The Safavi Dynasty of Iran
One of the most significant periods in the history of Iran is the time when the Safavi dynasty ruled that country. Before discussing the Safavis, I will first mention some things about the rulers that preceded them.
Timur Leng (also known as Tamerlane) had conquered Iran in 1389. The Mongol ruler took control and committed many cruel atrocities in the process. His successors were not as effective in maintaining control over the empire that he had established. It included Afganistan and parts of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Tamerlane's sons Miruanshah and Sharukh ruled after him. They managed to hold the empire together. But after the death of a later Timurid ruler named Ulu Beg, the empire split up into several different parts.
During the 1400's the eastern portion of Iran was ruled by the Timurids. However, the western part was dominated by two Turcoman tribes. One was called the Ak Koyunlu (White Sheep). The other was the Kara Koyunlu (Black Sheep). Both groups were rivals of the Timurids, but they also intensely disliked each other.
The Kara Koyunlu gave the Timurids quite a difficult time and even managed to temporarily occupy the Timurid capital of Herat, which is in present-day Afghanistan. The conflict between the Kara Koyunlu and the Ak Koyunlu was equally ferocious. In 1435 a Kara Koyunlu leader killed Kara Qasim, the Amir of the Ak Koyunlu.
In 1507 the Timurid dynasty collapsed, due to an attack on Herat by Uzbek forces. The Uzbek leader was Shaybani Khan.
The Kara Koyunlu and the Ak Koyunlu slugged it out in a struggle to take control of Iran as a whole. However, another faction also had that ambition. They were known as the Qizilbash ("Red Heads") because of the red hats that they wore. They were led by a man named Haydar. In 1488 Haydar attempted to bring down the White Sheep prince Yakub by sending 4,000 troops against him. Haydar's father had been killed by the White Sheep. The campaign ended in disaster; Haydar and his three sons were captured. Haydar and his oldest son were murdered in captivity in 1494. The other two boys escaped with the help of certain Shiites and were taken to the forest of Gilan, which borders the Caspian Sea.
The younger of the two boys was Ismail. He eventually came out of hiding and raised an army. It was a sizeable force that included at least 7,000 hard core Qizilbash men. This force was assembled in 1500. They routed the armies of the Black Sheep and the White Sheep. Thus Ismail got revenge for the killing of his father and grandfather. Ismail initially ruled only Azerbaijan. But within ten years he had gained control over all of Iran. The Safavi dynasty was now established.
Ismail was Shiite and felt that the Iranian people as a whole should become members of the Shiite branch of Islam. He appointed Shiites to important government posts and made it clear that if anyone wanted priveleges, they should become Shiites. Most chose to do so; this made Iran a country with a Shiite majority and changed the course of history.
The Safavis had to deal with incursions by the Ottoman Turks. The Ottomans temporarily occupied the Safavi capital of Tabriz, but were driven out. In 1555 the Safavi capital was moved to Qazvin.
Under the rule of Shah Abbas (He reigned from 1587 to 1629.), the Safavi capital was moved again, this time to Isfahan in southern Iran. Shah Abbas is generally considered to have been the greatest of the Safavi kings. He was a patron of the arts and brought painters to his court. Many architectural achievements were made during his time. For example, a large domed octagonal domed hall was added to the dynastic shrine at Ardabil. The Masjid-i-Shah (Royal Mosque) was built in Isfahan.
Art in terms of painting figures of humans and other living beings was revived in the time of Shah Abbas. For a long time, it had been prohibited in Iran. Authorities had considered it to be contrary to Islam.
Shah Abbas also invited pottery makers from China to come to Iran. Thus a greater variety of ceramic ware was produced.
However, some of the later Safavi rulers were weak and inept. The Safavi dynasty collapsed in 1722 when an Afghan chieftan named Mahmud overran the eastern part of Iran. The Safavi ruler Sultan Husayn abdicated and the people of the western half of Iran feared that Mahmud would take over the rest of the country. But an Iranian army officer named Nadir led a force that routed Mahmud and drove the Afghans out of Iran. Husayn's son Tahmasp II was made king. Nadir's prestige and power increased. He also fought a successful campaign against the Ottoman Turks. When Shah Tahmasp agreed to a conciliatory peace, Nadir had him deposed. This occurred in 1732. Tahmasp's infant son Abbas III was made king; Nadir ruled as regent. In 1736 Nadir officially deposed Abbas and made himself king. His title was now Nadir Shah. He established the Afshar dynasty.
Neal Robbins
P.S. Nadir Shah was born in 1688 in the Dastgerd portion of Khorasan. His father died while he was a small child. Nadir and his mother were captured by a raiding party of Uzbeks. After being held in captivity for a few years, Nadir escaped. He was a member of a gang of bandits for a while and became the leader. Nadir joined the Iranian army and rose up through the ranks.
Nadir Shah had Tahmasp and his sons put to death in 1740. Nadir carried on several campaigns, including a 1738-1739 invasion of India. He was assassinated in 1747 and his nephew Adil became the next shah of Iran.
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