The Safavids
The Safavids
The Safavids
•IN 1501, ISMAIL’S FORCES SEIZED MUCH OF IRAN AND IRAQ, AND HE CALLED
HIMSELF THE SHAH OF A NEW PERSIAN STATE.
•IN THE 18TH CENTURY, AFGHAN WARRIORS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF LOCAL REVOLTS TO SEIZE
THE CAPITAL OF ISFAHAN, FORCING THE REMNANTS OF THE SAFAVID RULING FAMILY TO
RETREAT TO AZERBAIJAN, THEIR ORIGINAL HOMELAND
•AFTER HIS DEATH, THE ZAND DYNASTY RULED UNTIL THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY
SAFAVID POLITICS AND SOCIETY
•LIKE THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, IRAN UNDER THE SAFAVIDS WAS A MIXED SOCIETY
•THE SAFAVIDS HAD COME TO POWER WITH THE SUPPORT OF NOMADIC
TURKIC-SPEAKING TRIBAL GROUPS, AND LEADING ELEMENTS FROM THOSE
GROUPS RETAINED CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE WITHIN THE EMPIRE
•BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION WERE IRANIAN; MOST OF THEM WERE
FARMERS OR TOWNSPEOPLE, WITH ATTITUDES INHERITED FROM THE RELATIVELY
SOPHISTICATED AND URBANIZED CULTURE OF PRE-SAFAVID IRAN
•FACED WITH THE PROBLEM OF INTEGRATING UNRULY TURKIC-SPEAKING
TRIBAL PEOPLES WITH THE SEDENTARY PERSIAN-SPEAKING POPULATION OF
THE URBAN AREAS, THE SAFAVIDS USED THE SHI’ITE FAITH AS A UNIFYING
FORCE
•AT ITS HEIGHT , SAFAVID IRAN WAS A WORTHY SUCCESSOR OF THE GREAT
PERSIAN EMPIRES OF THE PAST, ALTHOUGH IT WAS PROBABLY NOT AS WEALTHY
AS ITS MUGHAL AND OTTOMAN NEIGHBORS TO THE EAST AND WEST
•HEMMED IN BY THE SEA POWER OF THE EUROPEANS TO THE SOUTH AND BY THE
LAND POWER OF THE OTTOMANS TO THE WEST, THE EARLY SAFAVIDS HAD NO NAVY
AND WERE FORCED TO DIVERT OVERLAND TRADE WITH EUROPE THROUGH
SOUTHERN RUSSIA TO AVOID AN OTTOMAN BLOCKADE.
•IN THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY, THE SITUATION IMPROVED WHEN IRANIAN
FORCES, IN COOPERATION WITH THE ENGLISH, SEIZED THE ISLAND OF
HORMUZ FROM PORTUGAL AND ESTABLISHED A NEW SEAPORT ON THE
SOUTHERN COAST AT BANDAR ABBAS
•STILL HIGHLY PRIZED ALL OVER THE WORLD, THESE 17TH CENTURY CARPETS REFLECT
THE GRANDEUR AND ARTISTRY OF THE SAFAVID DYNASTY
•THE LONG TRADITION OF PERSIAN PAINTING CONTINUED IN THE SAFAVID ERA, BUT
CHANGED FROM PAINTINGS TO LINE DRAWINGS AND FROM LANDSCAPE SCENES TO
PORTRAITS, MOSTLY OF YOUNG LADIES, BOYS, LOVERS, OR DERVISHES
•ALTHOUGH SOME PERSIAN ARTISTS STUDIED IN ROME, SAFAVID ART WAS
LITTLE INFLUENCED BY THE WEST