"Donboli Kurds" were one of the Kurdish tribes residing in "Khoy" and "Salmas" in Urmia Province in the East part of Kurdistan whose name find its way into the Iranian history books from the fourth century Hijri. The Donboli dynasty ruled a large part of Azerbaijan regions in Iran during the reign of Safavids (1501_ 1736 A.D), the Afsharids (1735_ 1803 A.D), Zand (1794_ 1751) and the Qajar (1796_ 1925).
According to Sharafnameh, a history book about the Kurds, the Donbolis came from "Bokhti" that is "Botan" and they migrated towards the east and they settled in the Azerbaijan region in Iran. Donbol was the name of one of the highest mountain peaks in Diyarbakir as mentioned in Sharafnameh by Sharaf Khan Badlisi. There is however, another belief among the historians that indicated the Donbolis origins go back to "Yahya Barmaki", the wise minister of the Abbasids who was himself from Balkh, a city in Afghanistan, while this was only one historian's opinion and he did not give any sufficient evidence for his claim. Other historians such as "Sharaf Khan Badlisi", "Nader Mirza" (the author of the history and geography of the Tabriz kingdom), "Mohammad Amin Zaki" and "Baba Mardokh Rohani" all agree and insist that the Donbolis were Kurds.
At first, the Donbolis were Yazidi followers but after they settled in Azerbaijan, they changed their religion to Islam and they chose to follow Sunni Sharia. Later, during Shah Abbas Safavid’s reign, they changed their religious tendency from Sunni to Shia under "Salman Khan Donboli" leadership and this resulted in their name remaining as Shia believers in history books.
The first Donboli ruler whose name is recorded in history books is "Shamsolmolk Donboli" who chose Khoy as the capital city of his authority. Shamsolmolk had been praised a great deal by the great Persian poet, "Khaqani" Diwan to be a respectful character.
At the same time as the reign of "Shah Tamasb" of the Safavid, "Haji Baig Donboli" was chosen officially by the Safavids to be Iran's trusted agent to protect the borders of Iran and the Ottomans in Azerbaijan. He received the title of "Sultan" by the king. Not long after this, the Donbolis had to fight with a Kurdish tribe on the Ottoman side of the border called the "Mahmoudi" tribe. The Ottomans supported the Mahmoudis but the Donbolis could not count on Iran's support to protect them so during this long-lasting quarrel they had to follow the Ottomans several times which led to Shah Tamasb's brutal order to kill four hundred men of the Donboli tribe. He did not stop there and ordered to kill thirty other Donboli men who were working in the Safavid's offices as employees. This event made the Donbolis seek the Ottomans’ support once more. The Ottoman Sultan granted them the authority of the "Qotour" region; however, not long after this, the Donbolis returned to the Safavid court. This time Shah Tamasb chose Haji Baig's son as the Emir and some other Donboli figures as tax and finance officials and he trusted them with great tasks.
As Shah Abbas I Safavi was ruling, the Donbolis were promoted to the official sections of the court. They even fought to free Tabriz from the Ottoman invasion to help the Safavids. For instance, Salman Khan Donboli who was the Sultan of the "Chors" region, fought Mohammad Pasha, the Ottoman's representative on the borders of Iran and the Ottomans and defeated their army. The Safavid Court rewarded him with a higher title of "Biglarbaig" which was a high rank in the Safavid ruling system. Thus, Salman Khan became the Biglarbaig of Tabriz which was once the Capital city of the Safavids. In addition to Salman Khan, other Donboli Emirs were well-known for ruling other parts of Iran which shows how much Shah Abbas trusted them.
"Abdul Razzagh Baig Donboli", the author of "Maaser al-Sultannieh" (a history book) who was himself one of the Qajar Court historians and was from the Donboli tribe originally, had talked about "Shabaz Khan Donboli's" resistance against the Ottoman army during the second Shah of the Safavids, "Shah Sultan Hossein", for nine months. He got defeated at last because Iran’s king did not help them during the war so Khoy which was Donboli's main city was seized by the Ottomans. Finally, "Najaf Quli Baig", son of "Shabaz Khan Donboli" and father of "Abdul Razzagh Baig", the author, got imprisoned by the Ottomans and the final days of the Safavid's reign turned into tragic times for the Donboli authority in the Azerbaijan regions. However, this was not the end of Donboli’s authority and they got succeeded in coming back to power later.
