Safavid Iran

Safavid Iran is covered here in 6 connected parts: Safavid Iran, Safavid order, Safavid dynasty, Abbas the Great, Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, List of Safavid monarchs.

Safavid Iran

The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled by the Safavid dynasty from 1501 to 1736, though some historians date its fall to 1722, when Isfahan fell to the Afghans. It is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires.^[1]

Names

The Guarded Domains of Iran was the common and official name of the Safavid realm, and it remained the country's official title under subsequent rulers until 1924. The idea of the Guarded Domains illustrated a feeling of territorial and political uniformity in a society where the Persian language, culture, monarchy, and Shia Islam became integral elements of the developing national identity. The concept presumably had started to form under the Ilkhanate in the late 13th century, contributing to the establishment of the early modern Persianate society.^[1]

Background

Safavid history begins with the establishment of the Zahediyeh Sufi order in Gilan by its eponymous founder Zahed Gilani. Having no male heir, Zahed married his daughter to his favorite disciple, Safi al-Din Ardabili, and appointed him as the spiritual successor of the Zahediyeh order. Safi al-Din succeeded him upon his death in 1301, and through his great spiritual charisma, the Zahediyeh order gained enormous influence in the city of Ardabil—Hamdullah Mustaufi noted that most of the people of Ardabil were followers of Safi al-Din.^[1]

Society

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.^[1]

Turks and Tajiks

The power structure of the Safavid state was mainly divided into two groups: the Turkic-speaking military – whose job was to maintain the territorial integrity and continuity of the Iranian empire through their leadership – and the Persian-speaking administrative/governing elite – whose job was to oversee the operation and development of the nation and its identity through their high positions.^[1]

The third force: Caucasians

From 1540 and onwards, Shah Tahmasp initiated a gradual transformation of the Iranian society by slowly constructing a new branch and layer solely composed of ethnic Caucasians. The implementation of this branch would be significantly widened and completed under Abbas the Great (Abbas I).^[1]

Religion

Even though the Safavids were not the first Shiʻi rulers in Iran, they played a crucial role in forcefully making Shiʻa Islam the official religion in the whole of Iran, as well as what is nowadays the Republic of Azerbaijan. There were large Shiʻi communities in some cities like Qom, Sabzevar, and Kashan as early as the 8th century. In the 10th and 11th centuries the Buyids, originally Zaydi, then Twelver, ruled most of western Iran and Iraq.^[1]

Government

The Safavid state was one of checks and balance, both within the government and on a local level. 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. So absolute was his power, that the French merchant, and later ambassador to Iran, Jean Chardin thought the Safavid Shahs ruled their land with an iron fist and often in a despotic manner.^[1]

Structure

There probably did not exist any parliament, as we know them today. But the Portuguese ambassador to the Safavids, De Gouvea, still mentions the Council of State in his records, which perhaps was a term for governmental gatherings of the time.^[1]

The royal court

As for the royal household, the highest post was that of the nazir, court minister. He was perhaps the closest advisor to the shah, and, as such, functioned as his eyes and ears within the court. His primary job was to appoint and supervise all the officials of the household and to be their contact with the shah.^[1]

Related: Safavid order · Safavid dynasty · Abbas the Great · Iran · Iran Hormuz Strait live: latest updates and reaction

External references: ^[1][2][3]

Safavid order

The Safavid order (Persian: طریقت صفویه), also called the Safawiyya (Persian: صفویه, romanized: Safaviyeh), was a Sufi order (tariqa) founded by the mystic Zahed Gilani and named after his son-in-law and successor Safi al-Din Ardabili (1252–1334 AD). Starting in the early 1300s, the leaders of the Safavid movement clearly showed that they wanted political power as well as religious authority. This ambition made the rulers of western Iran and Iraq first feel uneasy, and later, they became openly hostile.^[4]

History

The Safaviyya, while initially founded by Safi-ad-Din Ardabili under the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam, later adoptions of Shia concepts by his grandchildren resulted in the order becoming associated with Twelverism. Safi-ad-Din's importance in the order is attested in two letters by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. In one, Rashid al-Din pledges an annual offering of foodstuffs to Safi-al-Din, and in the other, Rashid al-Din writes to his son, the governor of Ardabil, advising him to show proper respect and comportment to the mystic.^[4]

List of leaders

Safi al-Din Ardabili, son-in-law of Zahed Gilani, 1301–1334^[4]

Related: Safavid Iran · Safavid dynasty · Abbas the Great

External references: ^[4][5][6]

Safavid dynasty

The Safavid dynasty (; Persian: دودمان صفوی, romanized: Dudmân-e Safavi, pronounced [d̪uːd̪ˈmɒːne sæfæˈviː]) was the ruling dynasty of Safavid Iran, and one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shah Ismail I established the Twelver denomination of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam.^[7]

Genealogy

The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be sayyids, family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although many scholars have cast doubt on this claim. There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Iranian Kurdistan, and later moved to Iranian Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah.^[7]

Revision of the family genealogy

The source of legitimacy changed from the Chinggisids to the Alids when the Safavids captured the Iranian throne in 1501. The exact Alid ancestry of the Safavids had not yet been formally recorded in their genealogical tree when Ismail I declared his support to Shia Islam in 1501. Leaders of the Safavid order had already claimed ancestry from Muhammad's family during their revolutionary phase in 1447–1501.^[7]

Self-identification and worldview

The identity created by the Safavid monarchs and the Persian-speaking urban elites who backed them was based on religion. The Safavids portrayed themselves as the rightful successors of the Twelve Imams in Shia Islam and reinforced this claim through their fabricated genealogical link to the third Shia Imam, Husayn ibn Ali, through his supposed marriage to Shahrbanu, the daughter of last Sasanian ruler Yazdegerd III. By constructing this lineage, the Safavids emphasized their Persian genealogical heritage.^[7]

Culture

After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in the 7th century, the idea of Iran as a political state ceased to exist, but it continued to shape Iranian national sentiment. Under the Mongol Ilkhanate (1256–1335), this notion was revived. After settling firmly in Iran, the Mongols actively supported its cultural heritage, centering their patronage on the Shahnameh.^[7]

Regnal titles

Like their Aq Qoyunlu predecessors, the Safavids used the title of Shahanshah (King of Kings) of Iran. The Safavids were referred to through various titles by the Ottoman sultans, such as "king of Iranian lands", "sultan of the lands of Iran", "the king of kings of Iran, the lord of the Persians" and the "holders of the glory of Jamshid and the vision of Fereydun and the wisdom of Dara."^[7]

Legacy and assessment

Iran's modern period is often linked to the Safavid dynasty, which also laid the groundwork for the Iranian nation-state. Under them, Iran became a unified political entity, while its largely tribal and nomadic population became settled, relying on agriculture and trade for revenue. Patrimonial kingship, which combined territorial authority with religious legitimacy, was introduced by the Safavids and, with some modifications, endured until the 20th century.^[7]

Cadet branches

Despite efforts undertaken by Safavid shahs in subduing their familial branches, namely confining princes to the harem, the Bahrami-Safavid line held considerable power from 1517 to 1593, and in the face of pressure from Shah Abbas the Great for centralisation, migrated to India in the 1590s. They were the descendants of Bahram Mirza Safavi, son of Ismail I, and among their principal members were Rustam Mirza Safavi, an influential subahdar and courtier, and two wives of the Mughal emperors, Dilras Banu Begum and Kandahari Begum. They survived in India for two centuries.^[7]

Related: Safavid Iran · Safavid order · Abbas the Great

External references: ^[7][8][9]

Abbas the Great

Abbas I (Persian: عباس یکم, romanized: Abbâs-e Yekom; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (Persian: عباس بزرگ, romanized: Abbâs-e Bozorg), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers in Iranian history and the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. Although Abbas would reign over Safavid Iran at its military, political and economic height, he came to the throne during a period of instability in the empire.^[10]

Early life

Abbas I claimed a fictitious lineage going back to Fatima and Ali. He was born on 27 January 1571, in Herat, and was the third son of Mohammad Khodabanda and his wife, Khayr al-Nisa Begum. His father was the first-born son of Tahmasp I, the second Shah of Safavid Iran.^[10]

Ascension

After the queen's death, Hamza Mirza, aged eleven, was proclaimed crown prince. The Qizilbash found no reason to fear a child. So they took control over the realm while fighting among themselves over the division of power.^[10]

Abbas takes control

The empire Abbas inherited was in a desperate state. The Ottomans had seized vast territories in the west and the north-west (including the major city of Tabriz) and the Uzbeks had overrun half of Khorasan in the north-east. Iran itself was riven by fighting between the various factions of the Qizilbash, who had mocked royal authority by killing the queen in 1579 and the grand vizier Mirza Salman Jaberi in 1583.^[10]

Reducing the Qizilbash's power and Caucasus invasions

The Qizilbash had provided the backbone of the Safavid army from the very beginning of Safavid rule and they also occupied many posts in the government. As a result, effective power in the state in the early days of the dynasty was held by the Qizilbash, leaving the shah often powerless. To counterbalance their power and as a decisive answer to this problem, Abbas turned to the newly introduced members of Iranian society (an initiative put in place by Shah Tahmasp I) the ghulams (a word literally meaning "slaves").^[10]

Reforming the army

Abbas needed ten years to get his army into shape so that he could effectively confront his Ottoman and Uzbek enemies. During this period, the Uzbeks and the Ottomans took swaths of territory from Iran. He also used military reorganisation as another way of side-lining the Qizilbash.^[10]

Consolidation of the Empire

During the 1590s, Abbas moved to depose the provincial rulers of Persia. He started with Khan Ahmad Khan, the ruler of Gilan, who had disobeyed Abbas' orders when he requested that Khan Ahmad Khan's daughter Yakhan Begum marry Abbas' son, Mohammad Baqer Mirza, since Khan Ahmad Khan had no male successor. Khan Ahmad Khan disagreed due to the age of his daughter.^[10]

War against the Khanate of Bukhara

Abbas' first campaign with his reformed army was against the Uzbeks who had seized Khorasan and were ravaging the province. In April 1598 he went on the attack. One of the two main cities of the province, Mashhad, was easily recaptured but the Uzbek leader Din Mohammed Khan was safely behind the walls of the other chief city, Herat.^[10]

War against the Ottomans

The Safavids had not yet beaten their archrival, the Ottomans, in battle. After a particularly arrogant series of demands from the Ottoman ambassador, the Shah had him seized, had his beard shaved and sent it to his master, the sultan, in Constantinople. This was effectively a declaration of war.^[10]

Quelling the Georgian uprisings

Between 1614 and 1616, during the Ottoman–Safavid War, Abbas suppressed a rebellion led by his formerly loyal Georgian subjects Luarsab II and Teimuraz I.^[10]

Related: Safavid Iran · Safavid order · Safavid dynasty

External references: ^[10][11][12]

Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam

Following their rise to power in Iran in the 16th century, the Safavid dynasty initiated a campaign of forced conversion against the Iranian populace, seeking to replace Sunni Islam, whose Shafi'i school of jurisprudence pervaded the country, as the denomination of the majority of the population. Over the course of three centuries, the Safavids (who were Twelver Shias) heavily persecuted Sunni Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other religious groups, eventually transforming Iran into a bastion of Shia Islam. This process led to hostilities with Iran's Sunni-majority neighbours, most notably the Ottoman Empire.^[13]

Background

After the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in 632, a group of followers (Shia) of his cousin Ali proclaimed the latter as the legitimate heir and caliph. But the hopes of this group were not achieved for thirty years, during which time Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman—three of the Prophet's Companions—became caliphs. Sunni Islam was eventually represented by these caliphs.^[13]

Under Ismail I

During the reign of the first Safavid shah (king), Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), the military, political, and religious goals of the Safavids became unified. In 1501, he proclaimed himself the King of Kings and the creator of a new Shia state, thus creating a strong ideological foundation.^[13]

Under Tahmasp I

In 1524, Ismail I was succeeded by his son Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576). It was during his rule that Shia Islam in Iran solidified itself.^[13]

Under Ismail II

Tahmasp I was succeeded by his son Ismail II (r. 1576–1577), who immediately decided to overturn many of the religious policies established by his father and grandfather. He opted for a kinder approach toward Sunnis and attempted to halt the anti-Sunni propaganda that had gained popularity under his father.^[13]

Under Mohammad Khodabanda and Abbas the Great

Ismail II was succeeded by Tahmasp's eldest son, Mohammad Khodabanda (r. 1578–1587), under whom Twelver Shia Islam was restored as the official religion of the realm. By the early reign of Abbas the Great in the end of the 16th century, the majority of Iranians had accepted Shia Islam and virtually, Sunni Islam had disappeared from the central Safavid provinces, only remaining on the outskirts of the realm, such as in Kurdistan, Afghanistan and Baluchistan.^[13]

Under Soltan Hoseyn

The religiosity of Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722) is implied through the numerous awqaf he gifted. He may not have been as intolerant as he commonly is described, as implied by his trust in the Sunni grand vizier Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, his interest when visiting to the Armenian churches of New Jolfa, as well as the numerous decrees (farman) he declared, which protected the Christian population of Iran and allowed Catholic missionaries to perform their work.^[13]

The status, practices and reception of the Shia ulama

Even after two centuries of Persianization, the cultural orientation of the Shia ulama remained largely unchanged. Masquerading with their madrasa (religious school) education, they displayed an anti-intellectual attitude through a strong focus on hadith, conservatism, ritualistic practices in Shia Islam, opposition against diversity, and a heavy emphasis on the stories of the Imams' suffering. It was characteristic of their sociocultural stance that they were hostile to Persian literary and artistic endeavors and treated even ordinary Shia Muslims with disrespect.^[13]

Immigration of Arab Shia scholars from Jabal Amil

The Arab Shia scholars of Jabal Amil in Southern Lebanon proved to be eager allies and supporters for Ismail I and his advisors. After years of persecution in their own country by the Mamluks and then the Ottomans, they found a benefactor in Ismail I and a place of luxury and esteem in Safavid Iran. The Amilis (and Arab scholars from other regions) were intentionally placed in important religious and quasi-administrative positions by the early Safavid Shahs, so that they could spread their well-defined Islamic creed rooted in the Shia school of thought (madhhab).^[13]

Shia scholars from Mazandaran, including the Mar'ashis

In the 1530s and 1540s, the Safavid household was under heavy influence by the Uskuya sayyids of Tabriz. A new network of sayyids, mostly from Mazandaran, rose to prominence in politics and administration with the capital shift to Qazvin in the 1550s. In recent scholarship, greater attention has been given to the increasing influence of the Mazandarani religious elite within the Safavid state, a subject historically overshadowed by the focus on theologians from Jabal Amil.^[13]

Related: Safavid Iran · Safavid order · Safavid dynasty · Iran · Iran Hormuz Strait live: latest updates and reaction

External references: ^[13][14]

List of Safavid monarchs

, The Safavid monarchs were the rulers of Iran after the establishment of the Safavid Empire by Shah Ismail I following his victory over the Aq Qoyunlu at the Siege of Tabriz in 1501. The following table lists all the Safavid monarchs of Iran.^[15]

Related: Safavid Iran · Safavid order · Safavid dynasty

External references: ^[15][16][17]