Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Safavids & the Third Persian Empire
A Sufi called Sheikh Safi od-Din (d 1334) was the inspiration for and progenitor of the
Safavi, a powerful sect of Shiite followers from Ardabil ( Click here ) . Ismail Safavi, a dis-
tant descendent of Safi od-Din, eventually conquered all the old Persian imperial heart-
lands, from Baghdad to Herat. He ruled as Persian Shah (r 1502-24) and despite defeat to
Ottoman sultan Selim the Grim at the disastrous battle of Chaldoran (which started 41
years of warring with Persia losing control of eastern Anatolia and Iraq), his Safavid dyn-
asty ushered in a great Iranian revival.
Under Ismail's son Tahmasp (r 1524-76), the capital was moved from Tabriz to Qazvin,
and European monarchs started to take an interest in Persia. The Safavids reached their
peak under the brilliant Shah Abbas I (Abbas the Great; r 1587-1629), who, with military
advice from English adventurer Robert Shirley, finally crushed the assorted Turkmen and
Turkish factions to create what is considered the Third Persian Empire.
The Safavids enshrined Shiism as Persia's state religion, bringing it into regular conflict
with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, and oversaw a renewed flowering of Persian art and ar-
chitecture. Abbas moved the capital to Esfahan and promptly set about rebuilding the city
around Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Sq.
European powers began looking on Persia as
a market. English companies were given busi-
ness concessions and trade increased. The Sa-
favid empire continued for almost a century
after Abbas's death, but it was a period of
political infighting and internecine rivalries. In
1722 the Afghans besieged Esfahan and even-
tually took control of the city, slaughtering
thousands but sparing the architectural won-
ders.
A steady trickle of European travellers and adven-
turers came, saw and wrote about Safavid Persia,
most notably the French jewellers Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier (1605-89) and John Chardin
(1643-1713), and English buccaneers Sir Anthony
Shirley (1565-1635) and Sir Robert Shirley
(1581-1628), in the early 17th century.
Nader Shah & Karim Khan Zand
The Safavids were briefly rescued from oblivion by a soldier of fortune, Tahmasp Qoli,
who in 1729 scattered the Afghans, along with the Russian and Turkish forces that were
encroaching in the north. He ruled Persia in all but name until 1736, when he grew tired of
the pretence and crowned himself Nader Shah, thus ending once and for all the Safavid
dynasty. To describe Nader Shah as a brilliant but war-loving mercenary is something of
an understatement. History regards him as a megalomaniac who, in a show of supreme
self-confidence, invaded India in 1738 and returned with loot that included the Kuh-e Nur
 
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