| Hossein Gholi Khan Ilkhani | |
| Honorific Suffix: | Ilkhan-e Bakhtiari |
| Birth Date: | 1821 |
| Death Place: | Isfahan |
| Children: |
|
Hossein Gholi Khan Ilkhani (1821-1882) was an Iranian nobleman of the Bakhtiari tribe and a powerful khan (lord).[1] Hossein Gholi Khan united the Bakhtiari tribes, killing many opponents in the process, and eventually turning the Bakhtiari clan - which hitherto had no role in politics - into one of the most powerful political poles of Qajar Iran.[2] Most of Hossein Gholi Khan's children, including Ali-Gholi Khan Bakhtiari, played a role in important events in contemporary Iranian history, such as the Constitutional Revolution.
Towards the end of his life, Hossein Qoli Khan formed an alliance with Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan, the governor of Isfahan, and gained such power that he intended to stage a coup against Nasser al-Din Shah. But Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani, the Shah's Prime Minister, poisoned Hossein Qoli Khan with Qajar coffee.
Hossein Gholi Khan Zarasvand Duraki, son of Jafar Gholi Khan Zarasvand Duraki and Bibi Shah Ipsand (daughter of Ali Saleh Al-Jamali) was born in 1821 in the Choghakhor region.[3] His father, Jafar Qolikhan, was one of the two most powerful khans in the Bakhtiari tribe. When Hossein Gholi Khan was 16 years old, his father was killed in a dispute between the Bakhtiari tribes by Jafar Qolikhan Behdarvand in 1836 tribes.[4]
He and his brothers - Imam Qoli Khan, Reza Qali Khan and Mustafa Qoli Khan - spent their childhood and adolescence under the tutelage of their uncle, Kulb Ali Khan Duraki. When they came of age, a rift broke out between the brothers and their uncle over the division of power and property.[5]
The dispute precipitated an intra-tribal war between the three brothers, on the one hand, and Kulb Ali Khan on the other.[6]
In the early phase, victory belonged to Kulb Ali Khan, who had increased his fighting power by forming an alliance with Jafar Gholi Khan Behdarvand. However, it was the young Hussein Gholi Khan who was eventually victorious.[7]
Hossein Gholi Khan quickly moved against other tribal leaders. He first defeated the powerful Mohammad Taghikhan Bakhtiari, who had refused to pay taxes to the central government, and then had him executed. Next, he moved against the elderly Khan of the Babadi tribe, Musa Khan. Uniting the Bakhtiari clan, he suppressed rebellions against the central government and ended banditry, gaining the gratitude of the court. By 1857 he had become the most powerful warlord in Qajar Persia and became a courtier.[8]
Prime Minister Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani was concerned about the military power and wealth of Husain Gholi Khan and, in particular, his involvement with Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan in the western and southern regions of the country. Hussein Qoli Khan was poisoned with Qajar coffee and died three days later on 14 June 1882.[9]