[136][137] Henceforward, the number of diplomatic missions to and fro greatly increased. Abbas was also able to draw on military advice from a number of European envoys, particularly from the English adventurers Sir Anthony Shirley and his brother Robert Shirley, who arrived in 1598 as envoys from the Earl of Essex on an unofficial mission to induce Iran into an anti-Ottoman alliance. 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. The strength of the Kizilbash was reduced, while the use of firearms was expanded. PDF | On Jan 1, 2014, Vladimir Sazonov published Observations on Iranian cultural history and ideology - Maailma Vaade 16 | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate It was certainly not homogenousmaybe it was an Azerbaijanian-Ottoman mixed language, as Beltadze (1967:161) states for a translation of the gospels in Georgian script from the 18th century. (2009). A weakness of the Persian Empire was . Isfahan bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture, all constructed in the years after Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital there in 1598: the Imperial Mosque, Masjid-e Shah, completed in 1630, the Imam Mosque (Masjid-e Imami) the Lutfallah Mosque and the Royal Palace. The ulama continued to tolerate the non-religious Shahs right up until the 1970s but they finally overthrew the monarchy in 1979. Mir Damad is considered the founder of this school. Isfahan had parks, libraries and mosques that amazed Europeans, who had not seen anything like this at home. "The Safavid Period" in Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence. Mohammad was selected and received the crown on February 11, 1579. But even here there may have been practical political considerations; namely, "concern about the excessively powerful position of Shii dignitaries, which would have been undermined by a reintroduction of the Sunna. And since agriculture accounted for by far largest share of tax revenue, he took measures to expand it. But in the seventeenth century the Ottoman threat to the Safavids declined. Women with slender waists were regarded as more attractive than those with larger figures. The succession was evidently undisputed. Shah Ismail was a poet and Shah Tahmasp a painter. [122][123][124][125] After fully securing the region, he executed the rebellious Luarsab II of Kartli and later had the Georgian queen Ketevan, who had been sent to the shah as negotiator, tortured to death when she refused to renounce Christianity, in an act of revenge for the recalcitrance of Teimuraz. The most significant of these was Ashura, when Shia Muslims mark the death of Husayn. In 1511, the ahkulu rebellion was a widespread pro-Shia and pro-Safavid uprising directed against the Ottoman Empire from within the empire. "[93] His conduct might also be explained by his drug use. But the reverse seems not to have been true. [194], During the first century of the dynasty, the primary court language remained Azeri,[189] although this increasingly changed after the capital was moved to Isfahan. The Mughal Empire had a very powerful military that had a large impact in Mughal history. Other exports were horses, goat hair, pearls and an inedible bitter almond hadam-talka used as a spice in India. [31] The establishment of Twelver Shsm as the state religion of Safavid Iran led to various f orders (tariqa) openly declaring their Shte position, and others to promptly assume Sha Islam. Contacts with the Pope, Poland and Moscow were no more fruitful. Among these were a number of Sufi brotherhoods, the Hurufis, Nuqtavis and Musha'sha'iyyah. Whether Abbas had fully formed his strategy at the onset, at least in retrospect his method of restoring the shah's authority involved three phases: (1) restoration of internal security and law and order; (2) recovery of the eastern territories from the Uzbeks; and (3) recovery of the western territories from the Ottomans. Murder was punishable by death, and the penalty for bodily injuries was invariably the bastinado. Polemics and Confessional Ambiguity | The Caliph and the Imam: The Struggles began, 3 Safavid . Robbers had their right wrists amputated the first time, and sentenced to death on any subsequent occasion. [65] The Qizilbash, which still suffered under the legacy of the battle of Chaldiran, was engulfed in internal rivalries. Cambridge University Press. Between 1508 and 1524, the year of Ismail's death, the shah appointed five successive Persians to the office of vakil. The Safavids were descended from Sheikh af al-Dn (12531334) of Ardabl, head of the Sufi order of afaviyyeh (afawiyyah). They would adorn their clothes, wearing stones and decorate the harness of their horses. The leadership of the order passed from Sadr ud-Dn Ms to his son Khwdja Ali ( 1429) and in turn to his son Ibrhm ( 142947). Ismil followed the line of Iranian and Turkmen rulers prior to his assumption of the title "Padishah-i-Iran", previously held by Uzun Hasan and many other Iranian kings. In 1613, Abbas had appointed these trusted Georgian gholams of his on the puppet thrones of Kartli and Kakheti, the Iranian Safavid ruled areas of Georgia. Numbers of Red Heads, Safavid followers because of their red headgear increased. 21920. And, just as the higher levels of the social hierarchy was divided between the Turkish "men of the sword" and the Persian "men of the pen"; so were the lower level divided between the Turcoman tribes, who were cattle breeders and lived apart from the surrounding population, and the Persians, who were settled agriculturalists. [45] There were many local states prior to the Iranian state established by Ismil. However, the brief puppet regime of Ismail III ended in 1760 when Karim Khan felt strong enough to take nominal power of the country as well and officially end the Safavid dynasty. Shah Abbas ordered a general massacre in Beradost and Mukriyan (Mahabad, reported by Eskandar Beg Monshi, Safavid Historian (15571642), in "Alam Ara Abbasi") and resettled the Turkic Afshar tribe in the region while deporting many Kurdish tribes to Khorasan. Thus Div Soltn emerged victorious in the first palace struggle, but he fell victim to Chuha Sultn of the Takkalu, who turned Tahmsp against his first mentor. [3] The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by establishing Twelver Shsm as the state religion of Iran, as well as spreading Sha Islam in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia. In addition the shah's personal bodyguard, made up exclusively of Caucasian ghulms, was dramatically increased to 3,000. The Safavid Shh Ism'l I . In the next 10 years he subjugated the greater part of Iran and annexed the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad and Mosul. Richard Tapper. Blow, David; Shah Abbas: The ruthless king who became an Iranian legend, pp. The Empire's economic strength came from its location on the trade routes; . [69], The Uzbeks, during the reign of Tahmsp, attacked the eastern provinces of the kingdom five times, and the Ottomans under Soleymn I invaded Iran four times. The tribal rivalries among the Qizilbash, which temporarily ceased before the defeat at Chaldiran, resurfaced in intense form immediately after the death of Ismil, and led to ten years of civil war (930040/15241533) until Shh Tahmsp regained control of the affairs of the state. Safavid Empire - History, Information & Facts - Iran Safar Travel During the Safavid period Azerbaijani Turkish, or, as it was also referred to at that time, Qizilbash Turkish, occupied an important place in society, and it was spoken both atcourt and by the common people. The carpets of Ardabil were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty. Yet over the course of ten years Abbas was able, using cautiously-timed but nonetheless decisive steps, to affect a profound transformation of Safavid administration and military, throw back the foreign invaders, and preside over a flourishing of Persian art. 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. While large in terms of land area, the large proportion of deserts and mountains in its territory meant density was very low; the empire's population is estimated to have probably numbered between eight and ten million in 1650, as compared to c.20 million for the Ottoman Empire in 1600. What remained unchanged, however, was the constant threat of local disaffection with the weak central authority. 904. [46] The most important local rulers about 1500 were: Ismil was able to unite all these lands under the Iranian Empire he created. Later that year, when the shah summoned them to join him on a hunting expedition in Mazandaran, they didn't show up due to the fear they would be either imprisoned or killed. [111][112] At the same time, he took steps to ensure that the Qizilbash did not mistake this apparent show of weakness as a signal for more tribal rivalry at the court. [197] In time, this proved to become a burden to the people that were under the direct rule of the Shah, as these commissioners, unlike the former governors, had little knowledge about the local communities that they controlled and were primarily interested in increasing the income of the Shah. He expanded commercial links with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. . Greece vs France | vs | total Military Strength | 2023 These three empires all had military strength, Sovereign Pride, Religious commitment, and Aesthetic sophistication in common to varying degrees. That done, they slap their thighs, buttocks and hips to the rhythm of the drum. When the young Shah Tahmsp took the throne, Iran was in a dire state. [16], c Court,[17][18][19] religious dignitaries, military,[15][20][21][22] mother tongue,[15] poetry. The Qizilbash tribes were essential to the military of Iran until the rule of Shah Abbas I- their leaders were able to exercise enormous influence and participate in court intrigues (assassinating Shah Ismail II for example). To promote Shi'ism the Safavids brought in scholars from Shi'ite countries to form a new religious elite. According to historian Roger Savory, "Salim's plan was to winter at Tabriz and complete the conquest of Persia the following spring. [223] The Persians were also active in the Aceh Sultanate, the Brunei Sultanate, the Demak Sultanate, and Dai Viet. [192], The only field within medicine where some progress were made was pharmacology, with the compilement of the "Tibb-e Shifai" in 1556. 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. Almost simultaneously with the emergence of the Safavid Empire, the Mughal Empire, founded by the Timurid heir Babur, was developing in South-Asia. After the capture of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire changed the name to Istanbul and began to expand rapidly thereafter. Abbas I | Biography, History, Architecture, & Significance 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. Sold Price: JACQUES VILLEGL (N EN 1926) - Place de Thorigny (S And with the assistance of the Muscovy Company they could cross over to Moscow, reaching Europe via Poland. The 16-year-old Abbas I was installed as nominal shah in 1588, but the real power was intended to remain in the hands of his "mentor," Murshid Quli Khan, who reorganized court offices and principal governorships among the Qizilbash[108] and took the title of wakl for himself. There were no particular place assigned for the administration of justice. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [6] It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, [7] but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman, [8] Georgian, [9] Circassian, [10] [11] and Pontic Greek [12] dignitaries, nevertheless they . Consequently, they were slowly able to take on administrative jobs in areas which had hitherto been the exclusive preserve of the ethnic Persians.[168]. Anthony Bryer. Password Strength: Weak . The shah used that occasion to proclaim the 11-year-old Sultan Hamza Mirza (Mahd-i Uly's favorite) crown-prince. The public land was under the rule of local governors, or Khans. The Ottomans were able to overthrow the Seljuks and after that they were able to repopulate the city and stay in power until 1922. religious differences led to much hostility between . In fact, it was the founder of the Safavid Empire, Shah Ismail I, who forcibly converted Iran . [190], As for the royal household, the highest post was that of the Nazir, Court Minister. A year after his victory in Tabriz, Ismil I claimed most of Iran as part of his territory,[31] and within 10 years established a complete control over all of it. The mansabdar's military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. Safi al-Din converted to Shi'ism and was a Persian nationalist. R.M. The group crossed the Caspian Sea and spent the winter in Moscow before proceeding through Norway and Germany (where it was received by Emperor Rudolf II) to Rome, where Pope Clement VIII gave the travellers a long audience. One of Shah Ismail's most important decisions was to declare that the state religion would be the form of Islam called Shi'ism, that at the time was completely foreign to Iranian culture. The moment was grave for the empire, with the Ottomans deep in Iranian territory in the west and north and the Uzbeks in possession of half of Khorasan in the east.[107]. It transformed the Ottoman state into a more centralized, authoritarian, and nationalist entity. "Review of Emile Janssens'. According to historian Roger Savory, "Sheikh Junayd was not content with spiritual authority and he sought material power. The people of the Empire soon embraced the new faith with enthusiasm, celebrating Shi'ite festivals with great piety. The Shah had stables in all the principal towns, and Shah Abbas was said to have about 30,000 horses in studs around the country. When the Safavids came to power, Shah Ismail was proclaimed ruler at the age of 14 or 15, and by 1510 Ismail had conquered the whole of Iran. Consequently, the vast majority of captives available in seventeenth-century Istanbul were "Rus'," most hailing from what is today Ukraine. [194] As Prof. David Blow states, foremost among the courtiers were the old nobility of Turkoman Qizilbash lords and their sons. [210][211] According to contemporary historians, though, the landlord always had the worst of the bargain with the farmer in the crop-sharing agreements. 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. The Mongol invasions that began in the 13th century drastically reconfigured the Islamic world. [65] The Chaldiran battle also holds historical significance as the start of over 300 years of frequent and harsh warfare fueled by geo-politics and ideological differences between the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavids (as well as successive Iranian states) mainly regarding territories in Eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia. In specifically religious terms the Safavids not only persecuted Sunni Muslims, but Shi'ites with different views, and all other religions. They appointed an official (the Sadr) to co-ordinate this elite - and ensure that it did what the Shah wanted. [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]. 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. When he died on 19 January 1629, he had no son capable of succeeding him.[142]. However by this period the Empire was disintegrating, and for the next two centuries it lay in decay. Tahmsp resolved to end hostilities and sent his ambassador to Soleymn's winter quarters in Erzurum in September 1554 to sue for peace. Gunpowder Empires Activity .pdf - Focus Questions: The Although the Arabic language was still the medium for religious scholastic expression, it was precisely under the Safavids that hadith complications and doctrinal works of all sorts were being translated to Persian. Due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known as the Safaviyya. 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. Russo-Persian War (1651-1653) - Wikipedia As well as wrestling, what gathered the masses was fencing, tightrope dancers, puppet-players and acrobats, performing in large squares, such as the Royal square. She did not last much longer than Mohammad's installation at Qazvin, where she was murdered. The latter was the final appeal in civil and criminal cases, and his office stood next to the main entrance to the Ali Qapu palace. The Safavid Empire was held together in the early years by conquering new territory, and then by the need to defend it from the neighbouring Ottoman Empire. Safavid and Mughal Empires The decline of the Mongol Empire laid ground for the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. Explanation: Any true power or strength that the Ottomans had were not really from themselves but from those they conquered and weapons trade between the Ottomans and the farther east. 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. The Safavid Empire (1502-1736) was a Persian military state that dominated the region for two centuries and initiated one of Persia's golden ages. The Safavid Empire's aggressive, and expansionist phase was explosive but brief, fizzling out as the limits of its military power came into focus - beginning with the crushing defeat against . [29] The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by establishing Twelver Shsm as the state religion of Iran, as well as spreading Sha Islam in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia.[29][31]. Listen Safavid dynasty - Wikipedia In 1527 Tahmsp demonstrated his desire by shooting an arrow at Div Soltn before the assembled court. Thvenot and Tavernier commented that the Iranian caravanserais were better built and cleaner than their Turkish counterparts. This class is granted special privileges because they have aided the Ottoman Empire with expansion efforts. They ruled one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Iran . Physiology was still based on the four humours of ancient and mediaeval medicine, and bleeding and purging were still the principal forms of therapy by surgeons, something even Thevenot experienced during his visit to Iran. In August 1514 Isml was seriously defeated at Chldirn by his Sunni rival, the Ottoman sultan Selim I. Roemer, The Safavid Period, in Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. The judge (qazi) was informed of relevant points involved and would decide whether or not to take up the case. The Safavid dynasty was founded about 1501 by Shh Ism'l I. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. And his power reached its peak in 1598, when he became the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Thus, the majority of the people suffered from rapacity and corruption carried out in the name of the Shah. The consequences of the defeat at Chaldiran were also psychological for Ismil: the defeat destroyed Ismil's belief in his invincibility, based on his claimed divine status. The Safavid Empire of Persia - ThoughtCo [13] David Blow adds; "it seems likely that most, if not all, of the Turkoman grandees at the court also spoke Persian, which was the language of the administration and culture, as well as of the majority of the population. From this time the state began to take on a more Persian character. In Esposito, John L. More importantly, for the first time in Iranian history, a substantial infantry corps of musketeers (, Artillery Corps: with the help of Westerners, he also formed an artillery corps of 12 000 men, although this was the weakest element in his army. It was certainly not an oligarchy, nor was it an aristocracy. "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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [244], Safavids also used Persian as a cultural and administrative language throughout the empire and were bilingual in Persian. 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 Safavid Empire began in 1501 BC when the Safavid leader Esma'il conquered Persia. The Safavid and Ottoman empires are usually compared because of the wars that broke . Notwithstanding the success with firearms at Jm, Tahmsp still lacked the confidence to engage their archrivals the Ottomans, choosing instead to cede territory, often using scorched earth tactics in the process. Roger M. Savory. [159], Jean Chardin, the 17th-c French traveler, spent many years in Iran and commented at length on their culture, customs and character. Afterwards, Ismail went on a conquest campaign, capturing Tabriz in July 1501, where he enthroned himself the Shh of Azerbaijan,[51][52][53] proclaimed himself King of Kings (shahanshah) of Iran[54][55][56] and minted coins in his name, proclaiming Twelver Shsm as the official religion of his domain. [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]. He thought that there was nothing like it in France or Italy:[208]. In 1585 two events occurred that would combine to break the impasse among the Qizilbash. The Safavid Empire, 1501-1736 - Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas (ed.). The language chiefly used by the Safavid court and military establishment was Azerbaijani. In the midst of these foreign perils, rebellion broke out in Khorasan fomented by (or on behalf of) Mohammad's son, Abbas. [100] None of the perpetrators were brought to justice, although the shah lectured the assembled amirs on how they departed from the old ways when the shah was master to his Sufi disciples. The Safavid Period, 1501-1732", "18 Iran, Armenia and Georgia Rise of a Shii State in Iran and New Orientation in Islamic Thought and Culture", "The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors", "Georgians in the Safavid administration", Artistic and cultural history of the Safavids from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eskandar Beg, pp. [199], In Safavid Iran there was little distinction between theology and jurisprudence, or between divine justice and human justice, and it all went under Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). 34, 597634. They often dyed their feet and hands with henna. During the first 30 years of his long reign, he was able to suppress the internal divisions by exerting control over a strengthened central military force. Safavid military history had three phases. His descriptions of the public appearance, clothes and customs are corroborated by the miniatures, drawings and paintings from that time which have survived. Sultan Hosein tried to forcibly convert his Afghan subjects in Qandahar from Sunni to Twelverism. After that they join together in uttering a great cry and trying to overthrow each other. When Abbas had a lively conversation in Turkish with the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, in front of his courtiers, he had to translate the conversation afterwards into Persian for the benefit of most of those present. This new layer of society would continue to play a vital role in Iranian history up to and including the fall of the Qajar dynasty, some 300 years after Abbas' death. The two parties with their witnesses pleaded their respective cases, usually without any counsel, and the judge would pass his judgment after the first or second hearing. Abbas also moved the capital to Isfahan, deeper into central Iran.