The office of vali (viceroy) of Kurdistan was generally held by the Ardalan dynasty, the leading power amongst the Kurdish confederations.

Kurdistan was a western province of Safavid Iran, whose size varied throughout its existence due to political and military developments.

The valis generally belonged to prominent local families, and were officially chosen by the shah (king) as a compromise of regional autonomy.

Sharafkhan Bidlisi, who was raised at Tahmasp I's court, described his upbringing there;[7] "The late emperor Shah Tahmasp used to admit sons of his emirs and notables, at an early age, to his private seraglio, arrange for them to be in the intimate company of royal princes, and have them attend on the most honored masters… He encouraged them to learn the Quran, to read judicial decisions, and to be pious and pure, and he inspired them to associate with those who were god-fearing and equipped with the integrity of righteous people… When they reached the age of maturity and discernment, he taught them military skills, archery, polo, equestrianism, the rules for handling arms, and the codes of courtesy and humanity.

Prominent positions in the political and military spheres were predominantly allocated to members of the Qizilbash; few Kurdish individuals acquired a rank high enough to be recognized in historical Safavid records and alike.

[9] From 1577 onwards, Sonqor and Dinavar came under direct Safavid control, and continued to do so even after Zanganeh tribe were made its hereditary governors in 1639.

Typically, Abbas I has been credited as the founder of this strategy when he supposedly had some Kurdish tribes moved from Kurdistan to Khorasan to protect the frontier from Uzbek intrusions.

The extent of Kurdistan was thus now restricted to that of Sanandaj, Marivan, eastern Avraman, Baneh, Saqqeh, Javanrud, and some of the Jaf confederacy.

[12] Near the collapse of the Safavid state, Kurdistan was composed of the following administrative jurisdictions (also referred to as subordinate governorships): Avraman, Baneh, Bakhtiyari, Javanrud, Khorkhoreh, and Lorestan-e Feyli.