Mirza Mohammad Mahdi Karaki (Persian: میرزا محمد مهدی کرکی) was an Iranian cleric and statesman, who served as the grand Vizier of the Safavid king (shah) Abbas II (r. 1642-1666), and the latter's son and successor Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694). He was the son of Mirza Habibollah Karaki, who served as the sadr-i mamalik (minister of religion) from 1632/3 till his death 1650.
In 1661, Abbas appointed Mirza Mohammad Karaki as his fourth and last grand vizier.[1] Karaki had previously performed satisfactorily as the sadr-i mamalik (minister of religion) and was a member of the prestigious Karaki family that traced its line back to Shaykh Ali al-Karaki, the deputy of the Hidden Imam for Tahmasp I.[2] He was described as a man of inaction, sluggish and impractical, and a puppet of a faction in court.[3] His tenure saw the promotion of trade via the overland route to the Levant. He made an effort to investigate the ongoing specie problem that Mohammad Beg had left behind.[4] However, he was caught up in a domestic crisis. In 1663, he had the qurchi-bashi Murtaza Quli Khan Qajar decapitated and tempted the shah to also execute his successor. Overall, Karaki had a lesser influence over the shah than his predecessor. During his tenure, Abbas spent more time in the inner palace and kept the grand vizier ignorant of his private affairs. Karaki did not even know that the shah had a son named Sam Mirza.[5]
- ^ Roemer 2008, p. 294.
- ^ Matthee 2019, p. 52.
- ^ Matthee 2019, p. 52–53.
- ^ Newman 2008, p. 86.
- ^ Matthee 2019, p. 53.