Bellringer

In your opinion, what is the best way to
decide who is going to be the next ruler of
a country and why?
 Ex.
Should it be decided by bloodline, elected,
or simply chosen by the current leader.
The Rule of the
Safavids
Think, Pair, Share
Yesterday you read The World of
Suleyman (pages 246-247)
 Discuss/review with a partner 3 minutes.

Rise of the Safavid Dynasty

Took control of the area extending from
Persia to Asia in the 16th Century.
 Shiite
Muslims (Shia Islam)
What were the Ottoman's? Sunnis
Shah Ismail

Founder of the Safavid Dynasty.
 Seized

A.K.A. the Shaw
 The

much of Iran and Iraq in 1501.
king of a new Persian state.
Started a conflict that is still being fought
today.
Shiite’s vs. Sunni’s


Ismail massacred Sunni Muslims when he
conquered Baghdad in 1508.
Tried to use Shiite faith as unifying force.
claimed himself the “spiritual leader of all
Islam” as did the Ottoman Sultan.
 Shaw

The Ottomans fought back forcing the Shaw to
sign a peace treaty.
 Moved
the capital east from Tabriz to Isfahan.
Safavid Glory

The Safavids reached their high point
under Shah Abbas.
 Created
a system much like the Ottoman Janissaries
and supplied his army with the latest technology.
 Moved against Ottomans to regain lost territory.
Safavid Decline

The Safavid Dynasty lost it’s vigor after
Abbas Death in 1629.
 His

successors lacked his talent and political skills.
Shiite religious power began to increase at court
and in Society.
The mosque of Najaf in Iraq, holy site for Shi'ite Muslims
Religious Orthodoxy
The pressure to conform to traditional
religious beliefs.
 Created less intellectual freedom.
 Persian women forced into seclusion and
forced to were a veil.

Political and Social Structures
Persia under the Safavids was a mixed
society of Turks and Persians.
 The pyramid-shaped political systems
placed the :

– Top
 Bureaucracy and landed classes – Middle
 Common people - Low
 Shaw
The Role of the Shah

Shiite’s eagerly supported Safavid rule due to the belief
that the founder was a descendent of Muhammad.



Shiism declared state religion.
Shaw’s controlled the power of the landed aristocracy
bring new lands under the crowns control.
Appointment to the bureaucracy was by merit, not birth.
Economy and Trade



Shahs were active in trade and manufacturing.
All goods in the empire traveled by horse or
camel.
Safavid Empire not as prosperous as the
Ottoman Empire or the Mogul.
 Never
successful enough to trade with Europe.
Safavid Culture



Knowledge of science, medicine, and mathematics
under the Safavids equaled that of other societies of the
region.
Persia had an extraordinary flowering of the arts under
Shah Abbas.
Silk weaving based on new techniques flourished.
Riza-i-Abbasi



The most famous
artist of the period.
Painted simple
subjects such as oxen
plowing, hunters, and
lovers.
Soft colors and
flowing movement.
3 Circle Venn Diagram


Make a 3 Circle Venn Diagram to compare
and contrast the three Muslim Empires:
1. Ottoman Empire
2. Safavid
3. Mogul (Will Cover tomorrow)
Be careful to place information in the
correct areas.

Overlap areas indicate items that all empires
have in common