Touserkan Rugs

Examples of Touserkan Rugs & Carpets

Who are the Touserkan people and where do they come from? They appear in the Hamadan region in the 19th century. There is no evidence that they were there earlier. Maybe they were or maybe they moved from somewhere else. These people may actually be a sub-group of the Lesghian called the Tsakhur of the Derbent/Dagestan region.

Peter the Great moved the Don Cossack to the Terek river in the 1720s. In 1735 the Russians made their administrative headquarters at Qidhlar south of the Terek River. In this period other Cossack units were moved south and they applied pressure on the Moslems of Chechnya, Dagestan, and Derbend.

Czarist Russian took Derbent in 1796 and it was formally ceded to the Czar in 1813. This was war, brutal war that uprooted families and entire villages. The Russians used brutality as a weapon to subjugate the region. Add to this that It was a Muslim region and the Russians were Christian. Initially the Russians moved Cossacks south to prey on the villages of the Khanate of Derbend.

So it is historically accepted as fact that many Moslems moved south into Persia. But to where? Not all of the refugees could move to the Mount Sabalan region many must have moved further south. Additionally the Moslem population was not a unified block. Based on the research of Dr. Moshe Gammer we know that in 1830 there was a significant population of Tsakhur in the area of Dagestan in-between Kurakh and Zaqatala, In between 1830 and 1865 this area was in the midst of Shamil’s uprising. After that period the Tsakhur were a widely dispersed minority in Dagestan. Suffice it to say they moved south. They are still a prescence in Azerbaijan today.

The rugs of Touserkan and the rugs of the Tabassaran a group closely akin to the Tsakhur hold stylistic affinities. Touserkan rugs are single wefted. I remember one morning at one of his Textile Museum lectures Harold Keshishian showing me a Dagestan rug that was also single wefted. We know that many Moslems of the Caucasus moved south into Iran. Their descendents are somewhere in Iran today. Hamadan is more likely than most.

Touserkan Rugs use the Hamadan Rug Weave

Single weft is called “Sennah Baft” or Hamadan weave. Here the wefts are rigid and the warps are sinuous. As you can see in the sketch the wefts are heavier than the warps. It is woven with symmetrical knots. Since there is only one shot of weft between each row of knots this shows every other warp which makes these rugs easy to spot.

Touserkan Rugs / Tuisarkhan Rug Examples:

Hamadan Village Rug, Jozan or Tuisarkhan. Northwest Persia, about 1900.

Hamadan village rug 1

Size: 6ft.2in. x 4ft.4in. (1.88m. x 1.32m.)

Condition: Overall even wear, heavier in center, slight losses both ends.

This is probably a Tuisarkhan rather than a Jozan, as a Jozan rug would be more curveiliniar. The border of this rug is particularly nice.

Hamadan village rug 2


Tuisarkhan Village Persian Rug. Hamadan area, Northwest Persia, about 1930.

Tuisarkhan village rug 1

Size: 6ft.8in. x 4ft.2in. (2.03m. x 1.27m.)

Condition: Some wear in places; slight losses at the top and bottom.

Tuisarkhan village rug 2


Tuisarkhan Village Rug. Hamadan region, Northwest Persia, about 1920-30.

Tuisarkhan village rug 3

Size: 6ft.10in. x 4ft.5in. (2.08m. x 1.35m.)

Comments: A good example of this attractive and distinctive design group.

Tuisarkhan village rug 4


Hamadan Rug

Hamadan rug

Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind

Size: 3ft.4in. x 5ft.6in. (1.02m. x 1.68m.)

Colors: Black, red

Woven: Hand knotted

Foundation: Cotton

Pile: Wool

Style: Hamadan

Category: Tribal

Origin: Touserkan Persian Rug

Age: Aged 20-30 years

Condition: Excellent

Situated in west-central Iran, Hamadan is perhaps one of the largest centers for the trade of tribal rugs. The patterns in Hamadans vary from primitive geometrics to floral or overall Herati designs. Colors can also vary widely, from red, green and blue, to beige, rust, yellow and salmon.


Hamadan Rug

Hamadan rug 2

Product Type: Original, one-of-a-kind

Size: 4ft.11in. x 8ft.8in. (1.5m. x 2.63m.)

Colors: Black, red

Woven: Hand knotted

Foundation: Cotton

Pile: Wool

Style: Hamadan

Category: Tribal

Origin: Touserkan Persian Rug

Age: Aged 20-30 years

Condition: Excellent