Yusuf Khan (Armenian)

Yusuf Khan (also spelled Yusof Khan), was a Safavid gholam and official of Armenian origin, who served as the governor of Astarabad (1604), Shamakhi, and Shirvan (1610–1624) during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). Originally a Christian, Yusuf was first employed in the royal mews, and because of his apparent skill in handling and hunting birds and animals, he was soon given the rank of "master of the hunt" (amīr shekār-bāshi). From there, he rose to become the governor of Astarabad and lastly Shirvan.

When Abbas I decided to marry his granddaughter to Semayun Khan (Simon II) in 1624, Yusuf Khan was ordered by Qarachaqay Khan, likewise of Christian Armenian origin and a childhood friend, to host the banquet.

Sources

• Allsen, Thomas (2006). The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0812239263. 
• Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B.Tauris. pp. 134, 176. ISBN 978-0857716767. 
• Floor, Willem; Herzig, Edmund (2015). Iran and the World in the Safavid Age. I.B.Tauris. p. 484. ISBN 978-1780769905. 
• Nasiri, Ali Naqi; Floor, Willem M. (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration. Mage Publishers. pp. 152–153, 278–279, 286. ISBN 978-1933823232.