The region of Talish was a governorate of the Safavid Iran (1501–1736), located in the greater Talish, present-day divided between Iran and Azerbaijan countries. The territory of the governorate was principally made up of the two subordinate governorates of "Astara" and "Lankaran". The city of Astara was its administrative center, the base of Safavid power in the region. Historiography Primary sources There is little information about the History of Talish in the early modern period. In contrast to other regions of the Persianate world, no Talish-based chronicles were written during the Safavid era. Two Persian chronicles were written after northern Talish became a Russian province. The first is the Akhbār Nāmeh (1882) (i.e., The Chronicle), written by Mirza Ahmad ibn Mirza Khodāverdi. Another local chronicle is Javāher Nāmeh-ye Lankarān (1869) (i.e., The Jewel Book of Lankaran), written by Saeid-Ali ibn Kazem Beg Borādigāhi (1800–1872). Another primary source that may be added to the chronicle-type sources is the Russian survey entitled Istoriia Talyshskogo khanstva (1885) (i.e., The History of the Talish Khanate) written by Teymur Bayramalibeyov (1863–1937). Two other group of primary sources are documentary material, and travel accounts. Irada Mammadova (born 1967) a historian who studied Russian archives for the matter, especially the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire cleared some ambiguities of historiography of Talish. The Talish Khanate (1747–1828) was the turning point in the history of Talish, thus most of contemporary studies is focused on it. Analysis In 1966, Firudin Asadov (1936–2018), who first studied the pre-establishment of Talish Khanate, gave a brief description of the roots of the establishment of the Khanate in the 1703–1747 period and did not cover many of the events. Asadov also attributed the coming to power of the Seyyed Abbas, after the proclamation of Nader Afshar () as Shah. However, the decree for Seyyed Abbas was issued in 1654. The author confused "Seyyed Abbas" with "Mir Abbas". In the Saeid-Ali's book stated that the foundation of the future Talish Khanate was laid by Mir Abbas Khan who appointed in February 1654 as khalifa (spiritual deputy of the Shah) at the region by the decree of Shah Abbas II. According to The Chronicle, Seyyed Abbas ruled Talish province for 20 years, consisting of Ulūf, Dashtvand, and Ujarud districts. Asadov wrote in his book, Talish Khanate (1999), that Seyyed Mir Abbas Beg not only supports Nader's kingship, but even asked to be