The Muslim Empire Part 2

The Muslim Empire

The Rule of the Safavids

The Safavid Empire

• After the empire of Timur Lenk (Tamerlane) collapsed in the early fifteenth

century, the area extending from Persia into central Asia fell into anarchy.

• At the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, a new dynasty known as the

Safavids took control.
• Unlike many of their Islamic neighbors who were Sunni Muslims, the Safavids became

ardent Shias.

• The Safavid Dynasty

• The Safavid Dynasty was founded by Shah Esma il, the descendent of Safi od-

Din.

• In the early fourteenth century, Safi od-Din had been the leader of a community of

Turkish ethnic groups in Azerbaijan, near the Caspian Sea.

• In 1501, Esma il, in his teens at the time, used his forces to seize much of Iran

and Iraq.

• He then called himself the shah, or king, of a new Persian state.

• Esma il sent Shiah preachers into the Antolian Peninsula to convert members of Turkish

tribes in the Ottoman Empire.
•The Ottoman sultan tied to halt this activity, Esma il refused to stop.
• Esma il also ordered the massacre of Sunni Muslims when he conquered Baghdad in 1508.

Multiple Choice

What does the king call himself in the new Persian state?

• Sultan

• Caliph

• Shah

• Czar

The Safavid Empire Map

The Safavid Empire

• The Safavid Dynasty Cont.

• Alarmed by these activities, the Ottoman sultan, Selim I, advanced against the

Safavids in Persia.

• With their muskets and artillery, the Ottomans won a major battle near Tabriz.

• However, Selim could not maintain control of the area.

•A few years later, Esma il regained Tabriz.

• During the following decades, the Safavids tried to consolidate their rule

throughout Persia and in areas to the west.

• The Safavids were faced with the problem of integrating various Turkish peoples with

the settled Persian-speaking population of the urban areas.
• The Shia faith was used as a unifying force.

•Esma il made conversions to the Shia faith mandatory for the largely Sunni population.
• Many Sunnis were either killed or exiled.

• Like the shah himself claimed to be the spiritual leader of all Islam.

• In the 1580s, the Ottomans went on the attack.

• They placed Azerbaijan under Ottoman rule and controlled the Caspian Sea with

their fleet.
• This forced the new Safavid shah, Abbas, to sign a peace treaty in which he lost much

territory in the northwest.
•The capital of the Safavids was moved from the northwestern city of Tabriz to the more centrally
located city of Esfahan.

Multiple Choice

Who advanced against the Safavids in Persia?

• Selim I

• Titan III

• Edward II

• Alexander I

The Safavid Empire

• The Safavid Dynasty Cont.

• Abbas adorned his new capital city with the latest Persianarchitecture.

• Esfahan became one of the world’s largest cities with a population of one million.

• Glory and Decline

• Under Shah Abbas, who ruled from 1588 to 1629, the Safavid reached the high

point of their glory.

• Similar to the Ottoman Empire, administrators were trained to run the kingdom.

• Shah Abbas also strengthened his army, which he armed with the latest weapons.

• In the early seventeenth century, Shah Abbas moved against the Ottomans to

regain lost territories.

• Several Europeanstates aided Abbas.

• The Safavids has some initial success, but they could not hold their territorial gains against

the Ottoman armies.
•Nevertheless, in 1612, a peace treaty was signed that returned Azerbaijan to the Safavids.

Multiple Choice

Under who did the Safavid reach high point of their glory?

• Selim III

• Shah Abbas

• Franklin IX

• Gregory IV

The Safavid Empire

• Glory and Decline Cont.

• After the death of Shah Abbas in 1629, the Safavid dynasty gradually lost its

vigor.

• Most of Abbas’s successors lacked his talent and political skills.

• Eventually, the power of Shia religious elements began to increase at court and in Savavid

society at large.

• Intellectual freedom marked the height of the empire.

• However, the pressure to conform to traditional religious beliefs, called religious

orthodoxy, increased.
• FOR EXAMPLE, Persian women had considerable freedom during the early empire.

•Now they were forced into seclusion and required to adopt the wearing of the veil.

• In the early eighteenth century, during the reign of Shah Hussein, Afghan

peoples invaded and seized the capital of Esfahan.

• The remnants of the Safavid ruling family were forced to retreat to Azerbaijan, their

original homeland.
• The Turks took advantage of the situation to seize territories along the western border.

•Persia sank into a long period of political and social anarchy, or lawlessness and disorder.

Multiple Choice

What marked the height of the empire?

• Artistic Realism

• Family

• Industrial Revolution

• Intellectual Freedom

Life Under the Safavids

• Persia under the Safavids was a mixed society.

• The combination of Turkish and Persian elements affected virtually all aspects of

Safavidsociety.

• Role of the Shah

• The Safavid rulers were eagerly supported by Shias.

• In return, the shahs declared Shia Islam to be the state religion.

• Shahs were more available to their subjects than were rulers elsewhere.

•“They show great familiarity to strangers,” remarked one visitor, “and even to their own subjects,
eating and drinking with them pretty freely.”

• Strong-minded shahs firmly controlled the power of the landed aristocracy.

• In addition, appointment to senior positions in the bureaucracy was based on merit

rather than birth.
• FOR EXAMPLE, Shah Abbas hired a number of foreigners from neighboring countries for

positions in his government.

• Economy and Trade

• The Safavid shah played an active part in trade and manufacturing activity.

• Most goods in the empire traveled by horse or camel caravans, and the roads were

kept fairly clear of thieves and bandits.

Multiple Choice

What did the shahs declare to be the state religion?

• Sunni Islam

• Buddhism

• Shia Islam

• Hinduism

Life Under the Safavids

• Economy and Trade Cont.

• Safavid Persia was probably not as prosperous as its neighbors to the east and

west-the Moguls and the Ottomans.

• Hemmed by the sea power of the Europeans to the south and the land power of the

Ottomans to the west, the Safavids found trade with Europe difficult.

• Safavid Culture

• Knowledge of science, medicine, and mathematics under the Safavids was

equal to that of other societies in the region.

• Persia also witnessed an extraordinary flowering of the arts during the reign of Shah

Abbas.
• Silk weaving and carpet weaving flourished, stimulated by the great demand for Persian

carpets in the West.
•Persian painting enjoyed a long tradition.
• Riza-i-Abbasi, the most famous artist of this period, created exquisite works.

• Soft colors and flowing movement dominated the features of Salavid painting.

Multiple Select

The knowledge of what THREE areas were equal to that of the other societies in the region?

• Science

• Medicine

• History

• Mathematics