1977, p. 77. [30] The Safavid Shh Ism'l I established the Twelver denomination of Sha Islam as the official religion of the empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. The most significant of these was Ashura, when Shia Muslims mark the death of Husayn. The Safavids were descended from Sheikh af al-Dn (12531334) of Ardabl, head of the Sufi order of afaviyyeh (afawiyyah). From the evidence available at the present time, it is certain that the Safavid family was of indigenous Iranian stock, and not of Turkish ancestry as it is sometimes claimed. Indeed, one of the greatest legacies of the Safavids is the architecture. What remained unchanged, however, was the constant threat of local disaffection with the weak central authority. In 1545 a combined IranianMughal force managed to seize Kandahar and occupy Kabul. The first two years of Tahmsp's reign was consumed with Div Sultns efforts to eliminate Ustajlu from power. There were five main branches of military force - infantry, cavalry, fire-arms, elephants, and war boats. Read more. Roemer, H.R. Power passed to the Shi'a ulama (a religious council of wise men) which eventually deposed the Shahs and proclaimed the world's first Islamic Republic in the eighteenth century. Not only did the invasions bring about the end of the Abbasid empire and leave the centre of eastern Islamdom fractured, but the arrival of new Turkic peoples and dynasties throughout much of Islamdom shifted the axes of power into the hands of Turkic clans. Between 1508 and 1524, the year of Ismail's death, the shah appointed five successive Persians to the office of vakil. Safavid dynasty, (15011736), 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. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736 and 1750 to 1773) and, at their height, they controlled all of what is now Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. "The Safavid Period" in Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence. 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. Savory, R, Iran under the Safavids, p. 66. In the far eastern territories, the Mughals of India had expanded into Khorasan (now Afghanistan) at the expense of Iranian control, briefly taking Kandahar. From 1553 for forty years the shah was able to avoid being ensnared in tribal treacheries. Traditional architecture evolved in its patterns and methods leaving its impact on the architecture of the following periods. Pari Khn Khnum, sister of Ismail and Mohammad, hoped to act as regent for any of the three (including her older brother, who was nearly blind). [63] Furthermore, by the early 1510s Ismail's expansionistic policies had pushed the Safavid borders in Asia Minor even more westwards. Roemer, H. R. (1986). [201], Criminal justice was entirely separate from civil law and was judged upon common law administered through the Minister of Justice, local governors and the Court minister (the Nazir). Among these, the founder of one of the most successful f orders, Shh Ni'matullh Wal (d. 1431), traced his descent from the first Isml Imam, Muhammad ibn Isml, as evidenced in a poem as well as another unpublished literary composition. [128], Teimuraz returned to eastern Georgia in 1615 and defeated a Safavid force. More problematic for the Safavids was the powerful neighboring Ottoman Empire. Seven years later Shah ahmsp II recovered Efahn and ascended the throne, only to be deposed in 1732 by his Afshrid lieutenant Nadr Qol Beg (the future Ndir Shh). "Review of Emile Janssens'. In the next 10 years he subjugated the greater part of Iran and annexed the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad and Mosul. 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. [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. Richard Wilson, When Golden Time Convents: Twelfth Night and Shakespeare's Eastern Promise, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMunsh1978 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSstn (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJavakhishvili1970 (. [95] Mohammad would rule for 10 years, and his sister at first dominated the court, but she fell in the first of many intrigues which continued even though the Uzbeks and Ottomans again used the opportunity to threaten Safavid territory. [207], The Safavid economy was to a large extent based on agriculture and taxation of agricultural products. As the site of the martyrdom and burial of a number of Shiite Imams, it occupied an extraordinary place in the Twelver Shiite imagination, was part of a sacred geography, and formed a . Humayun was not the only royal figure to seek refuge at Tahmasp's court. Russo-Persian War (1651-1653) - Wikipedia [181], It achieved its greatest influence in the late Safavid and early post-Safavid era, when it dominated Twelver Shii Islam. Except for Shah Abbas II, the Safavid rulers after Abbas I were largely ineffectual. The treaty was the first formal diplomatic recognition of the Safavid Empire by the Ottomans. They began preaching Shi'a Islam. The problems of this division of spiritual and political authority is something that Iran is still working out today. Siege of Isfahan. [242] As such, the status of medicine in the Safavid period did not change much, and relied as much on these works as ever before. [243], The Safavids by the time of their rise were Azerbaijani-speaking although they also used Persian as a second language. 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.