Cultural Blending In The Safavid Empire

The world began to drastically change before the year fifteen hundred. These changes not only reshaped the world, but continued to change and develop from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Among these changes came the formation of many outstanding empires that included the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. The Ottoman and Safavid Empires account for two of the three Islamic Empires that underwent change and development during these centuries. Both empires had a ruler at the head of the empire; a sultan ruled the Ottoman Empire while a shah ruled the Safavid Empire. Two great rulers emerged from these empires; a sultan named Suleiman the Magnificent ruler of the Ottoman Empire and a shah named Abbas the Great ruler of the Safavid Empire.

The Safavid Empire was based in what is today Iran. This Islamic Empire was strong enough to challenge the Ottomans in the west and the Mughals in the east.

However, with the Ottomans use of gun-powdered weapons and Janissaries, the Safavids were ultimately defeated with the temporary loss of their capital. This was mainly due to the lack of technology and resources, which destroy it. In the late sixteenth century Shah Abbas the Great, restored the Safavid empire, moved the capital to Isfahan, encouraged trade with other lands and reformed the administrative and military institutions of the empire. He brought most of northwestern Iran, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia under Safavid rule. (Bentley, Streets, & Ziegler, 2008, pg. 461).

Abbas, and Mehmed II (re)built their capitals to strategically place themselves in a position of power. Abbas changed the the capital of the Safavid Empire from Qavin to Isfahans due to the lurking threat of the Uzebek invasion. Isfahan was a more centralized and secure location Safavid Empire since territories and boundaries were consistently changing in the early early pre-modern era. As for Mehmed II, his lands spread form lower eastern Europe to Anatolia to the borders of the Safavid Empire. Thus, it was necessary for him to place himself in position where he could manage his newly claimed territories, and establish a stronghold to launch future Ottoman wars into Europe. In contrast to the Abbas the Great and  Mehmed II Akbar the Great,

The reason why the Safavids and Ottomans were neither allies nor trading partners, was the difference in the sect of Islam each Empire worshiped. The Ottomans worshiped Sunni Islam while the Safavids worshiped Shi’a Islam. The main difference between Sunni Islam and Shi’a Islam is who each group thought should lead the Muslim community after the death of their prophet, Muhammad. Sunnis believe that Muhammad chose Abu Bakr to proceed him and Shias believe that Muhammad chose Ali to lead after him. Abu Bakr was Muhammad's father-in-law and companion who was the first person to become Muslim outside of Muhammad’s blood relatives. Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. This dispute over who should rule divided the two groups and made them enemies. Since the Safavids main religion was Shi’a Islam and the Ottomans was Sunni, there was a “guaranteed conflict” between them. Although this is not necessarily true, in reality the religious difference does lead to conflict. In 1501, when Shah Isma’il was coronated, generations of brutal warfare started between the two Empires. This warfare started for multiple reasons, but the biggest reason is because of religion. The Safavids, being Shi’a Muslims, did not tolerate any other religions, or different sects of religions, especially not Sunni Muslims. This obviously caused the Safavids to form a hatred for the Ottomans. The Ottomans believed that the Safavids “represented a negation of the religious and political foundations” of their Empire, which therefore meant that the Safavids needed to be exterminated. As a result of this thinking, a state of constant warfare ignited between the two

The Persians had powerful monarchs Cyrus (r. 557-530 B.C.E.) and Darius (r. 522-486 B.C.E.), which expanded the boundaries of the civilization. They conquered from Egypt to India. On that period of time, the Persians were progressed and were the most impressive and powerful empire in the ancient world. The Persians political system had the government that king Darius

Throughout the twentieth century Iran, like many other countries in the world, would enter a period of change that would completely alter the political, social and economic structure of the country. Perhaps the most important result of this restructuring was the incorporation of Shia Islam from solely the religious sphere to both the religious and political sphere. Analysis of history shows that for centuries Shia Islam had maintained its existence by functioning as a religious arm of the monarchy. The establishment of the Safavid Dynasty in 1501 resulted in Shia Islam become the official religion of Persian Empire and it was drawn upon by rulers in the following centuries as a source of imperial power. The collapse of the Safavid Empire in

Culture is something that distinguishes one national or ethnic group from another, it is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular society, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

Culture is the shared patterns of behaviors, characteristics, interactions and knowledge of a particular group of people. Culture encompasses what we wear, how we wear it, religion, food, music, our language and marriage (Zimmermann, 12 July 2017).

Muwaiya chose his own son Yazid to succeed him, thereby instituting the Umayyad caliphate. He killed the grandson of Muhammad in the famous Battle of Karbala that has been understood while having different opinions. Some claim that it was the war between two princes; however, some also believe that it was Yazid who did the wrong act of killing the grandson of his own prophet that brought the religion (Haynes, 1998). This give birth to the Umayyad caliphs that presided over the Arab realm and were least interested about the religious empire. They developed an army mostly comprising Muslim Arabs and retained Sasanid and Byzantine and placed Muslims over the seats of non Muslims. However, unrest started to grow in this period and Shiites attached the Umayyad family to secure the legitimacy as the heirs of Muhammad. In 750, the region of Khurasan that is currently the Northeastern Iran, the end of Umayyad caliph was noted, followed by the Abbas family taking over the thrown and let the Shiite gain control over the different regions (Doak, 2009). In the beginning, the Abassid Caliphate reflected leadership through which the nation proposed. The early leaders were religious and were towards Islam and the preaching of Islam. However, soon after more and more people converted into Islam, by the half of ninth century, it was difficult for the regime to hold power and to prevent revolt and rebels. The regime was so scattered with no proper delegation systems with high communication gaps that eventually resulted in poor governance. It is observed that no government ruling so vast an empire could hold power easily. It is observed that during the first two centuries, the major concern for the Muslim leader was to have rebels that were supported by huge number of people converting into Islam (Rubin,

Iraq had a major importance for Iran since the Safavid dynasty turned Shiism into a state religion. Shiite Islam was formed in Iraq. The sacred Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala are Shiite training centers and destinations for religious pilgrims. At the moment, Iran views southern Iraq as part of its historical sphere of

It is likely that a large majority of the Persian people at the time that Shah Isma’il began to establish his influence adhered to the Sunni branch of Islam. The initial years of the Safawid dynasty brought on conversion to Shi'ism as compulsory for the entire population. Why conversion was necessary is not immediately clear, but the form of Shi'ism chosen by Shah Isma'il was certainly not the

Ibn Nadīm views Abū Muslim’s inclination towards al-Ṣādiq’s household as a primary reason why al-Dawānīqī killed him (ibn Nadim, 2002:352). It is very likely that Abū Muslim had developed a sympathetic view towards al-Ṣādiq and his Shīʿa partisans for at least two reasons. First, al-Ṣādiq was known and respected not only as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muḥammad through the Ḥusaīnid lineage, but he was also known as a most respected scholar of his time. He formed an active circle of thinkers and talented disciples around himself. His loyal Shīʿa scholars not only argued for upholding the Ḥusaīnid line of imamate (Daftary, 2007:84) as the true Shīʿa imams. Secondly, al-Dawānīqī actively persecuted Shīʿa groups, including members of al-Ṣādiq’s household. This policy clearly went against the perception and expectation of Abū Muslim Khurāsānī and other Khurasanian leaders, who raised the ʿAbbāsid flag in the name of the Prophet’s Household and the Shīʿa partisans. Undoubtedly, the term Shīʿa at this phase of history had broadly referred to the household of the Prophet and included both the house of ʿAbbās as well as imams from the Ḥusaīnid lineage. Therefore, al-Dawānīq’s anti-Shīʿa policy certainly went against the expectation of Abū Muslim, who might have developed an inclination towards al-Ṣādiq. However, historical records also demonstrate that the early ʿAbbāsid caliphs

when Alexander III of Macedon, or more commonly referred to as Alexander the Great, invaded and quickly conquered the Persian Empire.

Suleyman’s interest in Iran developed in 1528 when the governor of Baghdad offered the city to the Ottomans. Even after he was executed, Suleyman claimed his rights to obtain the city. When the Governor of Azerbaijan defected to the Ottoman Empire for protection during the 1530’s, Suleyman order his Grand Vizier, Ulama, to take the city of Bitlis. Ulama was executed and replaced by Ibrahim Taliaz. Under Taliaz Bitlis was sieged n 1533 followed by the quick besiegement of Tabriz in 1534 where Suleyman himself joined him to battle for the city . Together they marched toward Baghdad which fell in November. The fall of Baghdad to the Ottoman’s annexed Azerbaijan and Iraq, forcing the silk producing regions of Gilan and Shirvan to recognise Ottoman sovereignty. Suleyman’s conquests in Iran didn’t end with Baghdad, Tabriz and Bitlis. By the time Suleyman had once again retired to Istanbul; in 1536, he’d claimed Erzurum. This expansion wasn’t hindered by the absence of Suleyman. In 1538 his army in Iran had forced the Emir of Basra to concede to their power, giving the Ottoman’s direct control over all the route leading from the near east to India. By 1546 Basra had become the second base of Ottoman fleets