Shah Abbas’s Relationship with the Larestan Miladi Dynasty Rulers (Review of the Collapse of the Lar Dynasty, the Oldest Iranian Local State)

The Larestan Miladi family dynasty is considered to be the oldest local state in Iran's history, governing more than sixteen centuries in large parts of the southern Fars province. According to the local narratives, the history of this state dates back to the first half of the 1st century AD with the reign of Goodarz Parthian. The children and dependents of Gorgin Milad, the founder of Larestan Miladi Dynasty ruled over the region for long due to the particular geographic and weather conditions of the region that made it ousted from socio-political events. Having declared loyalty, they were able to continue their semiindependent rule until the beginning of the reign of Shah Abbas I (996-1038 AH), with the advent of the Safavid dynasty and the centralizationist policies of this dynasty. However, the disagreement between Ibrahim Khan’s, the latest Lar Miladi Dynasty ruler, and the Provincial Government of Fars and the central government of Safavid in the Shah Abbas I , eventually led to the invasion of Allahverdykhan , the Governor of Fars to the Larestan and the fall of Lar Miladi Dynasty on 1010 AH. The current paper aims at investigating the relationships between Larestan Miladi Dynasty and Shah Abbas I as well as the reasons behind the discrepancy between this local government and the central government of Safavid and its fall using a library-descriptive methodology based on the Safavid historical resources as well as the resources investigated the local history of Larestan.


I. Introduction
The study of the history of local and regional governments for writing comprehensive descriptions of the history of the great land of Iran is inevitable, especially since the second half of Iranian history, known as the Islamic era, a set of local, regional and Renaissance governments ruled over the land from the beginning of this period to at least half of the Safavid rule, and has had a major impact on the political and economic developments of this era.
The Larestan Miladi family dynasty as the oldest local state in Iran's history, governed in large parts of the southern Fars province, ruling over the region for long due to the particular geographic and weather conditions of the region that made it ousted from socio-political events.
According to the local narratives, the history of this state dates back to the first half of the 1st century AD with the reign of Goodarz Parthian.The children and dependents of Gorgin Milad, the founder of Larestan Miladi Dynasty ruled over the region for long.In the sources of ancient Iranian history there is no direct reference to this government.Perhaps the reason for this is the geographical separation of this region from other parts of Fars and its governance by the family of the local kings.Therefore, the dynasty of Larestan is not much known in the history of Iran and even the local governments of this land, and many parts of the history of this region remain unveiled and, of course, local and regional studies and the use of indigenous documents and resources is required to acquire a comprehensive knowledge.The current paper examines the relationships between Larestan Miladi Dynasty and Shah Abbas I as well as the reasons behind its fall.

II. The history of the Larestan Miladi Dynasty local state
Based on historical documents, the Larestan region, which is, in fact, the southernmost part of the Fars province and adjoined to the shores of the Persian Gulf, has long been the subject of the control of the Larestan Miladi dynasty (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 618).The Larestan Miladi Kings, who, according to local studies, were the children and dependents of Gorgin Milad, the founder of Larestan Miladi Dynasty ruled over the region for long.There is little information about the political situation of the Larestan dynasty in the ancient times and in the Middle Ages of Iran, and there is no direct references have been made to the Larestan region in Islamic sources related to the history of ancient Iran, such as the history of Tabari, the history of Yaghubi, Akhbar Altaval, the history of Balam, Ibn Atir, Ibn Balkh's Farsname, and so on.On the basis of what has been said in historical books, the Persian state during the period of the Parthian and Sassanian included four local states (Kolsinkov, 1976, p. 262) and then five states (provinces) including the Estakhr, Darabgard, Ardeshirkhoreh, Shahpourkhoreh (Bashabours) and Qobadkhoreh (Arjan) (Ibn Balkhi, 1984, p. 121) and it is clear that the absence of the province of Larestan and its local government seems to have been due to its geographical location in a region that has not been linked to many other parts of the Fars region and the rulers of the state of Fars did not pay attention to it.This issue has become an integral part of the continuation of the Larestan state for many years (Vosoughi, 2001, pp. 391-393).
At the beginning of the reign of Shah Isma'il I (907 -930 AH), the rule of Larest was entrusted to Amir Ala'almolk Lari from the dynasty of the Miladi (Unknown Author, 1985, p. 187).With the advent of the Safavid rule and the attempts of the government to establish a centralized government was initially supposed to end the life of local governments in various parts of Iran, including Lahristan, but in 915 AH. and by accepting the gifts from the Larestan ruler and declaring his loyalty to the Safavid dynasty by Shah Isma'il, the Larestan ruler gained the title of "Amir Divani" (Hosseini Qomi, 1984, Vol.1, p. 87), and accordingly, Larestan under the rule of the Miladis continued the semi-independent political economic life in the Safavid era.During the reign of Shah Abbas I, the administration of Larestan was in the hands of Amir Ebrahim Khan Lari known as Ibrahim Shah II.
Ibrahim Shah II announced his loyalty to the Safavid king at the time of the reign of Shah Abbas I and when the king came to suppress Ya'qub Khan, the rebellious ruler of Fars, in Shiraz.Iskandar Beg Turkman writes Ibrahim Khan, the Governor of Lar, sent gifts for servility and devotion at the beginning of Shah Abbas's arrival in Shiraz (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 432).
Qomi also spoke about the dispatch of Lar rulers for supreme command and loyalty to Shah Abbas and in the narrative of the events of 998 AH. he wrote: "And in these days, the prey and the abandonment of many new horses and goldsmiths from Arabia, Hawisa and Lar came to his majesty" (Hosseini Qomi, 1984, Vol 1, p. 912).
Vosoughi and other Lar scholars have written about "the complete companionship of Abraham Shah II with Shah Abbas based on existing historical texts" (Vosoughi, 2006, Vol 1: p. 213).But signs such as the suspicious ignorance of Ibrahim Khan, the absence of Shiraz during the residence of Shah Abbas, secret accompaniment with Ya'qub Khan, the rebellion ruler, and the rioting against Allahverdykhan, the ruler of Shah Abbas, who, according to Fars name: "There was no obedience to the commandments of the ruler and knew him a Goldsmith" (Fasaei, 1988, Vol. I, p. 445).Moreover, disturbances in the passageway of foreign trade caravans cannot be seen as his obedience to Shah Abbas.
An important point to note here was that, in the presence of Shah Abbas in Shiraz, the king expected local rulers around the region, including Lar ruler Ibrahim Khan, to personally pray to him, but the ruler of Lar, ignoring this rule, sent an ambassador to welcome the king Shah Abbas.This behavior of Ibrahim Khan was rooted in the past and along with some Zolghadr rulers who opposed the rule of Shah Mohammad Khoda Banda and Abbas Mirza.On the other hand, Lar ruler was somehow hoped the success of Yakub Khan, the ruler of Fars against Shah Abbas also had this issue and also accepted Ya'qub Khan Zolghodar, the Fars rebellion ruler, and the secret support for him, by Ibrahim Khan, were factors that undermined the suspicion of Shah Abbas and were considered as a kind of companion to Ya'qub Khan.However, according to Qomi, the ruler of Lar accepted Ya'qub Khan gifts under the pressure (Hosseini Qomi, 1984, vol. 2, p. 91).The simultaneous submission of Abraham Khan obedience and his support to the uprisings of Ya'qub Khan, the governor of Fars province, could have seemed to trigger the suspicion of Shah 'Abbas towards the Larestan rulers.It should also be noted that with the prolongation of the residence of Shah Abbas in Shiraz, the ruler of Lar, by sending gifts and banners by well-known tribal leaders, attempts to prevent more conflicts in his relations with Shah Abbas, but this time he also personally does not attend the Safavid king.
Qomi, in this regard and in describing the events of 999 AH, wrote that "the king accepted during these days the gifts sent by the ruler of Lar, ruler" (Hosseini Qomi, 1984, Vol.2, p. 919).Meanwhile, the mistake of Larestan ruler and his associates on anticipating the Ya'qub Khan extent of the power against Shah Abbas cannot be ignored.This mistake led to his secret protection for Ya'qub Khan Zolghadr and he thought Shah Abbas would not discern it.In fact, Ya'qub Khan, the ruler of Fars, had the absolute authority of Yazd and Kerman and gained authority over Fars in the light of authoritarian methods that had been used by the defendants as well as the Turkmen says, no one could confront him and he was known about Safavid court support: "when the royal nobles saw the King compassion for Ya'qub Khan, they accepted him.The Lar ruler region welcomed him and dressed in his gift" (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 426).

III. The mission of Allahverdykhan to overthrow the rule of Lar
Finally, the two-fold policy of Abraham Shah Lari, who once complied with Shah Abbas, once again assimilated with Ya'qub Khan in a rebel, or in the face of Allahverdykhan the Great ruler of Fars, which was believed to be Shah Abbas, in the guise of his guidance: "It has all its independence and was nor obedient to his commands" (Hedayat, 2001, p. 334;Fasaei 1988, Vol 1, p. 445), and on the other hand, by arbitrary measures, caused insecurity in the foreign affairs of the Safavids, provided the Safavid King with an excuse, in accordance with his main objectives, the end of the half-independent and self-reliant states, the end of the reign of Larestan Miladi Rule.He commissioned Allahverdykhan to do this.
One of the major events that occurred during the reign of Abraham Shah Lari and according to some scholars of the local histories of the south played a major role in the collapse of the rule of the Miladiab, the devastating earthquake of 1001 AH, in the Larestan region.According to Mohammad Bagher Vosoughi, the scholar of Larestan, the incident has had many effects on the collapse of the Larestan economic and social fabric and the weakening of the political power of the rule of Ibrahim Shah Lari.Mohammad Bagher Vosoughi knows Larestan Great Earthquake in 1001 AH. as an important factor in stimulating and encouraging Shah Abbas in attacking Larestan and writes: "In other words, the great Larestan earthquake created a suitable and unrepeatable opportunity for Shah Abbas to draw his plans for the conquest of Larestan and then the Larestan earthquake provided the necessary grounds for attacking Larestan" (Vosoughi 2006, Vol 1, p. 418).The phrase "Lar earthquake seems to be an unrepeatable opportunity for Shah Abbas" In Vosoughi's words, it is a bit exaggerated, and this implies that if the Lar earthquake did not occur, Shah Abbas could not attack Larestan and Hormoz.That was not the case with regard to the authority of the first Shah Abbas.
It is noteworthy that the great Lar earthquake has been reported by some domestic historians and foreign tourists with human casualties, destruction and many other failures (Teixiera, 1902, p. 241;Shirazi, 1966, p. 18), the earthquake caused a lot of destructive effects in the region of Larestan and its local government, as Dan Garcia, a Spanish ambassador to his travelogue, quoted: "This great earthquake ruined the best parts of the city and killed many of the people" (Silva, 1984, p. 399).Naturally, it was not a fact that the occurrence of this great natural occurrence provided the ground for more attention to Shah Abbas I in the Larestan region, and provided a good forum for dealing with the governor of Larestan, Ibrahim Khan, but it is clear that this incident alone did not make Shah Abbas's decision to implement his plan to overthrow the local government of Larestan.Notably, Shah Abbas decided to attack Larestan 9 years after the great earthquake, and this was not a short time.According to Tavernier, the conquest of Lar was of great significance for Shah Abbas, because the Hormuz region was also out of Safavid dynasty control (Tavernier, 1984, p. 497).The circumstances of the Larestan region and the government of Ibrahim Khan were not in good condition in those years.According to Garcia, the outlawed Lar ruler was not accepted by the Lar people (Silva, 1984, p. 400), and on the other hand, he was charged with collaborating with the rebel Ya'qub Khan.The economic and social conditions of the region due to the consequences of the devastating earthquake of 1001 AH., which was a devastating blow to the Larestan economy, was not very pleasing.Another issue to the disapproval of the Lar state was the case with foreign caravans crossing the Larestan region and in some cases it was hardened.There were a curse and grievance that could not have been made without the assistance or knowledge of the local government, and they had filed a complaint with Shah Abbas, including the events of the year of 1009, the abduction of a Venetian businessman with an Armenian woman with his brother on the Gombaron -Larestan route, which provoked the anger of Shah Abbas.With the complaint of this Christian businessman, Shah Abbas, who was very sensitive to how foreign traders and tradesmen behaved, issued orders to continue the present of them that were based on a respectful behavior with foreigners, including traders (Navaee, 1973, p. 145).He immediately orders the Fars governor to request the merchant from the Larestan administration and abduct the kidnapped.However, Ibrahim Khan took the beautiful Armenian lady to his harem, and tried to keep them there by compulsory conversion to Islam.He procrastinated in the Command of Shah Abbas under the pretext of his weakness against bandits, and, by raising some of the high-ranking officials in his region; he indicated that he was incapable of executing the order of the government.This caused the Venetian merchant to complain to Shah Abbas, and this time the Shah ordered Allahverdykhan to fight with Larestan and send him "Ibrahim Khan alive or dead" (Falsafi, 1996, vol.3, p. 184).Thus, Shah Abbas explicitly orders the ruler of Fars to dismantle Lar's rule.

IV. Kiani spell failure
Turkman classifies conquest of Larestan and the conquest of the Lar dynasty, in the writings of historians, in particular Larry's historians, have been referred to as "the breaking of the Kiani spell" (Vosoughi, 2006, vol.1, p. 431) in two stages.In the first stage Allahverdykhan, according to the command of Shah Abbas and the propagation of the news of the abuses of the Lar ruler to foreign trader's moves to Larestan, but Ibrahim Khan, who have heard of Allahverdykhan courage, and is aware of the probable defeat due to numerous problems, including the disastrous conditions in the region after the great Lar earthquake comes in peace with the declaration of loyalty and respect to Safavids, asked to give him the opportunity: "then he tried goodwill" (Turkman, 2003, vol.2, p. 616).Allahverdykhan agreed with the request of the ruler of Lar, according to the expediency of Shah Abbas, and did not attack Lar.
Ibrahim Khan treated the Fars ruler well, but after a while, he laid the foundation for the abolition of extortion from foreign merchants.The breaking the promise of Ibrahim Khan caused Allahverdykhan to enter the Lar for the second time with many troops.The Fars troop's fame led to conflicts among the people of Lar and Ibrahim Khan.A group of people and the Lar elders along with Qazi Abolqasem who was among the most prestigious men left the city with his brother and met Allahverdykhan, and separated their way from Ibrahim Khan (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 616).The contemporary scholars of Larestan's history, such as Muhammad Bagher, Vosoughi considers this act of Qazi Abolqasem as a betrayal of the Lar (Vosoughi, 2001, p. 396).But, Garcia, Lar visited this city twice, and introduced Ibrahim Khan by the people as a ruthless ruler who was hated by the people and, therefore, had abandoned him when needed (Silva, 1984, p. 400).In this case, the lack of support of the rulers by the elders and people of Lara cannot be easily ascribed to treachery by the Lari scholars.On the other hand, the ruler of Lar, who saw himself weak in the face of Allahverdykhan and the disbelievers, was incensed by sending donations and an apology for him, but Fars Khan, who had previous experience Ibrahim Khan's treacherous behavior, demanded him to meet Shah in person (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 617).However, Ibrahim Khan refused to be arrested returning to Lar, and was ready to defend the city and fight against Allahverdykhan.The result of the confrontation with regard to the conflict among the Lari people that Vosoughi mentioned, without referring to his source, was the call of the spies of Allahverdykhan with Qazi Abolqasem Lari (Vosoughi, 2001, p. 396), it was already clear from the background of the controversy between the Lari people it was subject of the cooperation of Qazi Abul Ghasem in the policy of giving money by Allahverdykhan and, in the words of modern times, to bribe some of the inhabitants and the governors of the Lar, as mentioned by Turkman: "his majesty could open the doors of the city through bribery" (Turkmen, 2003, Vol 2, p. 617).Meanwhile, Allahverdykhan, regarding the appointment of Qazi Abul Qasem Lari to the Larestan government and the appointment of the dagger from his companions, placed Ibrahim Khan in a position of weakness.Despite the fact that Ibrahim Khan was in refuge in a strong fortress, but the departure of some of the people of Lara from the city and their support of Allahverdykhan left him in a difficult situation.These conditions eventually forced the Lar ruler to ask refuge for the third time, he and his companions gathered to attend the khan of Fars and were respected by Allahverdykhan.Vosuqi knows Ibrahim Khan surrendered and departure from the castle of Lar as a result of the plot of deception of Allahverdykhan after the failure of the Khan Fars in the fortress (Vosoughi, 2001, p. 396).Surrendered Ibrahim Khan Lar and its forts became under the Persian army control and a group of natives who resisted were punished.The property of the ruler of Lar also came into the hands of Allahverdykhan (1010 AH), and he himself, along with the Fars army, headed to Shiraz because at that time, Shah 'Abbas was preparing to fight against Uzbakan in the Balkh army camp.The Fars troop headed towards Kerman commanded by Allahverdykhan and then moved to Khorasan.Ibrahim Khan was in the camp, and after reaching Balkh and at the Badghis camp (around Herat), Ibrahim Khan, shortly afterwards, died at the age of 35 (Turkman, 2003, Vol 2, p. 618).Thus, the oldest local state in Iran's history was ended with the death of Ibrahim Khan Lari, the rule of the descendants of the Gorgin Milad ruled in the name of The Miladi Dynasty for more than sixteen centuries in the Larestan region.

V. Conclusion
Larestan is located in south of Iran and Fars province with warm and dry climate.This region has been ruled by the local kings of Lar, the so-called Miladi family.The Miladi family of the Larestan, the oldest local and Iranian clan, ruled over the region by the first century AD, as the Parthian Godarz gained ruled over the region, and according to the local histories of Larestan, the sons and descendants of Gorgin Khnan, the founder of the Lar dynasty, ruled over the region for more than sixteen centuries until the Shah Abbas Safavi reign.Here are few data on the rule of the Larestan Miladi dynasty in ancient times and the middle ages of Iran's history and large sections of the history of the local government of Larestan is inside the veil with no reference in Iran ancient and the middle ages history resources.The state governors did not pay much attention to this region, and this created security and grounds for the continuation of the rule of the Larestan local states.In the early thirteenth century and in the beginning of the Safavid era, and in the pursuit of the unityist policies of this dynasty, the Larestan dynasty faces a new challenge that they must inevitably declare their obedience to the Safavid kings.In the meanwhile their semi-autonomous state will continue in the Larestan region, but the relations of the Larestan ruling with the Safavid dynasty faced crisis at the expense of Shah Abbas I, who pursued extensive economic developments and the development of trade relations with foreign countries, as well as the discovery of the geographic significance of the Larestan region due to the presence of trade routes on the Gulf coast with the central and northern regions of the country.The implementation of Shah Abbas's centralized policies based on the availability of resources and economic benefits of the regions, on the one hand, and the other incompatibilities of King Ibrahim II, the last Larestan Miladi ruler and Shah Abbas and Allahverdikhan, the governor of Fars province, eventually led the Fars ruling invasion to the Larestan region and the collapse of the oldest local government of Iranian history on 1010 AH.