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The Moqaddam were originally a clan of the Otuziki tribe of Karabakh. Ghazi Soltan, who had served Shah Abbas I during the latters time as a prince, was appointed the leader of the Moqaddam. The Iranian historian and official Fazli Isfahani Khuzani reported that the Moqaddam initially encompassed 70 families, but increased to 10,000 under Shah Abbas I due to the massive support he gave to the sons of Ghazi Soltan, Niyaz and Agha Khan Moqaddam. In 1609, Shah Abbas I installed Agha Khan Moqaddam as the governor of Maragheh, a position that the Moqaddams would mostly keep until 1925.
Under the Qajar dynasty (1779–1925), the Moqaddam governors administrated Maragheh in a similar way as the Qajars did in Iran. For five generations the Moqaddams managed to have significant autonomy from the central government.
Following the ascent of Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, the provincial authority was incorporated into the national government, and thus the Moqaddams lost their status as self-governing provincial rulers. The most notable members of the Moqaddam joined the national elite, but their influence in provincial political matters began to wane. Despite this, Reza Shah's appointments in the provincial administration continued to be significantly influenced by the Moqaddams and other families of the aristocratic and commercial elite, who supported and participated in his government.
The historian Mary-Jo Delvecchio Good, writing in 1977, states that "The Moqaddams who remain in Maragheh are still quite wealthy but have lost much of their prestige along with their villages and political roles."
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