The position of the Donboli Family in Iran's history from Safvid to Qajar

One of the most important issues in the Iranian history is the relationship between local government - consisting of local tribes and families- and the central government. This research aims to study the role of one of these families، an Iranian Kurdish family، and its interaction with the central government. This article also explains other dimensions related to the local government، the Donboli family and their relation to the central government. Historical documents reveal the Donboli family، forming the local government in Khoy، Salmas and Tabriz regions، benefit from a clear history at least from the time of Shah Tahmasb I onwards. In the Shah Abbas I period، the family’s political role became more significant and then towards the end of the Safavid dynasty the role started to weaken. From Safavid to Qajar، Donboli’s role in internal and external affairs was widely obvious، and local government of this family gained more power. Finally، with the rise of Qajar dynasty، Donboli’s power decreased and eventually in the years that Abbas Mirza was the government in Azerbaijan as the Crown Prince، the life of this local government came to the end. This study shows that despite of some opinions about their attempts for secession، Donboli’s family had a significant role in the nation، such as literature، culture، security، domestic politics and foreign affairs.