Safavid dynasty

Twelver Shīʿa ruling dynasty of Iran (1501–1736)

Not to be confused with Saffarid dynasty.

Safavid dynasty

دودمان صفوی,

Safavid flag after 1576

Country| Safavid Iran
Founded| 22 December 1501
Founder| Ismail I (1501–1524)
Final ruler| Abbas III (1732–1736)
Titles| Shahanshah of Iran
Traditions| Twelver Shi'ism
Dissolution| c. 1736

The Safavid dynasty (/ˈsæfəvɪd, ˈsɑː-/; Persian: دودمان صفوی, romanized: Dudmân-e Safavi,[1] pronounced [d̪uːd̪ˈmɒːne sæfæˈviː]) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736.[2] Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history,[3] as well as one of the gunpowder empires.[4] The Safavid Shah Ismail I established the Twelver denomination of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam.[5] The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region.[6] It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin,[7] but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman,[8] Georgian,[9] Circassian,[10][11] and Pontic Greek[12] dignitaries; nevertheless, for practical purposes, they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified.[13] From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region,[14] thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.[15]

The rise of the Safavid state took about two hundred years. It began in 1301, when Safi-ad-Din Ardabili, whose name was later given to the Safavid dynasty founded by his descendant Ismail I in 1501, became the leader and spiritual guide of a local Sufi order in Gilan. The exact origins of the Safavid family are still unclear, but it is fairly certain that Sheikh Safi al-Din’s ancestors moved to Azerbaijan, probably from Kurdistan, in the 11th century and settled in the Ardabil area. Although the Safavids were of Iranian origin, they spoke Azerbaijani language, a type of Turkish used in Azerbaijan.[16]

The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736 and 1750 to 1773) and, at their height, controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", their architectural innovations, and patronage for fine arts.[3] The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by establishing Twelver Shi'ism as the state religion of Iran, as well as spreading Shi'a Islam in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia.[3][5]

## Genealogy and identity

[edit]

See also: Safavid dynasty family tree, Safavid order, Safvat as-safa, Silsilat-al-nasab-i Safaviya, Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah, and List of the mothers of the Safavid Shahs

The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be sayyids,[17] family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although many scholars have cast doubt on this claim.[18] There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Iranian Kurdistan,[5] and later moved to Iranian Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah.[19][20]

According to historians,[21][22] including Vladimir Minorsky[23] and Roger Savory, the Safavids were Turkish speakers of Iranian origin:[24]

> From the evidence available at the present time, it is certain that the Safavid family was of indigenous Iranian stock, and not of Turkish ancestry as it is sometimes claimed. It is probable that the family originated in Persian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan, where they adopted the Azari form of Turkish spoken there, and eventually settled in the small town of Ardabil sometimes during the eleventh century.

By the time of the establishment of the Safavid empire, the members of the family were Turkicized and Turkish-speaking,[25] and some of the Shahs composed poems in their then-native Turkish language. Concurrently, the Shahs themselves also supported Persian literature, poetry and art projects including the grand Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp,[26][27] while members of the family and some Shahs composed Persian poetry as well.[28][29]

The authority of the Safavids was religiously based, and their claim to legitimacy was founded on being direct male descendants of Ali,[30] the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and regarded by the Shiʻa as the first Imam.

Furthermore, the dynasty was from the very start thoroughly intermarried with both Pontic Greek as well as Georgian lines.[31] In addition, from the official establishment of the dynasty in 1501, the dynasty would continue to have many intermarriages with both Circassian as well as again Georgian dignitaries, especially with the accession of Tahmasp I.[10][11]

## Safavid Shahs of Iran

[edit]

See also: List of Safavid monarchs

Safavid dynasty timeline

* Ismail I 1501–1524
* Tahmasp I 1524–1576
* Ismail II 1576–1578
* Mohammad Khodabanda 1578–1587
* Abbas I 1587–1629
* Safi 1629–1642
* Abbas II 1642–1666
* Suleiman I 1666–1694
* Soltan Hoseyn 1694–1722
* Tahmasp II 1722–1732
* Abbas III 1732–1736

## Mothers of Safavid Shahs

[edit]

Main article: List of the mothers of the Safavid Shahs

## Rise of Safavids

[edit]

When the Safavids took political control of Iran in 1501, their most important action was making Twelver Shi'ism the official religion of the country. This decision had big effects. It made Iran different from most other Muslim countries and helped protect it from being taken over by the Ottoman Empire. Making Shi'ism the state religion also made the central government stronger and helped people feel more like part of one nation instead of just separate ethnic groups. Because the Safavids left behind a strong government system, a regular army, and clear borders, they are seen as the ones who started the modern Iranian state.[16]

## Art

[edit]

The Safavid period was the great progress in the arts. Beautiful carpets and textiles were made, with rich colors and amazing designs. Handwritten books had excellent calligraphy and lovely pictures. Also, ceramic tiles with detailed and beautiful patterns were used to decorate famous buildings like the Shah Mosque (Isfahan) and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan. These buildings were made during the time of Shah Abbas I.[32]

## Culture

[edit]

The Safavid family was a literate family from its early origin. There are extant Tati and Persian poetry from Shaykh Safi ad-din Ardabili as well as extant Persian poetry from Shaykh Sadr ad-din. Most of the extant poetry of Shah Ismail I is in Azerbaijani pen-name of Khatai.[33] Sam Mirza, the son of Shah Ismail as well as some later authors assert that Ismail composed poems both in Turkish and Persian but only a few specimens of his Persian verse have survived.[34] A collection of his poems in Azeri were published as a Divan. Shah Tahmasp who has composed poetry in Persian was also a painter, while Shah Abbas II was known as a poet, writing Azerbaijani verses.[35] Sam Mirza, the son of Ismail I was himself a poet and composed his poetry in Persian. He also compiled an anthology of contemporary poetry.[36]

* Safavid dynasty art
*   *   *   *

## Foreign Diplomacy and Interaction with Other Sects

[edit]

The whole Safavid period, especially the time of Shah Abbas I, saw a big increase in trade and diplomacy with Western countries. The Portuguese, Dutch, and English tried to build trading centers in the Persian Gulf to control trade with India and Southeast Asia. The English also looked at ways to trade by land. Because Shah Abbas created a tolerant and open atmosphere, foreign traders made communities in different parts of Iran. Also, some foreign religious groups like the Carmelites, Augustinians, and Capuchins built churches and convents in Isfahan and other cities.[37]

## Fall

[edit]

During the reign of Shah Abbas I, the Safavid Empire reached its peak in terms of success and achievement. However, after his rule, things started to go downhill, especially under Suleiman I of Persia (1666–1694) and Shah Sultan Hossein (1694–1722). The central government became weak and full of corruption and inefficiency. One major reason for the empire’s decline was a policy started by Shah Abbas I himself. He kept royal princes inside the palace (the harem) and did not allow them to receive the education and training needed to become capable rulers like earlier Safavid kings.[37]

The military also became weak. By 1722, it was so poorly maintained that it could not stop the Afghan invasion. The Afghan forces captured Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid Empire, and occupied it for seven years. The economy also suffered. Shah Abbas I had supported a form of government-controlled capitalism, but later rulers moved away from this. They also took direct control over too many provinces, which hurt the economy further.[37]

In the late 1600s, the Safavid rulers were too weak to control the growing power of Shi’ite religious leaders. These leaders became very strict and focused on eliminating anything they saw as heresy. This reduced the religious tolerance that had helped the economy grow under Shah Abbas I, especially through good relations with non-Muslim minorities.[37]

Nader Khan (later Nader shah) first claimed he wanted to restore the Safavid Empire, but in 1736, he took the throne for himself and became Nader Shah, officially ending the Safavid dynasty. After his assassination in 1747, a long civil war broke out between the Zand and Qajar families, which finally ended with the Qajars taking control.[37]

## Legacy

[edit]

To evaluate the achievements of the Safavid dynasty, one simply needs to compare their 225 years of rule with the hundred years of conflict between rival dynasties that came before them, or the more than 50 years of chaos and unrest that followed. Despite facing many internal challenges and external threats, the Safavids succeeded in transforming Iran into a powerful and prosperous nation. The continued existence of Iran as an independent country today owes much to their efforts.[38]

## See also

[edit]

* Khanates of the Caucasus
* List of Shi'a Muslim dynasties
* Persianate states
* Safavid art
* Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam
* Trade in Iran's Safavid era

## References

[edit]

1. ^ *Afšār, ta·līf-i Iskandar Baig Turkmān. Zīr-i naẓar bā tanẓīm-i fihristhā wa muqaddama-i Īraǧ (2003). Tārīkh-i ʻʻālamārā-yi ʻʻAbbāsī (in Persian) (Čāp-i 3. ed.). Tihrān: Mu·assasa-i Intišārāt-i Amīr Kabīr. pp. 17, 18, 19, 79. ISBN 978-964-00-0818-8.
* p. 17: dudmān-i safavīa
* p. 18: khāndān-i safavīa
* p. 19: sīlsīla-i safavīa
* p. 79: sīlsīla-i alīa-i safavīa
2. ^ "SAFAVID DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica.
3. ^ a b c Matthee, Rudi (13 June 2017) [28 July 2008]. "SAFAVID DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Columbia University. doi:10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_509. ISSN 2330-4804. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
4. ^ Streusand, Douglas E., Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals (Boulder, Col : Westview Press, 2011) ("Streusand"), p. 135.
5. ^ a b c Savory, Roger (2012) [1995]. "Ṣafawids". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 8\. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0964. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
6. ^ Baltacıoğlu-Brammer, Ayşe (2021). "The emergence of the Safavids as a mystical order and their subsequent rise to power in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries". In Matthee, Rudi (ed.). The Safavid World. Routledge Worlds (1st ed.). New York and London: Routledge. pp. 15–36\. doi:10.4324/9781003170822. ISBN 978-1-003-17082-2. S2CID 236371308.
7. ^
* Matthee, Rudi. (2005). The Pursuit of Pleasure: Drugs and Stimulants in Iranian History, 1500-1900. Princeton University Press. p. 18; "The Safavids, as Iranians of Kurdish ancestry and of nontribal background (...)".
* Savory, Roger. (2008). "EBN BAZZĀZ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 1. p. 8. "This official version contains textual changes designed to obscure the Kurdish origins of the Safavid family and to vindicate their claim to descent from the Imams."
* Amoretti, Biancamaria Scarcia; Matthee, Rudi. (2009). "Ṣafavid Dynasty". In Esposito, John L. (ed.) The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. "Of Kurdish ancestry, the Ṣafavids started as a Sunnī mystical order (...)"
8. ^
* Roemer, H. R. (1986). "The Safavid Period" in Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence. The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge University Press. pp. 214, 229
* Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B.Tauris. p. 3
* Savory, Roger M.; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (1998) "ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 628–636
* Ghereghlou, Kioumars (2016). "ḤAYDAR ṢAFAVI". Encyclopaedia Iranica
9. ^ Aptin Khanbaghi (2006) The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early. London & New York. IB Tauris. ISBN 1-84511-056-0, pp. 130–1
10. ^ a b Yarshater 2001, p. 493.
11. ^ a b Khanbaghi 2006, p. 130.
12. ^ Anthony Bryer. "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 29 (1975), Appendix II "Genealogy of the Muslim Marriages of the Princesses of Trebizond"
13. ^ Yarshater 2012.
14. ^ "Why is there such confusion about the origins of this important dynasty, which reasserted Iranian identity and established an independent Iranian state after eight and a half centuries of rule by foreign dynasties?" RM Savory, Iran Under the Safavids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980), p. 3.
15. ^ Alireza Shapur Shahbazi (2005), "The History of the Idea of Iran", in Vesta Curtis ed., Birth of the Persian Empire, IB Tauris, London, p. 108: "Similarly the collapse of Sassanian Eranshahr in AD 650 did not end Iranians' national idea. The name "Iran" disappeared from official records of the Saffarids, Samanids, Buyids, Saljuqs and their successor. But one unofficially used the name Iran, Eranshahr, and similar national designations, particularly Mamalek-e Iran or "Iranian lands", which exactly translated the old Avestan term Ariyanam Daihunam. On the other hand, when the Safavids (not Reza Shah, as is popularly assumed) revived a national state officially known as Iran, bureaucratic usage in the Ottoman empire and even Iran itself could still refer to it by other descriptive and traditional appellations".
16. ^ a b Munshi, Eskandar Beg (1629). History of Shah 'Abbas the Great (Tārīkh-e ‘Ālamārā-ye ‘Abbāsī) / Roger M. Savory, translator. p. xxi. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
17. ^ In the pre-Safavid written work Safvat as-Safa (oldest manuscripts from 1485 and 1491), the origin of the Safavids is tracted to Piruz Shah Zarin Kolah who is called a Kurd from Sanjan, while in the post-Safavid manuscripts, this portion has been excised and Piruz Shah Zarin Kollah is made a descendant of the Imams. R Savory, "Ebn Bazzaz" in Encyclopædia Iranica). In the Silsilat an-nasab-i Safawiya (composed during the reign of Shah Suleiman, 1667–94), by Hussayn ibn Abdal Zahedi, the ancestry of the Safavid was purported to be tracing back to Hijaz and the first Shiʻi Imam as follows: Shaykh Safi al-din Abul Fatah Eshaq ibn (son of) Shaykh Amin al-Din Jabrail ibn Qutb al-din ibn Salih ibn Muhammad al-Hafez ibn Awad ibn Firuz Shah Zarin Kulah ibn Majd ibn Sharafshah ibn Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Seyyed Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Seyyed Ja'afar ibn Seyyed Muhammad ibn Seyyed Isma'il ibn Seyyed Muhammad ibn Seyyed Ahmad 'Arabi ibn Seyyed Qasim ibn Seyyed Abul Qasim Hamzah ibn Musa al-Kazim ibn Ja'far As-Sadiq ibn Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Imam Zayn ul-'Abedin ibn Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Taleb Alayha as-Salam. There are differences between this and the oldest manuscript of Safwat as-Safa. Seyyeds have been added from Piruz Shah Zarin Kulah up to the first Shiʻi Imam and the nisba "Al-Kurdi" has been excised. The title/name "Abu Bakr" (also the name of the first Caliph and highly regarded by Sunnis) is deleted from Qutb ad-Din's name. ُSource: Husayn ibn Abdāl Zāhedī, 17th cent. Silsilat al-nasab-i Safavīyah, nasabnāmah-'i pādishāhān bā ʻuzmat-i Safavī, ta'līf-i Shaykh Husayn pisar-i Shaykh Abdāl Pīrzādah Zāhedī dar 'ahd-i Shāh-i Sulaymnān-i Safavī. Berlīn, Chāpkhānah-'i Īrānshahr, 1343 (1924), 116 pp. Original Persian: شیخ صفی الدین ابو الفتح اسحق ابن شیخ امین الدین جبرائیل بن قطب الدین ابن صالح ابن محمد الحافظ ابن عوض ابن فیروزشاه زرین کلاه ابن محمد ابن شرفشاه ابن محمد ابن حسن ابن سید محمد ابن ابراهیم ابن سید جعفر بن سید محمد ابن سید اسمعیل بن سید محمد بن سید احمد اعرابی بن سید قاسم بن سید ابو القاسم حمزه بن موسی الکاظم ابن جعفر الصادق ابن محمد الباقر ابن امام زین العابدین بن حسین ابن علی ابن ابی طالب علیه السلام.
18. ^ R.M. Savory, "Safavid Persia" in: Ann Katherine Swynford Lambton, Peter Malcolm Holt, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, 1977. p. 394: "They (Safavids after the establishment of the Safavid state) fabricated evidence to prove that the Safavids were Sayyids."
19. ^ RM Savory. Ebn Bazzaz. Encyclopædia Iranica
20. ^ F. Daftary, "Intellectual Traditions in Islam", I.B. Tauris, 2001. p. 147: "But the origins of the family of Shaykh Safi al-Din go back not to Hijaz but to Kurdistan, from where, seven generations before him, Firuz Shah Zarin-kulah had migrated to Adharbayjan"
21. ^ Tamara Sonn. A Brief History of Islam, Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 83, ISBN 1-4051-0900-9
22. ^ É. Á. Csató, B. Isaksson, C Jahani. Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic, Routledge, 2004, p. 228, ISBN 0-415-30804-6.
23. ^ Minorsky, V (2009). "Adgharbaydjan (Azarbaydjan)". In Berman, P; Bianquis, Th; Bosworth, CE; van Donzel, E; Henrichs, WP (eds.). Encyclopedia of Islam (2nd ed.). NL: Brill. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. "After 907/1502, Adharbayjan became the chief bulwark and rallying ground of the Safawids, themselves natives of Ardabil and originally speaking the local Iranian dialect"
24. ^ Roger M. Savory. "Safavids" in Peter Burke, Irfan Habib, Halil İnalcık: History of Humanity-Scientific and Cultural Development: From the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century, Taylor & Francis. 1999, p. 259.
25. ^ "Safavid dynasty" at Encyclopædia Iranica, "The origins of the Safavids are clouded in obscurity. They may have been of Kurdish origin (see R. Savory, Iran Under the Safavids, 1980, p. 2; R. Matthee, "Safavid Dynasty" at iranica.com), but for all practical purposes they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified."
26. ^ John L. Esposito, The Oxford History of Islam, Oxford University Press US, 1999. pp 364: "To support their legitimacy, the Safavid dynasty of Iran (1501–1732) devoted a cultural policy to establish their regime as the reconstruction of the historic Iranian monarchy. To the end, they commissioned elaborate copies of the Shahnameh, the Iranian national epic, such as this one made for Tahmasp in the 1520s."
27. ^ Ira Marvin Lapidus, A history of Islamic Societies, Cambridge University Press, 2002, 2nd ed., p. 445: To bolster the prestige of the state, the Safavid dynasty sponsored an Iran-Islamic style of culture concentrating on court poetry, painting, and monumental architecture that symbolized not only the Islamic credentials of the state but also the glory of the ancient Persian traditions."
28. ^ Colin P. Mitchell, "Ṭahmāsp I" in Encyclopædia Iranica. "Shah Ṭahmāsp's own brother, Sām Mirzā, wrote the Taḏkera-yetoḥfa-ye sāmi, in which he mentioned 700 poets during the reigns of the first two Safavid rulers. Sām Mirzā himself was an ardent poet, writing 8,000 verses and a Šāh-nāma dedicated to his brother, Ṭahmāsp (see Sām Mirzā, ed. Homāyun-Farroḵ, 1969)."
29. ^ See: Willem Floor, Hasan Javadi (2009), The Heavenly Rose-Garden: A History of Shirvan & Daghestan by Abbas Qoli Aqa Bakikhanov, Mage Publishers, 2009. (see Sections on Safavids quoting poems of Shah Tahmasp I)
30. ^ Kathryn Babayan, Mystics, Monarchs and Messiahs: Cultural Landscapes of Early Modern Iran, Cambridge, Massachusetts; London : Harvard University Press, 2002. p. 143: "It is true that during their revolutionary phase (1447–1501), Safavi guides had played on their descent from the family of the Prophet. The hagiography of the founder of the Safavi order, Shaykh Safi al-Din Safvat al-Safa written by Ibn Bazzaz in 1350-was tampered with during this very phase. An initial stage of revisions saw the transformation of Safavi identity as Sunni Kurds into Arab blood descendants of Muhammad."
31. ^ From Maternal side: Chatrina daughter of Theodora daughter of John IV of Trebizond son of Alexios IV of Trebizond son of Manuel III of Trebizond son of Alexios III of Trebizond son of Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond. From Paternal side: Shaykh Haydar son of Khadijeh Khatoon daughter of Ali Beyg son of Qara Yuluk Osman son of Maria daughter of Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond.
32. ^ Munshi, Eskandar Beg (1629). History of Shah 'Abbas the Great (Tārīkh-e ‘Ālamārā-ye ‘Abbāsī) / Roger M. Savory, translator. p. xxii - xxiii. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
33. ^ V. Minorsky, "The Poetry of Shāh Ismā‘īl I", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 10/4 (1942): 1006–53.
34. ^ "Ismail Safavi" Encyclopædia Iranica
35. ^ E. Yarshater, Language of Azerbaijan[usurped], vii., Persian language of Azerbaijan", Encyclopædia Iranica, v, pp. 238–45, Online edition.
36. ^ Emeri "van" Donzel, Islamic Desk Reference, Brill Academic Publishers, 1994, p. 393.
37. ^ a b c d e Munshi, Eskandar Beg (1629). History of Shah 'Abbas the Great (Tārīkh-e ‘Ālamārā-ye ‘Abbāsī) / Roger M. Savory, translator. p. xxiii. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
38. ^ Munshi, Eskandar Beg (1629). History of Shah 'Abbas the Great (Tārīkh-e ‘Ālamārā-ye ‘Abbāsī) / Roger M. Savory, translator. p. xxiii - xxiv. Retrieved May 6, 2025.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0857716767.
* Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence, eds. (1986). The Timurid and Safavid Periods. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 6\. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521200943.
* Khanbaghi, Aptin (2006). The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1845110567.
* Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442241466.
* Savory, Roger (2007). Iran under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521042512.
* Sicker, Martin (2001). The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0275968915.
* Yarshater, Ehsan (2001). Encyclopædia Iranica. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0933273566.
* Yarshater, Ehsan (2012). "IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 4): The Safavids". Encyclopaedia Iranica. "The origins of the Safavids are clouded in obscurity. They may have been of Kurdish origin (see R. Savory, Iran Under the Safavids, 1980, p. 2; R. Matthee, "Safavid Dynasty" at iranica.com), but for all practical purposes they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified."

## Further reading

[edit]

* Christoph Marcinkowski (tr.), Persian Historiography and Geography: Bertold Spuler on Major Works Produced in Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, India and Early Ottoman Turkey, Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2003, ISBN 9971-77-488-7.
* Christoph Marcinkowski (tr., ed.), Mirza Rafi‘a's Dastur al-Muluk: A Manual of Later Safavid Administration. Annotated English Translation, Comments on the Offices and Services, and Facsimile of the Unique Persian Manuscript, Kuala Lumpur, ISTAC, 2002, ISBN 983-9379-26-7.
* Christoph Marcinkowski, From Isfahan to Ayutthaya: Contacts between Iran and Siam in the 17th Century, Singapore, Pustaka Nasional, 2005, ISBN 9971-77-491-7.
* "The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors", Adam Olearius, translated by John Davies (1662),

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Safavid dynasty.

* History of the Safavids on Iran Chamber
* "Safavid dynasty", Encyclopædia Iranica by Rudi Matthee
* The History Files: Rulers of Persia
* BBC History of Religion
* Iranian culture and history site
* "Georgians in the Safavid administration", Encyclopædia Iranica
* Artistic and cultural history of the Safavids from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
* History of Safavid art
* A Study of the Migration of Shiʻi Works from Arab Regions to Iran at the Early Safavid Era.
* Why is Safavid history important? (Iran Chamber Society)
* Historiography During the Safawid Era
* "Iran ix. Religions in Iran (2) Islam in Iran (2.3) Shiʿism in Iran Since the Safavids: Safavid Period", Encyclopædia Iranica by Hamid Algar

* v
* t
* e

Safavid Iran

Dynasty|

* Safavid shahs
* List of mothers of the Safavid shahs
* Safavid dynasty
* Safavid dynasty family tree
* Grand viziers

Ideology and religion|

* Safaviyya
* Ideology of Safavids
* Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam

Culture|

* Art
* Miniature
* School of Isfahan

Military and wars|

* Military of Safavid Iran
* Ottoman–Persian Wars
* Persian–Portuguese War
* Russo-Persian War
* Persian–Uzbek wars
* Mughal–Persian Wars
* Defensive walls

Other related topics|

* Ottoman–Safavid relations
* Gunpowder Empire
* Abbasi
* Abazi

* v
* t
* e

Rulers of Safavid Iran (1501–1736)

* Ismail I (1501–1524)
* Tahmasp I (1524–1576)
* Ismail II (1576–1577)
* Mohammad Khodabanda (1577–1587)
* Abbas I (1587–1629)
* Safi (1629–1642)
* Abbas II (1642–1666)
* Suleiman I (1666–1694)
* Soltan Hoseyn (1694-1722)
* Tahmasp II (1722–1732)
* Abbas III (1732–1736)

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Iran topics

History

Prehistory

Ancient|

| 3400–539 BC|

* Kura-Araxes culture (3400–2000 BC)
* Proto-Elamite civilization (3100–2700 BC)
* Elamite dynasties (2700–540 BC)
* Akkadian Empire (c.2334 BC–c.2154 BC)
* Lullubi (c.2300–675 BC)
* Kassites (c.1595–c.1155 BC)
* Kingdom of Mannai (10th–7th century BC)
* Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC)
* Urartu (860 BC–590 BC)
* Median Empire (678–549 BC)
* Scythian Kingdom (652–625 BC)
* Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC)

|

550 BC–AD 224|

* Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
* Atropatene (c.323 BC–AD 226)
* Kingdom of Armenia (321 BC–AD 428)
* Kingdom of Cappadocia (320s BC–AD 17)
* Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC)
* Frataraka (c.295–220 BC)
* Kingdom of Pontus (281 BC–AD 62)
* Parthian Empire (247 BC–AD 224)
* Kings of Persis (after 132 BC–AD 224)

AD 224–651|

* Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651)

Medieval and
early modern|

| 632–1090|

* Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)
* Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
* Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)
* Samanid dynasty (819–999)
* Tahirid dynasty (821–873)
* Alavid dynasty (864–928)
* Saffarid dynasty (861–1003)
* Ziyarid dynasty (931–1090)
* Buyid dynasty (934–1062)

|

977–1432|

* Ghaznavid Empire (977–1186)
* Ghurid dynasty (1011–1215)
* Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)
* Anushtegin dynasty (1077–1231)
* Eldiguzids (1135/36-1225)
* Kart dynasty (1244–1381)
* Ilkhanate (1256–1335)
* Muzaffarid dynasty (1314–1393)
* Jalayirid Sultanate dynasty (1335–1432)
* Chobanid dynasty (1338–1357)

1370–1925|

* Timurid Empire (1370–1507)
* Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans (1374–1468)
* Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans (1378–1508)
* Safavid Empire (1501–1736)
* Afsharid Empire (1736–1796)
* Zand Dynasty (1751–1794)
* Qajar Empire (1789–1925)
* Khanates of Azerbaijan (18th–20th centuries)
* Khanates of the Caucasus (18th–19th centuries)
* Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)
* 1908 bombardment of the Majlis
* Kurdish separatism in Iran (1918–)
* 1921 Persian coup d'état
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan (1922–2020)

Modern|

| 1925–1979|

* Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979)
* Shatt al-Arab dispute (1936–1975)
* Iran crisis of 1946
* Insurgency in Balochistan (1948–)
* 1949 Iranian Constituent Assembly election
* 1953 coup d'état
* Iranian Revolution (1979)

|

Islamic Republic
1979–present|

* History (1979–)
* Interim Government (1979)
* March 1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum
* 1979 Khuzestan insurgency
* Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981)
* December 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum
* Iranian Embassy siege (1980)
* Nojeh coup plot (1980)
* Iran–Iraq War (1980–88)
* Interim Government of Iran (1981)
* 1987 Mecca incident
* Iran Air Flight 655 shootdown (1988)
* KDPI insurgency (1989–1996)
* PJAK conflict (2004–)
* 2009 Iranian presidential election protests
* Syrian civil war (2011–)
* International military intervention against the Islamic State (2014–)
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015)
* United States withdrawal (2018)
* 2017–2018 Iranian protests
* 2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests
* COVID-19 pandemic
* 2019 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2019–2020 Iranian protests
* 2021 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2021–2022 Iranian protests

See also|

* Ancient Persians
* Greater Iran
* Persianization
* Persianate society
* Turco-Persian
* Indo-Persian
* Iranic peoples
* languages
* Jiroft culture
* Aryans
* Azerbaijanis
* Peoples of the Caucasus
* Persians
* Monarchs of Persia
* Heads of state of Iran
* History of democracy in classical Iran
* Military history
* Electric history
* Years in Iran

Geography

* Borders
* Cities
* largest
* twin towns and sister cities
* Earthquakes
* Environmental issues
* Climate change
* Iranian Azerbaijan
* Iranian Balochistan
* Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
* Caucasus
* Iranian Kurdistan
* Iranian plateau
* Lake Urmia
* Islands
* Mountains
* Provinces
* Wildlife

Politics

| General|

* Censorship
* Constitution (Persian Constitutional Revolution)
* Corruption
* Elections (2009 presidential)
* Foreign relations
* Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
* Human rights
* Children's rights
* LGBT
* Women's rights
* Judicial system
* Military (Army
* Air Force
* Navy)
* Ministry of Intelligence
* Cyberwarfare
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Political parties
* Principlists
* Propaganda
* Reformists
* Terrorism (state-sponsorship allegations)
* White Revolution (1963)
* Women's rights movement

|

Councils|

* Assembly (or Council) of Experts
* Expediency Discernment Council
* Guardian Council
* Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament)
* Local councils
* Supreme National Security Council

Officials|

* Ambassadors
* President
* Provincial governors
* Supreme Leader

Economy

| General|

* Bonyad (charitable trust)
* Brain drain
* Companies (Automotive industry)
* Child labour
* Corruption
* Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
* Economic history
* Economic Reform Plan
* Energy
* Environmental issues
* Foreign direct investment
* Intellectual property
* International oil bourse
* International rankings
* Iran and the World Trade Organization
* Taxation
* Main economic laws
* Economy of the Middle East
* Milad Tower and complex
* Military equipment manufactured
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Privatization
* Rial (currency)
* Space Agency
* Setad
* Supreme Audit Court
* Tehran Stock Exchange
* Venture capital (Technology start-ups)

|

Sectors|

* Agriculture (fruit)
* Banking and insurance
* Central Bank
* Shetab Banking System
* Construction
* Defense
* Health care (Pharmaceuticals)
* Industry
* Mining
* Petroleum (Anglo-Persian Oil Company)
* Telecommunications and IT (TCI)
* Transport (airlines
* metro
* railways
* shipping)
* Tourism

State-owned
companies|

* Defense Industries Organization (DIO)
* Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)
* Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO)
* Iran Electronics Industries (IEI)
* National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
* National Development Fund

Places|

* Asaluyeh industrial corridor
* Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
* Kish Island Free Trade Zone
* Research centers

Society

| Demographics|

| Languages|

* Persian (Farsi)
* Armenian
* Azerbaijani
* Kurdish
* Hebrew
* Georgian
* Neo-Aramaic
* Iranian languages

|

Peoples|

* Iranian citizens (abroad)
* Ethnic minorities
* Armenians
* Assyrians
* Azerbaijanis
* Circassians
* Georgians
* Kurds
* Jews
* Turkmen

Religion|

* Islam
* Baháʼí Faith (persecution)
* Christianity
* Zoroastrians (persecution)
* Freedom of religion

Other|

* Corruption
* Crime
* Education (higher
* Intellectual movements
* scientists and scholars
* universities)
* International rankings
* Nationality
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women

Culture|

* Architecture (Achaemenid
* architects)
* Art (modern / contemporary)
* Astronomy
* Blogs
* Calendars (Persian New Year (Nowruz))
* Fashion
* Chicago Persian antiquities dispute
* Cinema
* Cuisine (wine)
* Folklore
* Intellectual movements
* Iranians
* Iranian studies
* Islam (Islamization)
* Literature
* Media (news agencies (student)
* newspapers)
* Mythology
* National Jewels
* National symbols (Imperial Anthem)
* Opium consumption
* Persian gardens
* Persian name
* Philosophy
* Public holidays
* Scouting
* Sport (football)

Music|

* Folk
* Jazz
* Pop
* Rap and hip-hop
* Rock
* Traditional
* Ey Iran

Other topics|

* Science and technology
* Anti-Iranian sentiment
* Tehrangeles

* Category
* Portal

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2
* 3

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Japan
* Czech Republic
* Poland
* Israel

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* İslâm Ansiklopedisi

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