Safavid military history had three phases. Both corps of musketeers and artillerymen totaled 12,000 men. H.R. The Chief architect of this colossal task of urban planning was Shaykh Bahai (Baha' ad-Din al-`Amili), who focused the programme on two key features of Shah Abbas's master plan: the Chahar Bagh avenue, flanked at either side by all the prominent institutions of the city, such as the residences of all foreign dignitaries. Under Shah Esml and ahmsp (1501-76). They also placed jewels on their arms, such as on daggers and swords. The ulama retained control of religious practice; and enforced the Sharia (Qur'anic Law) in personal and family matters. [128], Teimuraz returned to eastern Georgia in 1615 and defeated a Safavid force. Power passed to the Shi'a ulama (a religious council of wise men) which eventually deposed the Shahs and proclaimed the world's first Islamic Republic in the eighteenth century. Having agreed to do so, a sergeant would investigate and summon the defendant, who was then obliged to pay the fee of the sergeant. "the Order of the Lion and the Sun, a device which, since the 17 century at least, appeared on the national flag of the Safavids the lion representing 'Ali and the sun the glory of the Shii faith", Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovski, J. M. Rogers, Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, Courtauld Institute of Art. [63] Furthermore, by the early 1510s Ismail's expansionistic policies had pushed the Safavid borders in Asia Minor even more westwards. The ulama continued to tolerate the non-religious Shahs right up until the 1970s but they finally overthrew the monarchy in 1979. Most sources agree that the Ottoman army was at least double the size of that of Ismil;[48] furthermore, the Ottomans had the advantage of artillery, which the Safavid army lacked. In 1559 Bayezid arrived in Iran where Tahmasp gave him a warm welcome. In addition to fighting its perennial enemies, their archrival the Ottomans and the Uzbeks as the 17th century progressed, Iran had to contend with the rise of new neighbors. In 1511, the ahkulu rebellion was a widespread pro-Shia and pro-Safavid uprising directed against the Ottoman Empire from within the empire. The judge (qazi) was informed of relevant points involved and would decide whether or not to take up the case. This variety of Persian Turkish must have been also spoken in the Caucasian and Transcaucasian regions, which during the 16th century belonged to both the Ottomans and the Safavids, and were not fully integrated into the Safavid empire until 1606. [148], The Dutch and English were still able to drain the Iranian government of much of its precious metal supplies. It was also requested from them that they appoint a lawyer (vakil) to the Court who would inform them on matters pertaining to the provincial affairs. Unlike Usulis, Akhbari did and do not follow marjas who practice ijtihad. Despite being based on urf, it relied upon certain sets of legal principles. Abbas I first fought the Uzbeks, recapturing Herat and Mashhad in 1598. He also made Efahn the capital of Persia and fostered commerce and the arts, so that Persian artistic achievement reached a high point in his reign . Blow, D; Shah Abbas: The ruthless king who became an Iranian legend, p. 9. The demise of Tamerlane's political authority created a space in which several religious communities, particularly Shii ones, could come to the fore and gain prominence. "[135] Abbas would take active and all measures needed in order to seal the alliances. The tribal Afghans rode roughshod over their conquered territory for seven years but were prevented from making further gains by Nader Shah, a former slave who had risen to military leadership within the Afshar tribe in Khorasan, a vassal state of the Safavids. Show More. In 1500, Ismil I invaded neighboring Shirvan to avenge the death of his father, Sheik Haydar, who had been murdered in 1488 by the ruling Shirvanshah, Farrukh Yassar. He did so by taking the humiliating step of coming to peace terms with the Ottomans by making, for now, permanent their territorial gains in Iraq and the territories in the north, including Azerbaijan, Qarabagh, Ganja, eastern Georgia (comprising the Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti), Dagestan, and Kurdistan. PORTRAIT OF A SUFI SAINT MUGHAL INDIA, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY Painting 3 1. But one unofficially used the name Iran, Eranshahr, and similar national designations, particularly Mamalek-e Iran or "Iranian lands", which exactly translated the old Avestan term Ariyanam Daihunam. Essay Sample. Although in those campaigns (and in 1554) the Ottomans captured Tabriz, they lacked a communications line sufficient to occupy it for long. He also expelled (1602, 1622) the Portuguese traders who had seized the island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf early in the 16th century. After that they join together in uttering a great cry and trying to overthrow each other. [15] The inscriptions on Safavid currency were also in Persian. The Sultanates of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda all sought Persian suzerainty not just because of religious or cultural ties, but also because of the need for a counterweight to Mughal expansion. A Study of the Migration of Shii Works from Arab Regions to Iran at the Early Safavid Era. At the apex of this system was the Shah, with total power over the state, legitimized by his bloodline as a sayyid, or descendant of Muhammad. The Ottomans, a Sunni dynasty, considered the active recruitment of Turkmen tribes of Anatolia for the Safavid cause as a major threat. In 1619 he appointed the loyal Simon II (or Semayun Khan) on the symbolic throne of Kakheti, while placing a series of his own governors to rule of districts where rebellious inhabitants were mostly located. [106] The siege of Herat thus ended in 1583 without Ali Quli Khan's surrender, and Khorasan was in a state of open rebellion. [185] Majlisi promoted specifically Shii rituals such as mourning for Hussein ibn Ali and visitation (ziyarat) of the tombs of the Imams and Imamzadas, stressing "the concept of the Imams as mediators and intercessors for man with God."[186]. Tags: Question 39 . This book was translated into French in 1681 by Angulus de Saint, under the name "Pharmacopoea Persica". Mohammad was selected and received the crown on February 11, 1579. The Russo-Persian War of 1651-1653 was an armed conflict in the North Caucasus fought between the Safavid Empire and the Tsardom of Russia, associated with the Safavid plans to strengthen its position in the region and to exclude Russia. Despite the predominantly Sunni character of this territory, he proclaimed Shiism the state religion and enforced its creed and prayers in the mosques of his dominion. Poetry stagnated under the Safavids; the great medieval ghazal form languished in over-the-top lyricism. SURVEY . The main imports were spice, textiles (woolens from Europe, cottons from Gujarat), metals, coffee, and sugar. It became a military group as well as a religious one in the 15th century. This extensive development of architecture was rooted in Persian culture and took form in the design of schools, baths, houses, caravanserai and other urban spaces such as bazaars and squares. "IRAN ix. [78] Having to flee from city to city, Humayun eventually sought refuge at the court of Tahmsp in Qazvin in 1543. Abbs I, byname Abbs the Great, (born Jan. 27, 1571died Jan. 19, 1629), shah of Persia from 1588 to 1629, who strengthened the Safavid dynasty by expelling Ottoman and Uzbek troops from Persian soil and by creating a standing army. Savory, Roger M.; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (1998), This page was last edited on 6 April 2023, at 01:37. To promote Shi'ism the Safavids brought in scholars from Shi'ite countries to form a new religious elite. A dispute arose in the Ottoman Empire over who was to succeed the aged Suleiman the Magnificent. But eschewing politics after his defeat in Chaldiran, he left the affairs of the government to the office of the wakl (chief administrator, vakil in Turkish). Despite the Safavid Shii zeal, Christians were tolerated and several missions and churches were built. According to, Amoretti, Biancamaria Scarcia; Matthee, Rudi. In 1659, the Kingdom of Kakheti rose up against the Safavid Iranian rule due to a change of policy that included the mass settling of Qizilbash Turkic tribes in the region in order to repopulate the province, after Shah Abbas' earlier mass deportations of between 130,000[143] 200,000[123][124][144] Georgian subjects to Iran's mainland and massacre of another thousand in 1616 virtually left the province without any substantial population. In addition the shah's personal bodyguard, made up exclusively of Caucasian ghulms, was dramatically increased to 3,000. In specifically religious terms the Safavids not only persecuted Sunni Muslims, but Shi'ites with different views, and all other religions. And most craftily of all, they used grants of land and money to create a new class of wealthy religious aristocrats who owed everything to the state. just another region to be gained and lost according to geopolitical circumstances and military strength or weakness. The 150-year tug-of-war accentuated the Sunni and Shi'a rift in Iraq. People met there to drink liqueurs or coffee, to smoke tobacco or opium, and to chat or listen to poetry. Although they lasted a long time it was necessary to have changes for different occasions like weddings and the Nowruz, while men of status never wore the same turban two days running. [171], Following the full implementation of this policy by Abbas I, the women (only Circassian and Georgian) now very often came to occupy prominent positions in the harems of the Safavid elite, while the men who became part of the ghulam "class" as part of the powerful third force were given special training on completion of which they were either enrolled in one of the newly created ghilman regiments, or employed in the royal household. Shah Tahmasp who has composed poetry in Persian was also a painter, while Shah Abbas II was known as a poet, writing Azerbaijani verses. It is estimated that during Abbas' reign alone some 130,000200,000 Georgians,[176][124][123][125] tens of thousands of Circassians, and around 300,000 Armenians[177][178] had been deported and imported from the Caucasus to mainland Iran, all obtaining functions and roles as part of the newly created layer in society, such as within the highest positions of the state, or as farmers, soldiers, craftspeople, as part of the Royal harem, the Court, and peasantry, amongst others. The early Safavid empire was effectively a theocracy. use of the Persian language. Then, having made the point that he would not encourage rivalries even purporting to favor his interests, he felt secure enough to have Murshid Quli Khan assassinated on his own orders in July 1589. Shah Ismail was a poet and Shah Tahmasp a painter. Turkic origins. Shah Abbas reduced taxes on farmers and herders and encouraged the growth of industry of the Safavid empire.Abbas also tolerated non-Muslims and valued their economic contributions. Each magistrate executes justice in his own house in a large room opening on to a courtyard or a garden which is raised two or three feet above the ground. George Lenczowski, "Iran under the Pahlavis", Hoover Institution Press, 1978, p. 79: "Ismail Safavi, descendant of the pious Shaykh Ishaq Safi al-Din (d. 1334), seized Tabriz assuming the title of Shahanshah-e-Iran". Consequently, they were slowly able to take on administrative jobs in areas which had hitherto been the exclusive preserve of the ethnic Persians.[168]. R Savory, "Ebn Bazzaz" in. [17] There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Iranian Kurdistan,[5] and later moved to Iranian Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Abbas I built a new city next to the ancient Persian one. [83] Despite that Tahmsp could nullify and neglect some of his consternations regarding potential issues related to his family by having his close direct male relatives such as his brothers and sons routinely transferred around to various governorships in the empire, he understood and realized that any long-term solutions would mainly involve minimizing the political and military presence of the Qezelb as a whole. [48] His background is disputed: the language he used is not identical with that of his "race" or "nationality" and he was bilingual from birth. By 1595, Allahverdi Khan, a Georgian, became one of the most powerful men in the Safavid state, when he was appointed the Governor-General of Fars, one of the richest provinces in Iran. [73] Nevertheless, given the insecurity in Iraq and its northwest territory, Tahmsp moved his court from Tabriz to Qazvin. Blow, D; Shah Abbas: The ruthless king who became an Iranian legend; pp. Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (/ s f v d, s -/), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. The Ottoman Empire came into power in 1301. Despite falling revenues and military threats, later shahs had lavish lifestyles. "[254] Rudolph Matthee concluded that "though not a nation-state, Safavid Iran contained the elements that would later spawn one by generating many enduring bureaucratic features and by initiating a polity of overlapping religious and territorial boundaries. [194] Under Abbas, the eunuchs became an increasingly important element at the court. [83] Therefore, in 1540, Shah Tahmsp started the first of a series of invasions of the Caucasus region, both meant as a training and drilling for his soldiers, as well as mainly bringing back massive numbers of Christian Circassian and Georgian slaves, who would form the basis of a military slave system,[84] alike to the janissaries of the neighbouring Ottoman Empire,[85] as well as at the same time forming a new layer in Iranian society composed of ethnic Caucasians. John R. Perry, "Turkic-Iranian contacts", establishing Twelver Shsm as the state religion of Iran, a war with Iran that would last until 1590, Abbas I's Kakhetian and Kartlian campaigns, conquered the Hotaki's last stronghold in Kandahar, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Al-Hikma al-mutaaliya fi-l-asfar al-aqliyya al-arbaa, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, "Chronicling a Dynasty on the Make: New Light on the Early afavids in ayt Tabrz's, "Islamic Culture and Literature in Iran and Central Asia in the early modern period", "The emergence of the Safavids as a mystical order and their subsequent rise to power in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries", "BARDA and BARDA-DRI v. Military slavery in Islamic Iran", "GEORGIA vii. 1007 Words. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, a significant Sufi order in Gilan, from his spiritual master and father-in-law Zahed Gilani. Medieval Islamic period" in, Mikheil Svanidze, "The Amasya Peace Treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Iran (June 1, 1555) and Georgia,", Max Scherberger, The Confrontation between Sunni and Shii Empires: Ottoman-Safavid Relations between the Fourteenth and the Seventeenth Centuries in. [175] Thus, starting from the reign of Tahmsp I but only fully implemented and completed by Shah Abbas, this new group solely composed of ethnic Caucasians eventually came to constitute a powerful "third force" within the state as a new layer in society, alongside the Persians and the Qizilbash Turks, and it only goes to prove the meritocratic society of the Safavids. Ismil was known as a brave and charismatic youth, zealous with regards to his faith in Sha Islam, and believed himself to be of divine descentpractically worshipped by his Qizilbash followers. The Safavid Empire (1501-1722) . It lasted from 1501 to 1722 and was strong enough to challenge the Ottomans in the west and the Mughals in the east. In the next 10 years he subjugated the greater part of Iran and annexed the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad and Mosul. Among these were a number of Sufi brotherhoods, the Hurufis, Nuqtavis and Musha'sha'iyyah. Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", their architectural innovations, and patronage for fine arts. Justice Jamaica was the last British stronghold of importance in the Caribbean. Thvenot and Tavernier commented that the Iranian caravanserais were better built and cleaner than their Turkish counterparts. The Safavids thus set in train a struggle for power between the turban and the crown that is to say, between the proponents of secular government and the proponents of a theocratic government; third, they laid the foundation of alliance between the religious classes ('Ulama') and the bazaar which played an important role both in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 19051906, and again in the Islamic Revolution of 1979; fourth the policies introduced by Shah Abbas I conduced to a more centralized administrative system. Abbas's tolerance towards Christians was part of his policy of establishing diplomatic links with European powers to try to enlist their help in the fight against their common enemy, the Ottoman Empire. Abbas I recognized the commercial benefit of promoting the artsartisan products provided much of Iran's foreign trade. The lesser officials were the qazi, corresponding a civil lieutenant, who ranked under the local governors and functioned as judges in the provinces. 34, 597634. Women from the provinces and slaves pierced their left nostrils with rings, but well-born Persian women would not do this. This military force would serve the shah only and eventually consisted of four separate branches:[202]. Thirdly there was horsemanship. VI, Cambridge University Press 1986, p. 339: "Further evidence of a desire to follow in the line of Turkmen rulers is Ismail's assumption of the title "Padishah-i-Iran", "Iranian identity iii. Religious and political power were completely intertwined, and encapsulated in the person of the Shah. Rosemary Stanfield Johnson, "Sunni Survival in Safavid Iran: Anti-Sunni Activities during the Reign of Tahmasp I,", Abolala Soudavar, "The Patronage of Vizier Mirza Salman,", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSavory1980 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBomatiNahavandi1998 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAsat'ianiBendianachvili1997 (. On April 30 every year, Iran marks the Persian Gulf Day, which coincides with the anniversary of celebrated Safavid ruler Shah Abbas I's military campaign against the Portuguese Navy in 1622 . But it was not the Turkish of Istanbul. As non-Turcoman converts to Islam, these Circassian and Georgian olmns (also written as ghulams) were completely unrestrained by clan loyalties and kinship obligations, which was an attractive feature for a ruler like Tahmsp whose childhood and upbringing had been deeply affected by Qezelb tribal politics. The Qizilbash were a wide variety of Shii Muslims (ghult) and mostly Turcoman militant groups who helped found the Safavid Empire. [180], The Akhbari movement "crystalized" as a "separate movement" with the writings of Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (died 1627 AD). After the conquest a division of powers was agreed between the new Afghan Shahs and the Shi'a ulama. [212], Horses were the most important of all the beasts of burden, and the best were brought in from Arabia and Central-Asia. The next most important mount, when traveling through Iran, was the mule. This led to power being exercised through the highest officials of the ulama, the Ayatollahs. Ali Quli Khan Shamlu, the lala of Abbas and Ismail II's man in Herat proclaimed Abbas shah there April 1581. The two princes quarrelled and eventually Bayezid rebelled against his father. But Selim was an alcoholic and Hrrem's other son, Bayezid, had shown far greater military ability. After the death of Babur, his son Humayun was ousted from his territories and threatened by his half-brother and rival, who had inherited the northern part of Babur's territories. [130][131] Nowadays, there is a community of nearly 1.7 million people who are descendants of the tribes deported from Kurdistan to Khorasan (Northeastern Iran) by the Safavids.[132]. [197], In 16th and 17th century Iran, there existed a considerable number of local democratic institutions. He was eventually successful in making the eastern Georgian territories an integral part of the Safavid provinces. In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, a significant Sufi order in Gilan, from his spiritual master and father-in-law Zahed Gilani.Due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known . [229] Protected by Dutch naval power, competition from Bengali silk and Sino-Japanese porcelain contributed to the decline of the Safavid economy during the late 17th century.[230][231]. A major problem faced by Ismail I after the establishment of the Safavid state was how to bridge the gap between the two major ethnic groups in that state: the Qizilbash ("Redhead") Turcomans, the "men of sword" of classical Islamic society whose military prowess had brought him to power, and the Persian elements, the "men of the pen", who filled the ranks of the bureaucracy and the religious establishment in the Safavid state as they had done for centuries under previous rulers of Iran, be they Arabs, Mongols, or Turkmens. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736 and 1750 to 1773) and, at their height, they controlled all of what is now Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. An angry mob gathered and Tahmasp had Bayezid put into custody, alleging it was for his own safety. Ismail's 14-month reign was notable for two things: continual bloodletting of his relatives and others (including his own supporters) and his reversal on religion. Began military campaigns to purify and reform Islam . [156], A proper term for the Safavid society is what we today can call a meritocracy, meaning a society in which officials were appointed on the basis of worth and merit, and not on the basis of birth. [10][11], The Safavid family was a literate family from its early origin. The First World War required the most comprehensive mobilization of men and resources in the history of the empire. [145] The Iranian authority was restored in Kakheti, but the Qizilbash Turkics were prevented from settling in Kakheti, which undermined the planned Iranian policies in the respective province. Shah Ishmael I, the first Shah and founder of the Safavid Dynasty, conquered Azerbaijan in 1501, followed by Hamadan, Shiraz, Najaf, Baghdad, and Khorasan, among others. And since the Safavid society was meritocratic, and successions seldom were made on the basis of heritage, this meant that government offices constantly felt the pressure of being under surveillance and had to make sure they governed in the best interest of their leader, and not merely their own. The works of al-Razi (86592) (known to the West as Razes) were still used in European universities as standard textbooks of alchemy, pharmacology and pediatrics. They in turn provided for the safety of the travelers, and both Thevenot and Tavernier stressed the safety of traveling in 17th century Iran, and the courtesy and refinement of the policing guards. [3][5], The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be sayyids,[16] family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although many scholars have cast doubt on this claim. His descriptions of the public appearance, clothes and customs are corroborated by the miniatures, drawings and paintings from that time which have survived. Because Shi'ism was now a state religion, with major educational establishments devoted to it, its philosophy and theology developed greatly during the Safavid Empire. [172] The rest of the masses of deportees and importees, a significant portion numbering many hundreds of thousands, were settled in various regions of mainland Iran, and were given all kinds of roles as part of society, such as craftsmen, farmers, cattle breeders, traders, soldiers, generals, governors, woodcutters, etc., all also part of the newly established layer in Iranian society.[173]. It became a military group as well as a religious one in the 15th century. "Greeks and Trkmens: The Pontic Exception". These military tactics transitioned into the Ottoman's social order. At its zenith, during the long reign of Shah Abbas I, the empire's reach comprised Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Bahrain, and parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey. Though that language might generally be identified as Middle Azerbaijanian, it is not yet possible to define exactly the limits of this language, both in linguistic and territorial respects. The Safavid and Ottoman empires are usually compared because of the wars that broke . Religious poetry from Safi al-Din, written in the Old Azari language[42]a now-extinct Northwestern Iranian languageand accompanied by a paraphrase in Persian that helps its understanding, has survived to this day and has linguistic importance.[42]. . No act of the Shah was valid without the counter seal of the Prime Minister. The Safavids ultimately succeeded in establishing a new Persian national monarchy. [117][118], Abbas also greatly increased the number of cannons at his disposal, permitting him to field 500 in a single battle. [78][79] After Humayun converted to Shii Islam (under extreme duress),[78] Tahmsp offered him military assistance to regain his territories in return for Kandahar, which controlled the overland trade route between central Iran and the Ganges. Because of the relative insecurity of property ownership in Iran, many private landowners secured their lands by donating them to the clergy as so called vaqf. Chardin also noted that bringing cases into court in Iran was easier than in the West. There were no particular place assigned for the administration of justice. The shah used that occasion to proclaim the 11-year-old Sultan Hamza Mirza (Mahd-i Uly's favorite) crown-prince. The language chiefly used by the Safavid court and military establishment was Azerbaijani. Part of these reforms was the creation of the 3rd force within the aristocracy and all other functions within the empire, but even more important in undermining the authority of the Qizilbash was the introduction of the Royal Corps into the military. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The order at this time was transformed into a religious movement that conducted religious propaganda throughout Iran, Syria and Asia Minor, and most likely had maintained its Sunni Shafiite origin at that time.

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