The Endowment of Imam Quli Khan: Characteristics of the Deed of Endowment and the Fate of Trustees of the Khan School of Shiraz

Mirzaabolghasemi, Mohammad Sadegh

doi:10.22059/jhss.2025.387717.473767

The Endowment of Imam Quli Khan: Characteristics of the Deed of Endowment and the Fate of Trustees of the Khan School of Shiraz

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Mohammad Sadegh Mirzaabolghasemi

Faculty of Art and Architect, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jhss.2025.387717.473767

Abstract

The Khan School is one of the buildings of the Safavid era in Shiraz. This school was built on a parcel of land known as "Pay-i Tal." Pay-i Tal was part of the properties of Allahverdi Khan (d. 1613), the governor of Fars during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavi (1587-1628). However, the construction of the school continued during the rule of his son, Imam Quli Khan. Imam Quli Khan issued a deed of endowment for the Khan School on the twenty-fifth of Ramadan 1036 AH/1626 AD, which is the subject of the present article. This deed of endowment is the most significant historical document of the Khan School, and its study can be beneficial in understanding some cultural and social transformations in Fars during the Safavid period. Therefore, this article presents the characteristics of the original document and the copies of the deed of endowment, and its content is examined and analyzed using historical evidence. The family of Imam Quli Khan was abruptly suppressed during Shah Safi’s reign. The sequence of trustees and the conditions mentioned in the endowment deed of Khan School also provide a basis for tracing the descendants of Imam Quli Khan in this article. The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical, and the method of data collection is both library-based and field-based.The results of this research show that Imam Quli Khan, shortly before the death of Shah Abbas, endowed a significant portion of his properties through two endowment deeds, entrusting their management to his eldest son, Safi Quli Khan. This action was perhaps his strategy to preserve his legacy. All the endowments of Imam Quli Khan on Khan School are located in Fars, with the most important being the lands surrounding Khan School, which were left by Allahverdi Khan. The conditions set by Imam Quli Khan for this endowment are based on two main axes: first, to strengthen and ensure the Trustee of Khan School in the name of his eldest son, Safi Quli Khan, and its continuation within his male descendants; second, the purpose and subject of expenditure of the endowment's revenues.The endowments of Khan School, also known as the endowments of Imam Quli Khan, ceased to exist. Nevertheless, the historical legacy of these endowments and their trustees has resulted in the establishment of a branch of the Mashsha'i from Khuzestan, referred to as Sadat Mowla, in Shiraz, and the subsequent development of a neighborhood bearing their name in the vicinity of Khan School.

Keywords

Legal Documents

Deed of Endowment

Khan School

Imam Quli Khan

Shiraz

Safavid Period

Subjects

History

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