Safi al-Din
•Founder of Islamic
religious brotherhood
whose followers were
known as Safavids.
–15th Century: aligned
themselves with the Shi’a
branch of Islam
Geography
•Squeezed in
between the
Ottoman
Empire & the
Mughal Empire.
Because of this
they built an
incredibly
strong army.
Isma’il
• Took the throne @ the
age of 12:
– Immediately wanted
to conquer Persia. . .
– When he was 14 he
completed the task. . . .
• Conquered Persia
(modern-day Iran)
• Took the name of
“Shah”, or king, to
celebrate
Isma’il
• Established Shi’a Islam as
the state religion.
–Isma’il became a
religious tyrant.
–Any citizen who didn’t
convert was put to
death.
• Destroyed the Sunni
population of Baghdad in
his confrontation with the
Ottomans.
1514: The Battle of Chaldiran
•Ottoman Empire vs. Safavid
Empire
–Ottomans won with the use of
gunpowder and the border
was set between the two
empires. (modern day borders
between Iran and Iraq).
1514: The Battle of Chaldiran
• Ottoman Empire vs.
Safavid Empire
– The Ottoman
Sultan, Selim the
Grim, later ordered
the execution of all
Shi’a in the
Ottoman Empire. .
– Over 40,000
people were killed.
Tahmasp
• Isma’il’s son –
Learned from the
Safavids’ defeat
at the Battle of
Chaldiran.
–Learned to use
gunpowder and
artillery in the
military.
Tahmasp
• He expanded the
Safavid Empire up to
the Caucasus
Mountains, northeast
of Turkey, and
brought Christians
under Safavid rule.
• He laid the
groundwork for the
Golden Age of the
Safavids.
Shah Abbas
•Also known as
Abbas the Great.
•Took the throne in
1587.
•Created a Golden
Age by drawing
from the Ottoman,
Persian, and Arab
cultures.
Shah Abbas
• Reformed both military and civilian life
• He limited the power of the military &
created two new armies that would be
loyal to him alone.
–One Army was made up of Persians.
–The other was a force that Shah Abbas
recruited from the Christian north &
modeled after the Ottoman janissaries.
• He armed both armies artillery.
Shah Abbas
• Government Reforms:
– Punished corruption
severely
– Promoted only officials
who proved their
competence & loyalty.
– He hired foreigners
from neighboring
countries to fill
positions in the
government.
Shah Abbas
• Religious Reform:
– Brought in
members of
Christian religious
orders to prove to
the European
merchants that
his empire was
tolerant of all
religions.
Shah Abbas
•Religious Reform:
–This brought Europeans
into the land and
industry, trade, and art
exchanges grew between
the Safavid Empire and
European nations.
Esfahan
Esfahan
• The city was
raided and
most of its
inhabitants
were
massacred by
the Mongols in
the 13th
century.
Esfahan
•The Golden Age of Esfahan
arrived in the 16th Century under
Shah Abbas the Great, who
conquered it and made it the
new capital of the Safavid
dynasty.
•Design covered 4 ½ miles & was
considered one of the most
beautiful cities in the world.
Esfahan • It served as a showplace for
many artisans, both foreign
& Safavid, who worked on
the buildings and the objects
in them.
–Examples:
•300 Chinese potters
produced glazed building
tiles for the buildings in
the city.
•Armenians wove carpets.
The Golden Age of Esfahan
•Esfahan had parks,
libraries and mosques that
amazed Europeans, who
had not seen anything like
this at home.
The Golden Age of Esfahan
• The Persians called Esfahan “Nesf-eJahan”, meaning “half the world”.
• They felt that to see Esfahan was to
see half the world, and also referring
to it as a point where many cultures
and nationalities meet and mingled.
• Esfahans population was over a
500,000 people.
The Golden Age of Esfahan
• Shah Abbas brought hundreds of Chinese
artisans to Esfahan.
• Working with Safavid artists, they
produced intricate metalwork, miniature
paintings, calligraphy, glasswork, tile
work, and pottery. These decorations
beautified the many mosques, palaces,
and marketplaces.
• This collaboration gave rise to artwork
that blended Chinese & Persian ideas.
The Golden Age of Esfahan
• Carpets
–The most important result of
Western influence on the Safavids.
–This demand changed carpet
weaving from a local craft to a
national industry.
–In the beginning, carpets reflected
traditional Persian themes but then
the designs incorporated new
themes.
The Golden Age of Esfahan
th
•16
Century:
–Shah Abbas sent artists to
Italy to study under the
Renaissance artist Raphael.
–Rugs then began to reflect
European designs.
The Dynasty Declines Quickly. . .
• In finding a successor, Shah Abbas made
the same mistake as the Ottoman
Sultan Suleyman
–He killed or blinded his ablest sons.
–His incompetent grandson, Safi,
succeeded Shah Abbas.
–Safi led the Safavids down the same
road to decline that the Ottomans
had taken, only quicker.
1736: Nadir Shah Afshar
•Began to expand the Safavid
Empire again!!!
•He conquered land all the way to
India but was so cruel that one of
his own troops assassinated him
in 1747.
•After this the Safavid Empire fell
apart.