Fereydun Khan Cherkes[a] (died 1620/21) was a Safavid official and military commander of Circassian origin, who served as the governor (beglarbeg) of Astarabad in 1605/06–1620, during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629).

[1] Afterwards, he was promoted to the position of the keeper of the king's armor (qurchi-e zereh), and by that became part of the expanding number of gholams within the royal household (gholāmān-e ḵhāṣṣeh-ye sharifeh).

[1] In late October 1605, during the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1603-1618, amidst a period of heavy fighting in Azerbaijan against the Ottomans, a Kurdish prisoner from the Mokri tribe attempted to murder king Abbas I.

[1] They were keen on expanding their territory and to carry out raids often — the latter which caused major problems for the rural and urban people who were living close to these border regions of the Safavid realm.

[1] These successful wars led by Fereydun (as well as a brief coverage of his early life) were described by Moḥammad Ṭāher b. Ḥasan (Ḵādem-e Besṭāmi’) in his short history entitled Fotuḥāt-e Fereyduniyeh.