User:Atabəy/Safavid Dynasty
 | |
| History of Greater Iran | |
|---|---|
| 1407–1468 | |
| Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans | 1378–1508 |
| Safavid Empire | 1501–1722 |
| Mughal Empire | 1526–1857 |
| Hotak dynasty | 1722–1729 |
| Afsharid Iran | 1736–1750 |
| Zand dynasty | 1750–1794 |
| Durrani Empire | 1794–1826 |
| Qajar Iran | 1794–1925 |
The Safavids (1501-1722) (
Iranian Azerbaijan, Safavids were a predominantly Turkic-speaking dynasty, whose court languages were Azerbaijani and Persian. [1][2] The Safavids ruled Iran from 1502 until 1722 (though several Safavid rulers were nominally reigning until 1736), [3]
, extending their empire well beyond the borders of modern Iran.
Origins
The Safavid dynasty had its origins in a long established
Persian[8]
origins.
Initially, the Safaviyeh was a spiritual response to the upheavals and unrest in eastern Anatolia. Around 1400, the order changed its orientation from a Sunni to the extremist Shiite (ghulat). During the 15th century, the Safaviyeh gradually gain political and military clout in the Akkoyunlu state. After becoming the Safaviyeh leader in 1447, Sheikh Junayd - a descendant of Sheikh Safi al-Din, transformed the order into a revolutionary Shiite movement in the region.
Founder
The Safavid ruling dynasty was founded by Shah Ismā'il I.
Azerbaijani in origin, he was of mixed Turkic, Iranic, and Pontic Greek heritage[9] and was a distant descendant of Safi al-Din. As such, Ismā'il was the last in line of hereditary Grand Masters of the Safaviyeh Sufi order, prior to its ascent to a ruling dynasty, and believed himself to be of divine Islamic descent. He was also deeply influenced by the Persian cultural identity, and particularly with the Shahnameh of Firdawsi, which probably explains the fact that he named all of his sons after the Shahnameh characters. Ismā'il was also known as an Azerbaijani
poet under the pen name of Khatai.
Ismā'il rise to power was predominantly due to the massive support from the powerful
Azerbaijan[9] who, along with other supporters of the Safavid family, became collectively known as Qizilbash (Ottoman Turkish for "red head"). After the defeat of Akkoyunlu leader Alwand Mirza near Sharur, Ismā'il marched into Tabriz and enthroned himself as a Shah of Azerbaijan in July 1501 [10][11][12][13][14] A year later, in 1502, Ismā'il claimed all of Iran.[15]
References
- ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica. R. N. Frye. Peoples of Iran.
- ^ [http://www.tau.ac.il/dayancenter/mel/lewis.html Iran in History by Bernard Lewis
- ^ "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? R.M. Savory, Iran under the Safavids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980), Page 3
- ^ Roger M. Savory, Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Safawids", Online Edition, 2005
- ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica. R.M. Savory. EBN BAZZAZ
- ^ [http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/reflections_safavid_history_historiography1.php Roger M. Savory. Is there an ultimate use for historians? Reflections on Safavid history and historiography. 16 March 1995
- ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica. R.M. Savory. EBN BAZZAZ
- ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, Vol. XII, p. 873, original German edition, " Persian (Geschichte des neupersischen Reichs)", (LINK)
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia Iranica. R. N. Frye. Peoples of Iran.
- ^ S. A. I. Tirmizi, "Indian Historical Vistas", Munshiram Manoharlal, 1980, p. 12
- ISBN 0061812358, p. 505
- ^ David J. Roxburgh. "Prefacing the File: The Writing of Art History in Sixteenth-Century Iran", Brill Academic Publishers, 2001, p. 18
- ^ Lawrence Davidson, Arthur Goldschmid, "A Concise History of the Middle East", Westview Press, 2006, p. 153
- ^ Richard Tapper. "Shahsevan in Safavid Persia", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 37, No. 3, 1974, p. 324
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica. R.M. Savory. Esmail Safawi