political structure of the safavid empire

The hostility between the sects that continues today is usually traced to the Safavid era and the dynastys military rivalry with the Ottomans, especially after the sultan acquired the Sunni title of caliph in 1517. It is axiomatic that such a ruler would command instant and unquestioning obedience from his subjects. A soup kitchen distributed free food to the needy, and occasionally the square was cleared for polo games, public ceremonies, and festivals. However the brief puppet regime of Ismail III ended in 1760, when Karim Khan felt strong enough take nominal power of the country as well and officially end the Safavid dynasty. Despite near-constant war, during this time Iran reached new cultural and economic heights. The conversion efforts of the Safavids have left long legacies in the Islamic world. Shia Islam is still the official state religion of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Government of the Safavid Empire The government has been different based on the emperor. The three Islamic empires of the early modern period - the Mughal, the Safavid, and the Ottoman - shared a common Turko-Mongolian heritage. Detail, Sultan Muhammad, The Court of Gayumars, Shahnameh for Shah Tahmasp I, c. 152425, opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper, 45 x 30 cm, folio 20v (Aga Khan Museum, Toronto; photo: Brilliantly painted manuscripts. Safavid dynasty, (1501-1736), ruling dynasty of Iran whose establishment of Twelver Shiism as the state religion of Iran was a major factor in the emergence of a unified national consciousness among the various ethnic and linguistic elements of the country. Junayds son Haydar created a solid political and military framework by establishing a Safavid military order known as the Qizilbash, after their distinctive red hats (qizil means red in Azeri). Increased contact with distant cultures in the seventeenth century, especially Europe, provided a boost of inspiration to Iranian artists who adopted modeling, foreshortening, spatial recession, and the medium of oil painting (Shah Abbas II sent Zaman to study in Rome). Never was the Divine Right of Kings more fully developed than by the Safavid shahs. (credit: Abbas I of Persia by Unknown/TRAJAN 117/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain), The Shah Mosque, built by Abbas I, is located on the south side of, In this image from a Persian history of his reign written about 1650, the Safavid ruler Shah Ismail (dressed in white) stands on the steps of a mosque prior to his coronation, having the sermon read in the name of the Twelve Imams and effectively declaring Shiism to be the state religion of Iran in 1501. Safi al-Din is believed to have come from a family of Kurds who spoke Azeri. Shah Mosque (Royal Mosque), Isfahan, Iran, begun 1611 (photo: Another singular characteristic of Safavid architecture are the colorful tiles that covered exterior faced and interior domes of mosques. As an empire, the Safavids succeeded in placing the nomadic people groups of the region under their. They sought to control these populations by enslaving or deporting their members, and nobles were often requested to convert to Shiism. We recommend using a Detail, Sultan Muhammad, The Court of Gayumars, Shahnameh for Shah Tahmasp I, c. 152425, opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper, 45 x 30 cm, folio 20v (Aga Khan Museum, Toronto; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Throughout the rest of the decade, Ismail I fended off attacks from the Ottomans, stamped out the remnants of a rival faction, called the Ak Koyunlu, and continued to expand his territoryHamadan in 1503, Shiraz and Kerman in 1504, Najaf and Karbala in 1507, Van in 1508, Baghdad in 1509, Khorasan and Herat in 1510. This left room for invasion by outside enemies, which is exactly what happened in 1722 when the Afghan army besieged the capital of Isfahan. Then enter the name part are licensed under a, Connections Across Continents, 15001800, Exchange in East Asia and the Indian Ocean, Capitalism and the First Industrial Revolution, The Exchange of Ideas in the Public Sphere, Nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, and the Political Order, Inventions, Innovations, and Mechanization, Regulation, Reform, and Revolutionary Ideologies, The Collapse of the Ottomans and the Coming of War, The Causes and Consequences of World War II, The Contemporary World and Ongoing Challenges, Science and Technology for Todays World, Recommended Resources for the Study of World History, This map shows the Safavid Empire (green) at its greatest extent, including disputed territories (dots) where the Safavids found themselves in conflict with the Ottoman Empire (orange) and the Uzbek rulers of the Khanate of Bukhara (purple). What are the common features of the Safavid and Mughal paintings? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In 1738, Nadir Shah reconquered Afghanistan starting with the city of Kandahar. View images of the famous Ardabil carpet at the Victoria and Albert Museum website to see it in detail and also get a sense of its enormous size. Through this alliance many members of the ulama became landowners themselves, creating a religious aristocracy that gave them a level of political independence. The Art of the Safavids before 1600 on The Metropolitan Museum of Arts Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Safavid Period at the National Museum of Asian Art. In one grand example, Pope facilitated a full-scale reproduction of a Safavid mosque at the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exhibition. His painting and calligraphic style influenced Iranian artists for much of the Safavid period, which came to be known as the Isfahan school. ), Reflections on the social and economic structure of Safavid Persia at its zenith, Artisans and Guild Life in the later Safavid period, Quis custodiet custodes? Bihzad, the famed miniaturist from Herat, was commissioned by Shah Ismail to direct this royal workshop. Ismail also invited foreign Shiites living in places where they were persecuted by the Sunni majority to move to Iran, promising them land and protection. Poetry stagnated under the Safavids; the great medieval ghazal form languished in over-the-top lyricism. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. This gives a convincing explanation as to why the Turkic Azerbaijani language became so important in a land with an overwhelming Persian-speaking majority. Following the conquest of Iran, Ismail I made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. Feature Flags: { please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. Due to his fear of assassination, Shah Abbas either put to death or blinded any member of his family who aroused his suspicion. Since the ruler, as the representative of the Hidden Imm, was closer to the source of absolute truth than were other men, opposition to him was a sin. The Safavid dynasty descended from diverse and mixed ethnic origins, and there is some disagreement among scholars as to whether they were of Azeri or Persian background. We do know that Zahed appointed his son-in-law and disciple Safi al-Din Ardabili to succeed him, which angered his family and some of his followers. By the end of this section, you will be able to: To the east of the lands of the Ottomans, another Islamic empire emerged at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Members of the Safavid Dynasty likely were of Kurdish Persian descent and belonged to a unique order of Sufi -infused Shi'a Islam called Safaviyya. He wholeheartedly adopted the use of gunpowder. Want to cite, share, or modify this book? By the seventeenth century, trade routes between East and West had shifted away from Iran, causing a decline in commerce and trade. The Qizilbash were largely Turcoman, another Turkic group with its own language. Located in the central Middle East, the kingdom occupied a fundamental geographic location and had substantial effect in the stability of the region. [5] In addition to that, the Safavids' power base included largely Turkic-speaking warrior tribes from Azarbaijan and Anatolia, who were collectively known as the Kizilbash, and were, at certain points in time, the de facto rulers of the empire. About 95 percent of Shia also believe Ali was the first of twelve infallible leaders chosen by God, so this sect is often called the Twelvers. Ismail I, despite his heterodox Shi'a beliefs, which were not compatible with orthodox Shi'ism (Momen, 1985) patronized Shi'a religious leaders, granting them land and money in return for loyalty. then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution: Use the information below to generate a citation. Though the majority of Muslims in Azerbaijan and Iran considered themselves Shia by the time the Safavid era ended in 1736, Nader Shah attempted to restore Sunnism as the dominant sect. Later, he conquered territories as far as east as Delhi, but did not fortify his Persian base and eventually, he exhausted his army's strength. The Safavids were a dynastic family that ruled over modern-day Iran. This street was flanked by palaces and public gardens that featured fruit trees and fountains with running water. In 1514, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I invaded western Armenia, causing the ill-prepared Safavid army to retreat. Although at first he was able to negotiate safe passage for his army, the Shirvanshahs, already uneasy about Haydars growing power, used his eventual attack on one of their cities as an excuse to declare war on the Safavids. Find out more about saving to your Kindle. As the Safavids continued to push westward into Ottoman territory, Bayezids son Selim I responded by invading Iranian Azerbaijan, laying waste to Tabriz in 1514 and attempting to destroy the Qizilbash. (Azeri is a Turkic language.) The Safavids generally ruled over a peaceful and prosperous empire. Tahmasp also moved his capital from Tabriz to Qazvin, closer to the Caspian Sea and at less risk of capture or siege by Ottoman forces. Even those in hereditary positions had to prove themselves capable or be replaced. Silk was akin to gold in this era, and Safavid silk was renowned for both the high quality of its raw silk, as well as the exquisite designs of their embroidered textiles. The Safavid concept of kingship, combining territorial control with . It did not last forever, however. Browne, "A Literary History of Persia," Vol. Power was shifting to a new class of merchants, many of them ethnic Armenians, Georgians, and Indians. He ordered all Irans Sunni Muslims to become Shiites. In 1522, the Safavid royal library of Shah Tahmasp produced the most exquisitely illustrated Shahnameh of all time, now known as the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp. Royal manuscripts such as this were highly collaborative enterprises that brought together miniaturists, illuminators, calligraphers, poets, scribes, and gold sprinklers. Later, Shah Abbas I moved the capital even deeper into central Iran, to the city of Isfahan, building a new city next to the ancient Persian one. As Vladimir Minorsky put it, friction between these two groups was inevitable, because the Qezelbash "were no party to the national Persian tradition." In the sixteenth century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant craft to a well-executed industry with specialization of design and manufacturing. Shah Ism'l I, who established the Safavid dynasty in 907/15012, considered himself to be the living emanation of the godhead, the Shadow of God upon earth, and the representative of the Hidden Imm by virtue of direct descent from the Seventh Imm of the Twelver (Ithn'ashariyya) Sh'a, Ms al-Kzim. The maximum extent of the Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas I (CC BY-SA 4.0), The maximum extent of the Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas I (. While Safi al-Dins origins are lost to history, it is generally believed that he came from a family of Azeri-speaking Kurds, although even this is uncertain. Henceforth, a treaty, signed in Qasr-e Shirin, was established, delineating a border between Iran and Turkey in 1639, which still stands in northwest Iran/southeast Turkey. While strongly influenced by Persian miniatures, Mughal miniatures tended to represent a more realistic depiction of animals and humans. While the decoration of each of these buildings varied, the structural composition remained much the same, consisting of domes surrounded by four, Fresco, c. 1597 C.E., Ali Qapu Palace (photo: reibai, CC BY 2.0). Between 1508 and 1524, the year of Ismail's death, the shah appointed five successive Persians to the office of vakil. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 The Ardabil carpet, still one of the largest Persian carpets in existence, was made during the Safavid period. To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. 1999-2023, Rice University. } When he declared Twelver Shiism to be the state religion of Iran, he hoped to unify his Iranian subjects by having them adopt a form of Islam that gave them a unique identity and distinguished them from their military and political enemies the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, who were both Sunni. In the east, the Mughal dynasty of India had expanded into Afghanistan at the expense of Iranian control, taking Kandahar and Herat. Creative Commons Attribution License To establish political provenance, the Safavid rulers claimed to be descended from Imam Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, through the seventh Imam Musa al-Kazim. Later Safavid shahs continued to expand Isfahan, adding buildings, avenues, and bridges and commissioning structures in other cities based on the style cultivated in the capital. During the Safavid period, Iran was ethnically quite diverse. Its founder was the Persian[1] mystic Sheikh Safi al-Din (12541334), after whom the order was named. Shah Tahmasp supported both schools at a royal painting workshop where artistic masters were invited to work with luxury materials such as gold leaf and ground lapis lazuli (Figure 4.25). For the purposes of this chapter the period to be covered runs from 907/1501 to 1148/1736, one of the most remarkable ages in Iran's history. At the height of their reign, the Safavids controlled not only Iran, but also the countries we now know as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. History of the Safavids from Iran Chamber, Artistic and cultural history of the Safavids from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Safavid_Empire&oldid=1092454, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. To further legitimize his power, Ismail I also added claims of royal Sassanian heritage after becoming Shah of Iran to his own genealogy. Representation of the human form has been forbidden in Islamic art at times; in Persian illuminated manuscripts, the artists response was to use the image to bring a specific person to the viewers mind without representing them accurately. However, the original ancestral line of the Safavids was a religious order of Sufi mystics that lived in Ardabil, a city now in Azerbaijan (Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam that originated during the, Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, rejoined the western and eastern halves of the Iranian plateau through military achievement. The Safavids (Persian: ) were a native Iranian dynasty from Azarbaijan that ruled from 1501 to 1736, and which established Shi'a Islam as Iran's official religion and united its provinces under a single Iranian sovereignty in the early modern period. Sunni clerics and theologians were given the choice of conversion or exile. Adam Olearius, "The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors" (excerpts). Direct link to hdarwish825's post what succession rules was. The empire's rulers, like the Ottoman rulers, were Muslim, yet the Safavid Empire used religion differently to promote order and stability within its realm. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. In addition, despite representing different cultures, the two share a range of similarities, which allows for an insightful analysis of the characteristics that great empires share. @kindle.com emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. Tahmasps desire to fend off the Turkish threat led him to ally himself with a rising European power, the Habsburg Empire. The greatest of the Safavid monarchs, Shah Abbas (15871629) came to power in 1587, at the age of 16, following the forced abdication of his father, Shah Muhammad Khudbanda. However, beneath the shah and the powerful elites, the Safavid hierarchy was unique for its time in being largely based on merit; worth and talent, not status or birth, were the keys to upward mobility. If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, (credit: Portrait of Shah Ismail I of Persia by Uffizi Gallery/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain), This detail from a series of seventeenth-century paintings decorating the walls of the Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, Iran, depicts Shah Abbas I, who ruled over Iran at the height of the Safavid dynastys power. [2] Shah Abbas I recognized the commercial benefit of promoting the artsartisan's products provided much of Iran's foreign trade. Presently, there is a community of nearly 1.7 million people who are descendants of the tribes deported from Kurdistan to Khurasan (Northeastern Iran) by the Safavids. Capital of the Safavid Empire. One of the most famous achievements of Tahmasps workshop was an illustrated version of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran written by the poet Ferdowsi in the tenth century.

S Jaishankar First Wife, Dr650 Acerbis Tank Graphics, Articles P