It included such regions as Maragheh, Urmia, Mahabad, Khoy, Salmas, Marand, Talish (between 1592 and 1610), Arasbar, Sultaniya, Zanjan, etc.

Despite the transfer of the capital of Safavid Iran to Qazvin (1555), and later to Isfahan (1598), Azerbaijan, being from a strategic and socio-economic point of view one of the richest and most important regions of Iran, played a large role in the political and economic life of the country.

The most influential Qizilbash emirs (mainly the heads of the Tekkelu and Turkman tribes) were appointed governors of Azerbaijan.

In 1590–1605, the territory of Azerbaijan was under the control of the Ottoman Empire (with the exception of Talish, Karadagh and Ardabil).

During the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587–1629 years of rule), after the reconquest of Azerbaijan, in 1605, the control again passed to the Turkman emir, Pir Budaq Khan Pornak.