Bijan Beg (Bezhan) was a Safavid noble and gholam from the Georgian Saakadze clan. He was one of the most influential and closest servants of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) in the latters' early reign.
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Biography
Bijan belonged to the gentry (aznauri), and initially served king Luarsab I, and served as a lord chamberlain (sakhlt'ukhuts'esi) at the court of David's son, Bagrat VII of Kartli. Due to this high-ranking position under the reign of the two aforementioned kings, he is seen as an open supporter of David's and Bagrat's pro-Iranian policies. After the Ottoman conquest of northwestern Iran and the Caucasus through the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1690, Bijan together with a son of David XI of Kartli (either Bagrat or Rostom) and other nobles moved to the Safavid court. Having converted to Islam, he subsequently would serve Safavid king Abbas I for many years, and was part of the elite gholam regiments. In the first years of Abbas' reign, Bijan was given the position of darugha (prefect) of the city of Isfahan in 1590, a function he would hold for several years. This further stipulates his high-ranking position and close relationship with the reigning Safavid king, for he was entrusted with the rule of the future Safavid capital. He was selected as a senior squire (yasavol-e sohbat) after the conquest of Kandahar. Shortly after, he was sent to Azerbaijan to supervise the army. In the Tarikh-e-Rostam (lit. "On the history of Rostam") it is mentioned that Abbas ordered Bijan to guard the royal palace after suppressing the revolt of Yaqub Khan in Fars. Iskandar Beg Munshi, the court historian at the time also mentions Bijan and writes in particular about one of his duties where he was to guard an important captive. Bijan later returned to Georgia, where he was killed by his enemies.
Family
Due to Bijan's premature death, his offspring were raised without him. Nevertheless, they would gain high positions in the Safavid ranks, as would his family for several generations, up to around the advent of the 18th century. Bijan had three sons; Rustam Khan (d. 1644), Aliqoli (d. 1667), and Isa (d. 1654).