Talk:Vali dynasty

Additions

I did more research on the Vali dynasty and have some big additions to add. The article was already so short so I combined what it has with what I added. I made three general sections. One is a "descent" section (like other "dynasty" articles have), the other is a brief list of all the Valis, and the other is a history section with summarizing every Vali and their major achievements. Its 800 years of history fit into one article I tried organizing it best.

Either way, the sections I wanted to add are:

Descent

The first of the Vali dynasty was Huseyn Khan, the son of Mansur Bek. He was appointed Vali of Luristan after Shahverdi Abbas, the last ruler of the Khorshidi dynasty, was disposed by Shah Abbas. Huseyn Khan was related to Shahverdi Abbas on his maternal side. Huseyn Khan had origins from the chiefly lines of the Arab Rabia tribe. His ancestors were said to have migrated to Luristan, after a possible dispute in their homeland, afterwards settling and intermarrying with the Lurs. Huseyn Khan and the Vali dynasty traced their lineage to Abbas ibn Ali. Their family trees also traced back to Abbas ibn Ali. Hamza Akbar, a descendant of Abbas ibn Ali and ancestor of Huseyn Khan, was buried in Posht-e-Kuh. In his will, Gholamreza Khan, the last Vali of Posht-e-Kuh, described his family lineage, and said that the first Vali of Luristan was "Huseyn ibn Mansur al-Alawi al-Abbasi." According to the Vali dynasty family tree, Huseyn Khan was the son of Mansur, son of Zuhayr, son of Taher, son of Sawiz, son of Mohammad, son of al-Marja'a, son of Mansur, son of Tulai'at, son of Hasan al-Dibaq, son of Ahmadghajan, son of Huseyn, son of Ali, son of Ubaydullah, son of Huseyn, son of Hamza, son of Huseyn, son of Ubaydullah, who was the son of Abbas ibn Ali.

List of Valis

The Valis of Luristan, by order, were Huseyn Khan, Shahverdi Khan, Aliqoli Khan, Menuchehr Khan, Huseyn Khan II, Shahverdi Khan the Blind, Ali Mardan Khan Feyli, Ismail Khan, Hassan Khan, Abbasqoli Khan, Haydarqoli Khan, Ali Khan, Haydar Khan, Huseynqoli Khan Abu Qaddara, and Gholamreza Khan.

History

After the fall of the Khorshidis, Shah Abbas installed Huseyn Khan Feyli as the first Vali of Luristan. The last Khorshidi governor, Shahverdi Abbasi, was executed in 1598 by Shah Abbas I for rebellion, and all male members of the Khorshidi family were subsequently either blinded or jailed, marking the end of their rule. Huseyn Khan Feyli, a cousin of Shahverdi Abbasi through his mother, was installed as the new governor. By 1603, his family became the hereditary governors of Lorestan.

Huseyn Khan died in 1630-1631 and was succeeded by his son Shahverdi Khan. Shahverdi Khan went to Isfahan to meet the Shah around 1639, after seeing a sheep, he tried to test his strength and split it in half with a sword but injured his own leg and died 2 years later from the wound. As per his will, Shahverdi Khan was succeeded by his son Aliqoli Khan around 1641, although people disobeyed him because of his young age, and the Shah replaced him shortly after with Manuchehr Khan, brother of Shahverdi Khan. During the rule of Shah Abbas II, Seyyed Ali Khan, Vali of Hoveyzeh in Khuzestan, who was oppressive, was overthrown by Arabs led by his son Seyyed Huseyn. Shah Abbas II ordered Manuchehr Khan to govern Hoveyzeh, where he exiled Seyyed Ali Khan to Isfahan. The Bavi Arabs initially revolted but later obeyed him. He was never successful in Hoveyzeh due to his greed for horses and money, and he went back to Luristan after 2 years, and said that only the Mushasha were fit to rule that region. Manuchehr Khan was succeeded by Huseyn Khan II, who ruled during the time of Shah Suleyman and then Shah Soltan Huseyn, and had a relaxed tenure. After Huseyn Khan II died, there was a conflict between his sons Ali Mardan Khan and Shahverdi Khan over the position. Shahverdi Khan, with help from the Qizilbash, captured Ali Mardan Khan and sent him to a prison in Kerman by order of Shah Suleyman. When the Afghans invaded, Ali Mardan Khan escaped prison and Shahverdi Khan initially worried but later regained his trust. However, Shahverdi Khan tried to divide the army of Ali Mardan Khan, which ruined his relations with the Afghans, and caused Ali Mardan Khan to order the capture and blinding of his brother who was known as Shahverdi Khan Kor. Ali Mardan Khan ruled during a hectic period marked by the Afghan and Ottoman invasions. After Shah Soltan Huseyn, Shah Tahmasp ruled before Nader Shah came to power. Due to war with the Ottomans, Ali Mardan Khan had exiled himself to southern Luristan and Khuzestan, only returning to Khorramabad when Nader Shah restored authority there, and installed Ali Mardan Khan as Vali of Luristan and Mohammadali Khan as his assistant after he was impressed with their service to Iran. Around 1738-1739, Nader Shah sent Ali Mardan Khan from Qandahar to the Ottoman Empire with Mustafa Pasha to solve border issues, although he was poisoned in Sivas and died. He was succeeded by his nephew Ismail Khan, the son of Shahverdi Khan Kor. He ruled during the fall of Nader Shah, and his tenure was also hectic and coincided with the power struggle between leaders such as Karim Khan Zand, Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari, Azad Khan Afghan, and Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar. He was initially allied with Karim Khan Zand and gave him asylum when he was defeated by Azad Khan Afghan and had to retreat to the mountains of Luristan and Bakhtiari. Karim Khan Zand was welcomed in Luristan where he rebuilt his army and rose again. However, when Karim Khan Zand fought Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari, Ismail Khan sided with the Bakhtiaris. When the Bakhtiaris were defeated and Ali Mardan Khan was killed, Ismail Khan attacked Karim Khan Zand but was severely defeated. When Karim Khan Zand came to power, he appointed his sororal nephew as Vali of Luristan and dismissed Ismail Khan, who refused the order and was then militarily defeated and fled to the mountains. Later, Karim Khan Zand realized he needed to appoint a native governor to gain support from the Lurs, and appointed Ali Nazar Khan as the Vali of Luristan. He was from the Vali dynasty and described as the younger brother of Ismail Khan. After Karim Khan Zand died, Ismail Khan returned to Khorramabad and seized power, and sent gifts to Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar in Malayer to gain his support, and was confirmed as Vali of Luristan. Ismail Khan persecuted several tribes, including the Laks of Delfan, who migrated to Kermanshah as a result. Later, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar established more direct control over Pish-e-Kuh, appointing one of his commanders Ali Qoli Khan as the ruler. By the time Fath-Ali Shah Qajar was in power, the authority of the Valis of Luristan became limited to Posht-e-Kuh, and they were called the Valis of Posht-e-Kuh afterwards. After Ismail Khan, his son Kalb-Ali Khan briefly became Vali of Posht-e-Kuh but was killed by his cousins during an Ottoman invasion. Hasan Khan, the grandson of Ismail Khan through his son Asad Khan, later came to power during the rule of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. When the capital, Khorramabad, was taken by the Qajars, he established a new capital in Ilam, to continue his rule, and he was tolerated due to defending the Iranian border from the Ottomans. In the early years under Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Huseynqoli Khan, the brother of Hasan Khan, began a rebellion, and Fath-Ali Shah personally went to suppress it. Huseynqoli Khan eventually surrendered and was appointed to the government of Qom, although he rebelled again shortly after in 1801, intending to capture Lorestan and Kermanshah for the Ottomans. Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ordered Hasan Khan to prevent Huseynqoli Khan from fleeing Iran. Huseynqoli Khan had a counselor named Mohammad Qasem Beg, known as Mollah Barani, who was one of the leaders of the Beyranvand tribe. Huseynqoli Khan and his associates were tasked with protecting Isfahan, and he sought help from several tribes, but mainly the Beyranvand. He set out for Lorestan to seek help from the tribes but was blocked entry by Mohammad Ali Khan, the ruler of Borujerd, and Aghajan Qajar, the ruler of Silakhor, who both fought him and forced him to flee. After he was ordered to assist the two governors in fighting Huseynqoli Khan, Hasan Khan set out for Lorestan and inflicted devastating blows on the Beyranvand tribe specifically, killing many of their chiefs and returning to Posht-e-Kuh afterwards. Hasan Khan was succeeded by his son Abbasqoli Khan. He was very cooperative with the Qajar state against rebellious tribes, most notably in one incident when the Delfan tribes advanced toward the Ilam border before Abbasqoli Khan went with twenty horsemen to assist the Qajar prince. He was succeeded by his brother Heydarqoli Khan, who was cooperative with the Qajars, and nothing significant happened under his rule. Heydarqoli Khan was succeeded by Ali Khan, another brother of his, who was also cooperative with the Qajar state. Khanlar Mirza, governor of Lorestan and Arabistan, also controlled the affairs of the Bala Gariva region. The Sagvand tribe of Bala Gariva were also present in Posht-e-Kuh, and he feared that the Bani Lam Arabs would come to their assistance, and did not receive any assurance from Ali Khan. Before the leaders of the Sagvand tribe, Abdullah Khan and Jawad Khan, arrived to the Qalah-Su castle, they were intercepted by Khanlar Mirza who dealt a major blow to the Sagvand tribe, causing them to flee to the desert under Bani Lam protection. Nasiruddin Shah Qajar replaced Ali Khan with his brother Haydar Khan as Vali of Posht-e-Kuh, and Ali Khan fled. He was succeeded by his son, Huseynqoli Khan, who was appointed by Nasiruddin Shah Qajar in 1894-1895. He had a significant tenure and was mentioned by several European travelers. His tribal followers were deeply devoted to him, although he was not liked by all of his subordinates and his tenure saw many defections to the Ottomans. By order of Nasiruddin Shah Qajar, he and Heshmat-od-Dowla Hamza Mirza, successfully defended Posht-e-Kuh from Arab tribes who would come and loot the farms, pushing the Arabs to the Tigris River, and was nicknamed Amir-e-Tuman, Saram-ol-Saltana, Sardar-e-Ashraf, and most notably Abu Qaddara. The Arab tribes began to raid again afterwards. He died around 1900 and was succeeded by his son Gholamreza Khan. Him and his tenure were very reminiscent of Huseynqoli Khan. Earlier around 1864-1865, Gholamreza Khan, by order of the Qajars and his father, led a devastating attack on the Dirakvand tribe of Bala Gariva, earning the nickname Fateh-os-Soltan from Nasiruddin Shah Qajar. His rule was known for being relatively stable during World War I despite being surrounded by chaos. When the Ottomans invaded western Iran, they were met by strong resistance in Posht-e-Kuh from Gholamreza Khan, causing the Ottomans to retreat, and he further pursued the Ottomans around Kermanshah and Lorestan. Around 1900, the governor responsible for Khuzestan, Lorestan, Borujerd, and Bakhtiari, was summoned to Tehran. Abolfath Mirza Salar-od-Dowla, son of Muzaffaruddin Shah, was appointed in those positions, and married the daughter of Gholamreza Khan. In 1903, Amanollah Khan Saram-ol-Saltana, the son of Gholamreza Khan, seized power in a coup and expelled his father, although they reconciled after and he reassumed his position. After the overthrow of Ahmad Shah Qajar and the end of the Qajar dynasty, Reza Shah came to power. Gholamreza Khan felt as if his end was nearing, and did not go to Tehran when summoned by Reza Shah, instead fleeing to Baghdad, Iraq, with his family and valuables around 1928-1929, ending over 700 years of dynastic rule. He was given assurances for safety if he returned to Iran, but seeing the Lur tribal chiefs in Khorrambad who were still executed after being assured by General Hassan Aghakhan Khazai, he chose not to go. Mehdiqoli Hedayat claimed that Yadollah Khan, the son of Gholamreza Khan, had asked for amnesty, and that he signed a decree guaranteeing them safety on September 8, 1929. Gholamreza Khan died in Baghdad in 1939. There were an additional four known as the Princes of Posht-e-Kuh. They included Alireza Khan Shehab-od-Dowla, son of Huseynquli Khan, who was gifted land in Holeylan by his father, and remained there after Gholamreza Khan fled to Iraq. Aliqoli Khan, also known as Yasan, the son of Gholamreza Khan, remained in Posht-e-Kuh. He attempted a revolt in 1929-1930 in coordination with Mirza Farhad, a minister for the new government. The revolt failed and Mirza Farhad reconciled with the government. Yadollah Khan Alavi Feyli, nicknamed Ashraf-ol-Molk, son of Gholamreza Khan, remained in Posht-e-Kuh and revolted against Mohammadsadeq Kopal, an army general who served as the governor of Posht-e-Kuh after Gholamreza Khan fled. He besieged the military headquarters but then fled to Kermanshah and then Baghdad where he reunited with his father. In 1948, Yadollah Khan was allowed to return to the city of Ilam but settled in the city of Abdanan instead. Malik Mansur Khan Alavi Feyli, another son of Gholamreza Khan, had fled to Iraq with his father, where he settled and served in various government positions. Ilamxan (talk) 11:08, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your time and energy on this, Ilamxan. There is to a degree some WP:VER issues. You cite several sources (in a case up to 6) at the end of some info, making it more difficult to verify (though you have added quotes on a lot of them, which is helpful), especially when they are not in English. Is there a place to view these sources in Persian?. If I'm not mistaken one of the authors is Iraj Afshar? Curzon is also not WP:RS. It also needs some sub sections so it doesn't look so bloated, but I (and others for that matter) can always help with that. HistoryofIran (talk) 11:47, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

Hello. Yes I didn't mean to excessively cite sources I just wanted to show that the Valis claim of descent was consistent over their reign and fairly backed up by sources and documents. Unfortunately most history of the Vali dynasty will never be known, outsiders rarely visited, and the locals didn't have a written history. There are only few reliable Persian sources and even less foreign ones. I don't think I can find much more than I already have, there are other Persian sources but they mostly just repeat the same things I added to the article. I have a PDF of the Iraj Afshar source, and I found the rest on Google Books. I put as many quotes as I can so it'll be easy to copy paste it and verify the search results. But I assure you I checked everything twice. For most of the article I cited Iraj Afshar "Sistani", considered reliable, and widely cited by scholars such as Oberling, but he's a different person from Iraj Afshar "Yazdi" (who you mentioned). The confusion is actually very common because both were famous as pioneers of Iranian studies. They have the same specialty but Sistani additionally specialized more in local, ethnic, and tribal history. The few mentions of the Feyli Lurs in English sources like Cambridge History of Iran or Encyclopedia of Islam or Iranica are mostly just vague passing mentions but still they are actually consistent with the works of Sistani, and I cited them as well, such as the Cambridge source for the conflict between the Feyli Valis and the Zands, but again unfortunately I can't find much more in English. I also cited Hamid Izadpanah who specialized in Lur history and Safavid studies, he made the same claims as Sistani, and it means alot coming from him. I'll remove the Curzon source no problem. And I agree on adding additional subsections. Ilamxan (talk) 16:08, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

Yes Iraj Afshar Sistani does indeed seem to be WP:RS. Please feel free to add this to the article when you feel it is appropriate. And thanks again for your work. HistoryofIran (talk) 20:22, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

No problem, I added everything and the article looks all good. This is a separate topic but I always knew the Khorshidis and Valis were maternal cousins but had different paternal lines, Valis claimed descent from Abbas, while Khorshidis were fully native Jangrawi Lurs. But when I was reading, the EoI entry for LUR-I KŪČIK did indeed say that the Khorshidis were Jangardi Lurs, but also that the governorship later shifted to a different Khorshidi line which claimed descent from Abbas, specifically after the 1300s. It also says Shahverdi Abbasi, the last Khorshidi ruler, made the most out of the Abbas claim. The Iranica entry ATĀBAKĀN-E LORESTĀN says the exact same thing. This wasn't on their Wikipedia article, can I add it? Unless theres a reason its not added there that I don't know of.

It should be pointed out that they only later claimed descent from Abbas and were still not seen as true descendants, unlike the Valis whose claim was more solid. For example Iskandar Beg Munshi said that when the Khorshidis were replaced by the Valis, the power changed "from the false Abbasids to the authentic Abbasids", among other things like the Khorshidis refusing to obey the Valis until they were killed. When searching Munshi deeper I found it was posted on Wikisource. Ilamxan (talk) 20:17, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure I completely understand, but if the Encyclopedia of Islam and Iranica both agree on something then I guess adding that is only a good thing. HistoryofIran (talk) 12:20, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

I see. Thank you for your patience with me. Ilamxan (talk) 14:50, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

I haven't been able to find much more information on the Vali dynasty which we don't already have here, but I found one source that stuck out to me. (ابراهیم یعقوبی، خداکرم مظاهری، "کوچ والیان لرستان فیلی به پشتکوه؛ بازخورد سیاست قاجاری کردن ایران"، فرهنگ ایلام, vol. 21, no. 66-67, 2020, pp. 161-177.) Its the first to specifically study the relocation of the Valis from Pishekuh to Poshtekuh under Hasan Khan. I got a ton of useful information there and want to check if its useable in the article. It also goes into detail about Hasan Khan under whom the Qajars took Pishekuh, and it gives more specific time about the taking of Pishekuh (1770s) while others just vaguely say "18th century", and so much specific information. I already wrote paragraphs but I'm just unsure if its safe to cite on here. If so, then I think with the information I'll add, and splitting the history section into the whole Luristan period and the Poshtekuh period, the article would be pretty much complete. Ilamxan (talk) 14:22, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

There are really no sources that go into more depth than that? I guess citing this source is good, that would be appreciated. HistoryofIran (talk) 22:38, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

I just added a map of their territory in 1776, and I was thinking all this article is missing is a population section similar to the Khorshidi dynasty article:

"All tribes which lived under the Vali dynasty were called Feyli. When the Vali dynasty ruled all of Luristan for two centuries, all tribes were considered Feyli, although after the Qajars took Pish-e-Kuh, the term Feyli was reduced to only the tribes of Posht-e-Kuh, because of its association with the Vali dynasty. However, it was still loosely applied to the tribes in Pish-e-Kuh, and to those further south in Bala Gariva.

The Vali dynasty ruled over a population of Lurs and Kurds, as well as Laks. The Feyli Lurs were mainly concentrated in Pish-e-Kuh and made up the majority there. The Feyli Kurds were concentrated in Posht-e-Kuh and adjacent parts of eastern Iraq. Posht-e-Kuh had a Kurdish majority, with a Lur minority in the south. The Laks lived in the eastern parts of Posht-e-Kuh, and the western and northern parts of Pish-e-Kuh." Ilamxan (talk) 15:57, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, but it's hard to verify this when you cite two different sources at the end of each text, especially when they have more than one page cited. HistoryofIran (talk) 21:13, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Van Bruinessen made the same claim as Iranica thats why I cited it like that, and about the book source, the author said the same quote in this article and its accessible. I made some quotes from Google Books for the book itself, such as Page 55: "ایلهای تحت امر والیان لرستان که از آنها به عنوان فیلی یاد میشود، از نظر لهجه به سه دسته ی لر لک و کرد تقسیم میشوند. لکها و لرها در پیشکوه لرستان سکونت دارند. ایلات مختلف لک در شمال و شمال غربی پیشکوه لرستان ساکن میباشند. سرزمین لک نشین به صورت خطی منحنی در دره های رودخانه ی میان شهرستان های بروجرد، نهاوند، خرم آباد، کرمانشاه، و ایلام قرار گرفته است. ایلات لر در مناطق جنوبی و شرق لرستان ساکن…" (mentions Kurds and Posht-e-Kuh as well but I can't fully preview). And Page 205: "کردها اکثریت جمعیت پشتکوه را رشکیل میدهند. علاوه بر اين جمعيت قابل توجهى از آنان در طول حكومت واليان به عراق مهاجرت كردند كه امروزه به نام كردهاى فيلى از آنان ياد مى شود." The Changes of Poshtkouh article makes the same claims, I've read it before, but I cant access it due to the Internet in Iran and understand if I can't use it. Ilamxan (talk) 13:48, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

Sure, please add it then. I can always take a more thorough look later if needed. Thank you again for your work, especially in these circumstances. HistoryofIran (talk) 16:27, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Well now I can say I've added everything I know about this topic, thank you especially for your patience. Ilamxan (talk) 17:32, 11 May 2026 (UTC)