Qasem Sultan Afshar

Qāsem Sultan Afshar or Qāsem Sultan Imānlū Afshar, was a Safavid military leader and official during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629).

Qāsem Sultan was a member of the Imānlū branch of the Afshar tribe, one of the original Qizilbash tribes that had supplied power to the Safavids since its earliest days. With the advent of king Abbas I's rule, Qāsem Sultan became the head of a group of Afshars whose duty it was to protect the marshes surrounding the city of Kermanshah. During the early years of the 17th century, which were marked by wars against the archrival of the Safavids — the Ottomans — Qāsem Sultan fought with great distinction, which earned him the governorshop of Mosul in 1622. However, shortly after, following the outbreak of a plague, he moved towards the western part of Azerbaijan with the rest of his tribe. He became the founder of the Afshar community of the city of Urmia. His son Kalb-e ʿAlī Beg (or Kalb' Ali Sultan Afshar) was appointed governor of Urmia in 1627-28, or 1630, which he remained up to 1648. The descendants of both formed the Qāsemlū clan — named in honor of Qāsem Sultan.