The Sophy, also spelled Sofi, Sophie, Sophi, or Soffi, was a reference to the ruler of the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Even though Iran remained known in the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
by the
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
Persia (see
Name of Iran
In the Western world, ''Persia'' (or one of its cognates) was historically the common name used for Iran. On the Nowruz of 1935, Reza Shah officially asked foreign delegates to use the Persian term ''Iran'' (meaning the land of Aryans in Persian) ...
), which had been coined in "the days of the ancient Greeks", from the time of king
Abbas I (r. 1588-1629), the ruler of the nation came to be known as the "
Sophy
Sophy is an alternate spelling of the female given name Sophie, from the name Sophia, meaning "wise".
People with the name
* Sophy A. Christensen (1867–1955), Danish master carpenter and furniture designer
* Sophy Gray (architect) (1814 ...
", itself a corruption of the word "Safavi" - the dynasty to which Abbas I belonged.
Though the usage of "Sophy" gained much more prominence during Abbas I's rule, the word was in use to refer to the Safavid ruler since the time of the dynasty's founder,
Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
(r. 1501-1524).
An extensive number of references to Persia and its "Sophy" in
European literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, and ...
start with the reign of Abbas I and onwards.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' (published 1602) is noted as being amongst the early attestments to this.
Image:Shah Ismail I.jpg, European painting of Shah Ismail I with the title ''Sophy''
Image:Estampes par Nicolas de Larmessin.f152.Schach-Abas, grand Sophi de Perse.jpg, European painting of Shah Abbas II with the title ''Grand Sophy de Perse''
References
Sources
*
*
* {{cite book, last1=Savory, first1=Roger, authorlink1=Roger Savory, title=Iran Under the Safavids, date=2007, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-0521042512, page=259
Safavid Iran