Safavid Persian Empire

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 the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shāh Ismā'īl I established the Twelver denomination of Shīʿa Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic GreekAnthony Bryer. "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 29'' (1975), Appendix II "Genealogy of the Muslim Marriages of the Princesses of Trebizond" dignitaries, nevertheless they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified. From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.

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.

Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", their architectural innovations, and patronage for fine arts. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by establishing Twelver Shīʿīsm as the state religion of Iran, as well as spreading Shīʿa Islam in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia.

Genealogy—ancestors of the Safavids and its multi-cultural identity

The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be sayyids, family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although many scholars have cast doubt on this claim. There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Iranian Kurdistan, and later moved to Iranian Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah.RM Savory. Ebn Bazzaz.
''Encyclopædia Iranica''

According to historians,É. Á. Csató, B. Isaksson, C Jahani. ''Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic'', Routledge, 2004, p. 228, . including Vladimir Minorsky and Roger Savory, the Safavids were of Turkicized Iranian origin:

By the time of the establishment of the Safavid empire, the members of the family were Turkicized and Turkish-speaking, and some of the Shahs composed poems in their then-native Turkish language. Concurrently, the Shahs themselves also supported Persian literature, poetry and art projects including the grand ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp, while members of the family and some Shahs composed Persian poetry as well.

The authority of the Safavids was religiously based, and their claim to legitimacy was founded on being direct male descendants of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and regarded by the Shiʻa as the first Imam.

Furthermore, the dynasty was from the very start thoroughly intermarried with both Pontic Greek as well as Georgian lines. In addition, from the official establishment of the dynasty in 1501, the dynasty would continue to have many intermarriages with both Circassian as well as again Georgian dignitaries, especially with the accession of Tahmasp I.

Safavid Shahs of Iran

*Ismail I 1501–1524
*Tahmasp I 1524–1576
*Ismail II 1576–1578
*Mohammad Khodabanda 1578–1587
* Abbas I 1587–1629
* Safi 1629–1642
* Abbas II 1642–1666
* Suleiman I 1666–1694
*Soltan Hoseyn 1694–1722
*Tahmasp II 1722–1732
*Abbas III 1732–1736

Mothers of Safavid Shahs

Culture

The Safavid family was a literate family from its early origin. There are extant Tati and Persian poetry from Shaykh Safi ad-din Ardabili as well as extant Persian poetry from Shaykh Sadr ad-din. Most of the extant poetry of Shah Ismail I is in Azerbaijani pen-name of Khatai.V. Minorsky, "The Poetry of Shāh Ismā‘īl I", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London 10/4 (1942): 1006–53. Sam Mirza, the son of Shah Ismail as well as some later authors assert that Ismail composed poems both in Turkish and Persian but only a few specimens of his Persian verse have survived."Ismail Safavi" ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' A collection of his poems in Azeri were published as a Divan. Shah Tahmasp who has composed poetry in Persian was also a painter, while Shah Abbas II was known as a poet, writing Azerbaijani verses. Sam Mirza, the son of Ismail I was himself a poet and composed his poetry in Persian. He also compiled an anthology of contemporary poetry.Emeri "van" Donzel, ''Islamic Desk Reference'', Brill Academic Publishers, 1994, p. 393.

Safavid Dynasty, Horse and Groom, by Haydar Ali, early 16th century.jpg
Safavid Dynasty, Woman with a Spray of Flowers, circa 1575 AD.jpg
Safavid Dynasty, Joseph Enthroned from a Falnama (Book of Omens), circa 1550 AD.jpg
Shirin bathing, being approached by Khusraw, Safavid miniature painting, Iran.jpg

See also

*Khanates of the Caucasus
*List of Shi'a Muslim dynasties
* Persianate states
*Safavid art
*Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam
*Trade in Iran's Safavid era

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

* Christoph Marcinkowski (tr.), ''Persian Historiography and Geography: Bertold Spuler on Major Works Produced in Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, India and Early Ottoman Turkey'', Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2003, .
* Christoph Marcinkowski (tr., ed.), ''Mirza Rafi‘a's Dastur al-Muluk: A Manual of Later Safavid Administration. Annotated English Translation, Comments on the Offices and Services, and Facsimile of the Unique Persian Manuscript'', Kuala Lumpur, ISTAC, 2002, .
* Christoph Marcinkowski, ''From Isfahan to Ayutthaya: Contacts between Iran and Siam in the 17th Century'', Singapore, Pustaka Nasional, 2005, .

"The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors"
Adam Olearius, translated by John Davies (1662),

External links

History of the Safavids on Iran Chamber"Safavid dynasty"
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' by Rudi Matthee
* The History Files
BBC History of Religion"Georgians in the Safavid administration"
''Encyclopædia Iranica''

*[http://www.art-arena.com/safavidart.htm History of Safavid art]
A Study of the Migration of Shiʻi Works from Arab Regions to Iran at the Early Safavid Era.Why is Safavid history important?
(Iran Chamber Society)
Historiography During the Safawid Era"IRAN ix. RELIGIONS IN IRAN (2) Islam in Iran (2.3) Shiʿism in Iran Since the Safavids: Safavid Period"
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' by Hamid Algar

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Iranian Muslim dynasties
Monarchy in Persia and Iran
Early Modern history of Georgia (country)
Early Modern history of Armenia
Early Modern history of Azerbaijan
History of Dagestan
Early Modern history of Iraq
1501 establishments in Asia