Yusef Khan-e Gorji

Who is Yusef Khan-e Gorji?

Yusef Khan Gorji was an Iranian military leader of Georgian origin given refuge by the Iranian Shah Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar following a territorial dispute with his cousins who were supported by Imperial Russian Empress Catherine the Great. In the period between 1795 and 1797, Yusef Khan-e Gorji, renamed Yusef Khan-e Sepahdar by the Shah, settled his army in the fertile though poorly-controlled territory that would become modern Arak. Hostile tribes in this region had operated autonomously from Qajar rule. With the Persian Fat'h Ali Shah’s approval, Yusef Khan diverted the main river to drive out the hostiles and built the Soltan Abad fortress, or Baladeh, a war fortress to serve as the foundation of what would become modern Arak. Yusef Khan’s organized military force was established in this region aptly named "Persian Iraq" from ancient times meaning 'smooth land'. According to historians, Yusef Khan built Arak from his own personal income and with the aid of affluents.

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Portrait of Yusef Khan-e Gorji from family album