Savafid Dynasty
- Region ruled by the Savafids during their reign in Asia from sixteenth to seventeenth century
Areas Ruled and How
The Safavid Dynasty came into power in the sixteenth century after the Empire of Timut Lenk fell in the early fifteenth century, which had caused the area extending from Pursia to Central Asia to fall into anarchy. The Safavids were ardent Shias rather than Sunni Muslims, like their neighbors. This Dynasty was founded by Shāh Esmā īl, whose ancestor, Safī od-Dīn, had been the leader of a community of Turkish ethnic groups in Azerbaijan near the Caspar Sea. Esmā īl used his large forces to seize most of Iran and Iraq while he was still in his teens. Afterward he started calling himself 'shah', or king of his Persian state. He sent out Shia preachers to convert Turkish Ottomans to the Shia religion, and though the Ottoman Sultan attempted to halt this event, Esmā īl refused to stop. Later, the shah ordered for there to be a massacre on Sunni Muslims when he had conquered Baghdad in 1508. The Ottoman Sultan, Selina the First was very alarmed by the Safavids activities, and advanced against them using muskets and artillery, resulting in a victory for the Ottomans in a battle near Tabrīz. But, Selim could not maintain control over the area, and a few years later, Esmā īl regained Tabrīz. In the next few decades, the Safavids tried to spread their rule throughout Persia and areas in the west. But where they had settled came with many problems. Turkish and Persian speakers were now living amongst each other, and integrating these people together proved to be difficult. The Shia faith was a unifying force, and Esmā īl made conversation of the Shia faith mandatory for a population that was largely Sunni, and many of the Sunnia were either killed or exiled. In the 1580's, the Ottoman's attacked, placing Azerbaijan under their rule, and controlling the Caspian Sea with their fleet. This forced the new Shah, Abbās, to sign a peace treaty, losing much of their northwest territory, along with their capital, Tabrīz, which was then moved to Esfahān which became one of the worlds largest cities.
Life Under the Dynasty
After Abbās died in 1629, the Dynasty declined. Religious elements began to increase in the courts and in the Dynasty at large, and intellectual freedom marked the height of the empire. But, the pressure of conforming to orthodoxy, (traditional religious beliefs), increased. Women were now forced into seclusion and were required to wear a veil at all times. In the eighteenth century, the Afghans invaded Esfahān, which forced the Safavid ruling family to move back to their homeland of Azerbaijan. The Turks then seized territories, sinking Persia into social and political anarchy.
- Shāh Esmā īl, original ruler of Safavid Dynasty (right) and Shah Abbās, ruler of Safavid Dynasty from 1588-1629 (left)