Siyavosh Beg (qollar-aghasi)

Siyavosh Beg, also known by his nisba of Bāshīāchūghī (died ca. 1650/51 or 1655), was a Safavid military commander, official, and gholam of Georgian origin. Early on in his career, he rose to become a military officer (yuzbashi). From 1632 to 1635, he served as the governor (hakem) of Derbent. Starting from 1632, he also served for a lengthy period as commander of the élite gholam corps (qollar-aghasi), having succeeded Khosrow Mirza (later Rostam Khan of Kartli) to this post. In 1645-1649, he served as the governor (hakem and beglarbeg) of Kuhgiluyeh. When in 1645 the re-appointed grand vizier Khalifeh Sultan urged for repressive laws against Isfahan's large Armenian community, the latter turned to Siyavosh Beg, himself a former Christian. Alike his then incumbent king Abbas II (1642-1666), Siyavosh Beg was an avid drinker. Siyavosh Beg's nisba is derived from "Bash-Achuk", a Persian appellation of the Kingdom of Imereti, in western Georgia, where he hailed from.