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AKS 41: The Safavid Empire. 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.
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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).
Safavid Empire Ottoman Empire (look @ the guns!!!)
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 • 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-e-Jahan”, 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 • 16th 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.
