Among luminaries of this school of philosophy, the names of Iranian philosophers such as Mir Damad, Mir Fendereski, Shaykh Bahai and Mohsen Fayz Kashani standout. [83] This was a huge impedance for the authority of the Shah, and furthermore, it undermined any developments without the agreeing or shared profit of the Qizilbash. In the war against the Uzbeks he showed that the Safavids had become a gunpowder empire. [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. Sultan Hosein tried to forcibly convert his Afghan subjects in Qandahar from Sunni to Twelverism. -Reorganized the empire's military . [121] Moreover, he planned to deport all nobles of Kartli. Following the conquest of Iran, Ismail I made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese from Bahrain (1602) and, with the English navy, from Hormuz (1622) in the Persian Gulf (a vital link in Portuguese trade with India). Then he turned against the Ottomans, recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq, and the Caucasian provinces, by 1622. He had all his relatives killed except for his older brother, Mohammad Khudabanda, who, being nearly blind, was not a real candidate for the throne, and Mohammad's three sons, Hamza Mirza, Abbas Mirza and Abu Talib Mirza. "[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. Shah Ismail I was the first of the Safavids to try to establish once again an alliance against the common Ottoman enemy through the earlier stages of the HabsburgPersian alliance, but this also proved to be largely unfruitful during his reign. [14] 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. [72] The victory resulted at least in part from Safavid use of firearms, which they had been acquiring and drilling with since Chaldiran.[73]. Abbas was unable to comply. In 1598, when Shah Abbas decided to move the capital of his Iranian empire from the north-western city of Qazvin to the central city of Isfahan, he initiated what would become one of the greatest programmes in Iranian history; the complete remaking of the city. 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. Persianization went hand in hand with the popularization of 'mainstream' Shii belief. Abbas was able to begin gradually transforming the empire from a tribal confederation to a modern imperial government by transferring provinces from mamalik (provincial) rule governed by a Qizilbash chief and the revenue of which mostly supported local Qizilbash administration and forces to khass (central) rule presided over by a court appointee and the revenue of which reverted to the court. Since two other sons had predeceased him, when he died on January 19, 1629, he had no son capable of succeeding him. Each element constituted 20 percent of the crop production, and if, for instance, the farmer provided the labour force and the animals, he would be entitled to 40 percent of the earnings. Later, during the Safavid and especially Qajar period, the role of Shi'a ulema increased and they were able to exercise a role in social and political life independent of the government. They cleverly allied themselves with European powers in order to protect themselves from the Ottomans. 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. The school reached its apogee with that of the Iranian philosopher Mulla Sadra who is arguably the most significant Islamic philosopher after Avicenna. 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. In the sixteenth century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant craft to a well-executed industry with specialization of design and manufacturing. The strength of the Kizilbash was reduced, while the use of firearms was expanded. When the second Persian "vakil" was placed in command of a Safavid army in Transoxiana, the Qezelbash, considering it a dishonor to be obliged to serve under him, deserted him on the battlefield with the result that he was slain. Those who wrote in Persian were either lacking in proper tuition in this tongue, or wrote outside Iran and hence at a distance from centers where Persian was the accepted vernacular, endued with that vitality and susceptibility to skill in its use which a language can have only in places where it truly belongs. Expert Answers. Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing GRAB THE BEST PAPER 95.7% of users find it useful The Safavid Empire lasted from 1501-1722. Shah Soltan Hosein tried to forcibly convert his Afghan subjects in eastern Iran from Sunni to Shi'a Islam. For more than two centuries the Safavid kingdom prolonged the older political and cultural tradition of Persia and endowed the country and its peoples with a unique character of historic significance . [49] Ismil was of mixed Turkoman, Kurdish, Pontic Greek, and Georgian descent, and was a direct descendant of the Kurdish f Muslim mystic Sheikh Safi al-Din. Bureaucracy and landed class who were considered the middle classes. [83] According to Encyclopdia Iranica, this would be the starting point for the corps of the olmn-e a-ye-e arifa, or royal slaves, who would dominate the Safavid military for most of the empire's length. The first Safavid king, Esml I (907-30/1501-24), initiated a process of political and religious change in Persia that profoundly affected the economic structure. [147] In the late seventeenth century, Iranian merchants established a permanent presence as far north as Narva on the Baltic sea, in what now is Estonia. [25][26][27][28] It is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history,[29] as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The idea of such an anti-Ottoman alliance was not a new oneover a century before, Uzun Hassan, then ruler of part of Iran, had asked the Venetians for military aidbut none of the Safavids had made diplomatic overtures to Europe. 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. It covered all of Iran, and parts of Turkey and Georgia. Due to his fear of assassination, Shah Abbas either put to death or blinded any member of his family who aroused his suspicion. Safavid power and territory grew quickly, yet the empire was prone to Sunni attack from the Uzbeks in the North, Mughals in the . But it was not the Turkish of Istanbul. When the second Persian vakil was placed in command of a Safavid army in Transoxiana, the Qizilbash, considering it a dishonor to be obliged to serve under him, deserted him on the battlefield with the result that he was slain. [63] Furthermore, by the early 1510s Ismail's expansionistic policies had pushed the Safavid borders in Asia Minor even more westwards. [91] While the murderous actions of Ismail might be explained by political prudence (Ottoman sultans occasionally purged the bloodline to prevent succession rivals[92]), his actions against Shia suggest retaliation against his father, who saw himself as a pious practitioner. After that they join together in uttering a great cry and trying to overthrow each other. The language chiefly used by the Safavid court and military establishment was Azerbaijani. [134] For his part, Abbas declared that he "preferred the dust from the shoe soles of the lowest Christian to the highest Ottoman personage. 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 ultimately succeeded in establishing a new Persian national monarchy. What was the most significant role that the Safavid dynasty played? The Safavid dynasty was founded about 1501 by Shh Ism'l I. 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). Stefan Sperl, C. Shackle, Nicholas Awde, "Qasida poetry in Islamic Asia and Africa", Brill Academic Pub; Set Only edition (February 1996), p. 193: "Like Shah Ni'mat Allah-i Vali he hosted distinguished visitors among them Ismail Safavi, who had proclaimed himself Shahanshah of Iran in 1501 after having taken Tabriz, the symbolic and political capital of Iran". Omissions? Together with the Russians, they agreed to divide and keep the conquered Iranian territories for themselves as confirmed in the Treaty of Constantinople (1724).[152]. With the capture of Tabriz, the Safavid dynasty officially began. [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. In 1527 Tahmsp demonstrated his desire by shooting an arrow at Div Soltn before the assembled court. Although Turkish was widely spoken in Safavid Iran this fact is rarely mentioned. There was a systemic administrative organization in the empire which developed further into a dual system of civil administration and . The Safavids were defeated and, as the Ottoman force moved on Tabriz, engaged in scorched-earth combat. Most were replaced by a ghulam, and within short time, Georgians, Circassians, and to a lesser extent Armenians had been appointed to many of the highest offices of state, and were employed within all other possible sections of society. He also reduced the taxes of districts that were traditionally Shii, regulated services in mosques and engaged Shii propagandists and spies. [140] The English at sea, represented by the English East India Company, also began to take an interest in Iran, and in 1622 four of its ships helped Abbas retake Hormuz from the Portuguese in the Capture of Ormuz (1622). [160] He considered them to be a well-educated and well-behaved people. In 1722, an Afghan army led by Mir Wais' son Mahmud advanced on the heart of the empire and defeated the government forces at the Battle of Gulnabad. "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. By 1511, the Uzbeks in the north-east were driven across the Oxus River where they captured Samarkand establishing the Shaibanid dynasty, and from which they would continue to attack the Safavids. In cultural matters, Tahmsp presided the revival of the fine arts, which flourished under his patronage. 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. [182] However, shortly thereafter Muhammad Baqir Behbahani (died 1792), along with other Usuli mujtahids, crushed the Akhbari movement. An important feature of the Safavid society was the alliance that emerged between the ulama (the religious class) and the merchant community. The Silk Road which led through northern Iran was revived in the 16th century. From 1553 for forty years the shah was able to avoid being ensnared in tribal treacheries. Tobacco grew all over the country and was as strong as that grown in Brazil. He thought that there was nothing like it in France or Italy:[208]. Sir E. Denison Ross, Sir Anthony Sherley and his Persian Adventure, pp. 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. It was a high point for the art of the book and architecture; and also including ceramics, metal, glass, and gardens. Mir Damad is considered the founder of this school. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "Iran and Pre-Independence Lebanon" in Houchang Esfandiar Chehabi. When Shaykh Junayd, the son of Ibrhim, assumed the leadership of the Safaviyya in 1447, the history of the Safavid movement was radically changed. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Safavid art is the art of the Persian Safavid dynasty from 1501 to 1722, in present-day Iran. They appear to have abandoned their identity as Sunni Muslims and embrace Shia ideals under their leader, one Khwaja Ali. Saffron was the best in the world Melons were regarded as excellent fruit, and there were more than 50 different sorts, the finest of which came from Khorasan. Its founder was the Persian[1] mystic Sheikh Safi al-Din (12541334), after whom the order was named. The Portuguese Empire and the discovery of the trading route around the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 not only hit a death blow to Venice as a trading nation, but it also hurt the trade that was going on along the Silk Road and especially the Persian Gulf. 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