safavid empire political structure

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. [197], In 16th and 17th century Iran, there existed a considerable number of local democratic institutions. What was the state religion of the Safavid Empire? In 1585 two events occurred that would combine to break the impasse among the Qizilbash. In the same year he occupied Ghazni, Kabul, and Lahore. The capture of Baghdad by Ismail I in 1509, was only followed by its loss to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1534. Blow; chapter: "English adventurers at the servise of Shah Abbas.". After the decline of the Timurid Empire (13701506), Iran was politically splintered, giving rise to a number of religious movements. [62] By 1511, the Uzbeks in the north-east, led by their Khan Muhammad Shaybni, were driven far to the north, across the Oxus River, where they continued to attack the Safavids. The Qizilbashi tribes were essential to the military of Iran until the rule of Shah Abbas Itheir leaders were able exercise enormous influence and participate in court intrigues (assassinating Shah Ismail II, for example). In the midst of these foreign perils, rebellion broke out in Khorasan fomented by (or on behalf of) Mohammad's son, Abbas. He also expelled (1602, 1622) the Portuguese traders who had seized the island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf early in the 16th century. What were the strengths of the Ottoman Empire? [183] It remains only a small minority in the Shii world. [50] As such, he was the last in the line of hereditary Grand Masters of the Safaviyeh order, prior to its ascent to a ruling dynasty. 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. In the 16th century, the Turcophone Safavid family of Ardabil in Azerbaijan, probably of Turkicized Iranian, origin, conquered Iran and established Turkic, the language of the court and the military, as a high-status vernacular and a widespread contact language, influencing spoken Persian, while written Persian, the language of high literature and civil administration, remained virtually unaffected in status and content. Then two Englishmen, Robert Sherley and his brother Anthony, helped Abbas I to reorganize the Shah's soldiers into a partially paid and well-trained standing army similar to the European model (which the Ottomans had already adopted). The Shah had a dozen of each in his service and would usually be accompanied by three doctors and three astrologers, who were authorized to sit by his side on various occasions. During the three centuries 1500-1800 the technology, organization, and ethnography of Persian agriculture, animal husbandry, manufacturing, and accounting underwent partial change. [2] Shah Abbas I recognized the commercial benefit of promoting the artsartisan's products provided much of Iran's foreign trade. In 1514, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I invaded western Armenia, causing the ill-prepared Safavid army to retreat. After Saf al-Dn, the leadership of the Safaviyya passed to Sadr al-Dn Ms ( 794/139192). 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. [78] Having to flee from city to city, Humayun eventually sought refuge at the court of Tahmsp in Qazvin in 1543. They were the continuers of the classical tradition of Islamic thought, which after Averroes died in the Arab west. The exercises that they took part in were for keeping the body supple and sturdy and to acquire skills in handling of arms. [191] In addition to these, there were separate officials appointed for the caretaking of royal banquets and for entertainment. Abbas also moved the capital to Isfahan, deeper into central Iran. Although the expedition never managed to return to Iran, being shipwrecked on the journey around Africa, it marked an important new step in contacts between Iran and Europe. The Afghans rode roughshod over their conquered territory for a dozen years, but were prevented from making further gains by Nadir Shah Afshar, a former slave who had risen to military leadership within the Afshar tribe in Khorasan, a vassal state of the Safavids. Even though the Safavids were not the first Shii rulers in Iran, they played a crucial role in making Shia Islam the official religion in the whole of Iran, as well as what is nowadays the Republic of Azerbaijan. 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. The carpets of Ardebil were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty. [157] There even are numerous recorded accounts of laymen that rose to high official posts, as a result of their merits. Richard Tapper. This warfare pattern repeated itself under Shah Tahmasp I and Sultan Suleiman I. The epic called the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), a stellar example of manuscript illumination and calligraphy, was made during Shah Tahmasp's reign. Chardin described one such event:[163]. Beginning in 1526 periodic battles broke out, beginning in northwest Iran but soon involving all of Khorasan. 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. 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. Safavid power and territory grew quickly, yet the empire was prone to Sunni attack from the Uzbeks in the North, Mughals in the . A Study of the Migration of Shii Works from Arab Regions to Iran at the Early Safavid Era. The Safavids generally ruled over a peaceful and prosperous empire. [106] The siege of Herat thus ended in 1583 without Ali Quli Khan's surrender, and Khorasan was in a state of open rebellion. 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. The greatest Safavid ruler was Shah Abbas I (r. 1587 - 1629), who modernized the Persian military, adding musketeers and artillery-men; moved the capital city deeper into the Persian heartland; and established a policy of tolerance towards Christians in the empire. Szczepanski, Kallie. 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). In the 16th century, carpet weaving evolved from a nomadic and peasant craft to a well-executed industry with specialization of design and manufacturing. The outstanding ruler of the Safavid dynasty, Abbas restored Persia as a great power, waging war . In the second half of the 9th/ 15th century, a religious, political and military movement was initiated under the leadership of Shaykh Junayd and Shaykh Haydar, the grandfather and father of Isma'il I. Examples of such were the trade and artisan guilds, which had started to appear in Iran from the 1500s. He created a religious order based in Shi'a Islam that gradually grew . The Safavids were poorly armed, while the Ottomans had muskets and artillery. When the young Shah Tahmsp took the throne, Iran was in a dire state. Ismail I continued to expand his base in northwestern Iran. What remained unchanged, however, was the constant threat of local disaffection with the weak central authority. On Tahmsps death support for a successor coalesced around two of his nine sons; the support divided on ethnic linesIsmail was supported by most of the Turkmen tribes as well as his sister Pari Khn Khnum, her Circassian uncle Shamkhal Sultan as well as the rest of the Circassians, while Haydar was mostly supported by the Georgians at court although he also had support from the Turkmen Ustajlu. The Common people were the lowest class on the pyramid in which they mainly consisted of farmers and herders. Of these various movements, the Safavid Qizilbash was the most politically resilient, and due to its success Shah Ismail I gained political prominence in 1501. The primary court language [with Abbas I's reign (r. 15881629)] remained Turkish. In private they usually wore a veil that only covered the hair and the back, but upon leaving the home, they put on manteaus, large cloaks that concealed their whole bodies except their faces. [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. By the time of Isml I, the orders sixth head, the afavs commanded enough support from the Kizilbashlocal Turkmens and other disaffected heterodox tribesto enable him to capture Tabrz from the Ak Koyunlu (Turkish: White Sheep), an Uzbek Turkmen confederation. Since two other sons had predeceased him, the result was a personal tragedy for Shah Abbas. Ottoman Political Hierarchy. He recognized the ineffectualness of his army, which was consistently being defeated by the Ottomans who had captured Georgia and Armenia and by Uzbeks who had captured Mashhad and Sistan in the east. These early, successful governments make the Ottoman Empire one of the most important in history. Located in the central Middle East, the kingdom occupied a fundamental geographic location and had substantial effect in the stability of the region. Between 1508 and 1524, the year of Ismail's death, the shah appointed five successive Persians to the office of vakil. As the spiritual heir of Sheikh Zahed, Safi Al-Din transformed the inherited Zahediyeh Sufi Order into the Safaviyeh Order. Safavid culture is often admired for the large-scale city planning and architecture, achievements made during the reign of later shahs, but the arts of persian miniature, book-binding and calligraphy, in fact, never received as much attention as they did during his time. [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. This defection of two of the shah's most trusted subjects and gholams infuriated the shah, as reported by the Safavid court historian Iskander Beg Munshi. The Mughal empire was forced into a heavy tribute. The status of physicians during the Safavids stood as high as ever. The Ilkhanid ruler ljait converted to Twelver Shiism in the 13th century. Henceforth a treaty, signed in Qasr-e Shirin known as the Treaty of Zuhab was established delineating a border between Iran and Turkey in 1639, a border which still stands in northwest Iran/southeast Turkey. The majority were deported to Iran, while some were slaughtered. The Safavid Empire was a theocracy. [121] Moreover, he planned to deport all nobles of Kartli. In fact, it was the founder of the Safavid Empire, Shah Ismail I, who forcibly converted Iran from Sunni to Shi'a Islam and established Shi'ism as the state religion. On the death of Ismail II there were three candidates for succession: Shh Shuj', the infant son of Ismail (only a few weeks old), Ismail's brother, Mohammad Khodabanda; and Mohammads son, Sultan Hamza Mirza, 11 years old at the time. For most of the last decade of Ismail's reign, the domestic affairs of the empire were overseen by the Tajik vizier Mirza Shah Hossein until his assassination in 1523. The Spanish demanded Abbas break off relations with the English before they would consider relinquishing the town. A specific Turkic language was attested in Safavid Persia during the 16th and 17th centuries, a language that Europeans often called Persian Turkish ("Turc Agemi", "lingua turcica agemica"), which was a favourite language at the court and in the army because of the Turkic origins of the Safavid dynasty. 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 Persians schools of thought were the true heirs of the great Islamic thinkers of the golden age of Islam, whereas in the Ottoman empire there was an intellectual stagnation, as far as the traditions of Islamic philosophy were concerned. 21920. It was perhaps to perpetuate the distinction of Persian from Arabic culture that attracted the Iranians towards Shi'a Islamthe heartland and sacred sites of Sunni Islam would always be in the Arabian peninsula. For . Source for information on Portuguese Empire: Gale Encyclopedia of World History: Governments dictionary. 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. [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. A new age in Iranian architecture began with the rise of the Safavid dynasty. 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. (ed.). Safavid Empire c. 1630. One of the Shirley brothers, Robert Shirley, would lead Abbas's second diplomatic mission to Europe from 1609 to 1615. [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. 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. It was certainly not an oligarchy, nor was it an aristocracy. [224][225][226], In the long term, however, the seaborne trade route was of less significance to the Persians than was the traditional Silk Road. Constant wars with the Ottomans made Shah Tahmasp I move the capital from Tabriz, into the interior city of Qazvin in 1548. He was a disciple of the famed Sufi Grand Master Sheikh Zahed Gilani (12161301) of Lahijan. "The Safavid Empire of Persia." The Safavid empire had a strong social structure with kings and royals at the top and peasants at the bottom. [158], Nevertheless, the Iranian society during the Safavids was that of a hierarchy, with the Shah at the apex of the hierarchical pyramid, the common people, merchants and peasants at the base, and the aristocrats in between. [83] Although the first slave soldiers would not be organized until the reign of Abbas I, during Tahmasp's reign, Caucasians already became important members of the royal household, Harem and in the civil and military administration,[86][87] and were on their way of becoming an integral part of society. Safavid dynasty, ruling dynasty of Iran from 1501 to 1736, known especially for its architectural achievements and its establishment of Twelver Shi'ism among various ethnic and linguistic groups throughout Iran as a major unifying factor. Founded by Shah Ismail in the early 1500s, the Safavid dynasty broke with the Sunni Muslims, declared independence and enforced Shiite Islam as their state religion. Safavid, like other Empires had a long standing hierarchy. The Qizilbash were a wide variety of Shii Muslims (ghult) and mostly Turcoman militant groups who helped found the Safavid Empire. He enjoyed tremendous power and control over national affairs as he was the immediate deputy of the Shah. 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. [49] According to Arnold J. Toynbee,[245], In the heyday of the Mughal, Safawi, and Ottoman regimes New Persian was being patronized as the language of litterae humaniores by the ruling element over the whole of this huge realm, while it was also being employed as the official language of administration in those two-thirds of its realm that lay within the Safawi and the Mughal frontiers. According to author Moojan Momen, "up to the middle of the 19th century there were very few mujtahids (three or four) anywhere at any one time," but "several hundred existed by the end of the 19th century. [136][137] Henceforward, the number of diplomatic missions to and fro greatly increased. Tabriz was taken but the Ottoman army refused to follow the Safavids into the Persian highlands and by winter, retreated from Tabriz. From 1609-1610, war broke out between Kurdish tribes and Safavid Empire. Establishment of Shi'ism as the state religion, Conflict between Turcomans and Persians during the Safavid period, E. Yarshater, "Language of Azerbaijan, vii., Persian language of Azerbaijan,". Later, during the Safavid and especially Qajar period, the Shii Ulema's power increased and they were able to exercise a role, independent of or compatible with the government. [219] He convinced the British to assist him by allowing them to open factories in Shiraz, Isfahan and Jask. The latter were all secular functionaries working on behalf of the Shah.[200]. In 1545 a combined IranianMughal force managed to seize Kandahar and occupy Kabul. Due to his fear of assassination, Shah Abbas either put to death or blinded any member of his family who aroused his suspicion. Its founder was the Persian[1] mystic Sheikh Safi al-Din (12541334), after whom the order was named. And with the assistance of the Muscovy Company they could cross over to Moscow, reaching Europe via Poland. 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). [161], Unlike Europeans, they much disliked physical activity, and were not in favor of exercise for its own sake, preferring the leisure of repose and luxuries that life could offer. As a result of Mongol conquest, and relative religious tolerance of Ilhanids, Shi'a dynasties were established in IranSarbedaran in Khorasan being the most important. Another official selected by the consensus of the local community was the kadkhoda, who functioned as a common law administrator. After subsequent campaigns, the Safavids recaptured Baghdad in 1623 during the OttomanSafavid War (162339) yet lost it again to Murad IV in 1638 after Abbas had died. 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). But the reverse seems not to have been true. The abdication of Nicholas II on March 15, 1917, marked the end of the empire and its ruling Romanov dynasty. From then on Cyrus was called the " shah ," or king, of Persia. Roemer, H.R. As one of the powerful "gunpowder empires" of the age, the Safavids re-established Persia's place as a key player in economics and geopolitics at the intersection of the eastern and western worlds. The Safavid Empire, based in Persia (Iran), ruled over much of southwestern Asia from 1501 to 1736. The epic Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), a stellar example of manuscript illumination and calligraphy, was made during Shah Tahmasp's reign. 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. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Iran , Azerbaijan and Armenia, most of Iraq , Georgia , Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Turkey. [80] Humayun handed over Kandahar, but Tahmsp was forced to retake it in 1558, after Humayun seized it on the death of the Safavid governor. Figueroa heard Abbas speak Georgian, which he had no doubt acquired from his Georgian ghulams and concubines. They wanted to spread "Shiism by military means." They viewed the leader of the Empire with . The Safavid dynasty (/sfvd, s-/; Persian: , pronounced [dudmne sfvi]) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. After the death of Shah Abbs I (1629), the Safavid dynasty lasted for about a century, but, except for an interlude during the reign of Shah Abbs II (164266), it was a period of decline. Using traditional forms and materials, Reza Abbasi (15651635) introduced new subjects to Persian paintingsemi-nude women, youth, lovers. The period of the Safavids, the dynasty that took control of Persia in the early 16th century, is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history, just as the state they created is said to mark the genesis of the Persian nation-state. The Silk Road, which led through northern Iran to India, revived in the sixteenth century. Mir Damad is considered the founder of this school. "The Safavid Period". Moreover, he began to strengthen Shii practice by such things as forbidding in the new capital of Qazvin poetry and music which did not esteem Ali and the Twelve Imams. 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 second most senior appointment was the Grand Steward (Ichik Agasi bashi), who would always accompany the Shah and was easily recognizable because of the great baton that he carried with him. From this time the state began to take on a more Persian character. 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. "[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. Daggers were worn at the waist. Unlike other empires women had a lot of rights. Shah Soltan Hosein tried to forcibly convert his Afghan subjects in eastern Iran from Sunni to Shi'a Islam. 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. -Did a lot of things to improve and ruin the empire. S Social Interactions and Organization The political structure of the Safavid Empire was structured like a pyramid with the Shah at the very top of the pyramid, like a pope. Of ismail 's death, the Shah. [ 200 ] he had no doubt acquired from his Georgian and... 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