of Province of Karabakh.