1000 word essay due tonight 11:00pm eastern time

Units/Unit 2/Safavid Empire.html

2: Intellectual Change from the 15th to 17th Century

The Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire, another Islamic Empire in Persia, continued to develop and grow during this period.  Introduced in Unit 1, the Safavid Empire found itself in competition with the Ottomans as it expanded.  Although there were differences, there were similarities between these two powerful Islamic empires in the Middle East. Since the Ismail declared himself the Shah of Iran in 1502, The Empire's economic strength came from its location on the trade routes, and the Empire made Iran a center of art, architecture, and philosophy. The Safavid Empire was strengthened by the inclusion of Shi'a soldiers from the Ottoman army who had fled from persecution.  By 1510 Ismail had conquered the whole of Iran. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they controlled all of modern day Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  

Still, the Safavid Empire struggled to expand and control its territory from the beginning. The biggest threat to the Safavid Empire came from the Ottomans, a Sunni dynasty, who considered the active recruitment of Turkmen tribes of Anatolia for the Safavid cause as a major threat.  The Safavids constantly fought the Ottomans who had superior firepower, and frequent warfare caused instability and weakness.  Furthermore, from its foundation, there was a great deal of factional division within the empire, much of which was caused by competition between powerful Turkic chiefs and warriors.  On a number of occasions, these Turkic leaders had unsuccessfully tried to take the position of shah away from the rulers.  The shahs finally had to move against the power of Turkic chiefs within their empire.  While this involved the shahs using their military strength against their rivals, a change in policy regarding the Turkic leaders was much more important.  The Turkic elites were assigned villages and territories over which they exercised control and the peasants in these regions were required to supply them and their troops with food and labor.  These powerful warriors were transformed into a class of warrior-nobles, much as had happened to the Ottoman military elites.  The most powerful Turkic warriors were given important positions within the administrative system.  Even with their new positions, the warrior elite still posed a potential threat to the Safavid rulers.  This forced the shahs to appoint Persians to positions of power at court and in the bureaucracy to offset the influence of the Turks.  At the same time, the Safavid rulers began to recruit slave boys from southern Russia.  These boys were converted to Islam and received an education, which in turn allowed them to serve in the army and bureaucracy in a similar manner as the Ottoman Janissaries.  This slave organization rose to have significant power within the political struggles of the day. 

Just as one Ottoman ruler is viewed as the greatest of the Sultans, one Safavid ruler is considered the premiere of all the Shahs: Abbas the Great (r.1588-1629), also known as Abbas I.  Abbas came to power at the age of sixteen and he quickly discovered that his army was ineffective in the war that was going on with the Ottomans.  Furthermore, he knew that the easing of tensions between the Turkic tribes was a priority as well.  In order to solve two concerns at once, Abbas expanded his military through the recruitment of "third force" soldiers in an effort not to favor one Turkic tribe over another.  This "third force" military trained Georgian, Circassian, and Armenian slaves and converts to Islam and equipped them with gunpowder technology, muskets, and cannons. In fact, Abbas was the first to use gunpowder as a weapon. He then turned to the English general Robert Shirley to help turn the Safavid army into a well-trained standing army based on the European model.  Abbas made the Russian slaves first utilized by Ismail the backbone of his military, and gave his slave forces, who owed their positions to the shah, a monopoly on the use of gunpowder.  The improved Safavid army had tremendous success on the battlefield, securing a number of victories over the rival Ottomans, including recapturing Baghdad.  By the end of the reign of Abbas, the army had reached 40,000 strong.  Abbas also expanded the trade system of his empire, making commercial links with both the Dutch and the English.  With the help of the English fleet, he used his navy to dislodge the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf. 

Abbas's reign was also known for several other achievements.  He moved his capital the central city of Isfahan in 1598, and with the construction of new mosques, baths, colleges, and travelers' inns, Isfahan became one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the center of Safavid architectural achievement. In making Isfahan the center of Safavid Empire, Abbas utilized the Armenian people, whom he had forcibly relocated to Isfahan from their Armenian homelands. Once they were settled, he allowed them considerable freedom and encouraged them to continue in their silk trade. Silk was an integral part of the economy and considered to be the best form of hard currency available. The Armenians had already established trade networks that allowed Abbas to strengthen the Safavid economy. Abbas then expanded the empire's carpet weaving industry into those trade networks, and soon Persian rugs were on wealthy Europeans' floors across Europe. Silks, manuscripts, bookbinding, and ceramics were also important Safavid exports.

His reign was the outstanding creative period of the Safavid era. Yet, while most of his reign was a success, Abbas became obsessed with a fear of assassination during his final years.  This caused him to put to death or blind any family member that caused suspicion.  One of his sons was killed and two more were blinded, which meant that when he died, he had no heir to succeed him and power began to be taken away from the shahs and spread among the competing factions.  So, while Abbas led the Safavid Empire during its pinnacle, he also prepared the way for its decline. In fact, some historians argue that his death was the beginning of the end of the Safavid Empire.

The conflict between the Ottomans and the Safavids was intense and violent.  While it had all the common motivations, such as competition for land, resources, and power, there was another important layer to this struggle.  Despite both empires being Islamic empires and having many other similarities, a major religious divide existed between the two empires.  The Ottomans were Sunni Muslims and the Safavids were Shi’ites.  This split within Islam can be traced back to the seventh century, soon after the death of Muhammad.  A struggle ensued over who should be the caliph or leader of Islam.  Many supported Ali, a relative of Muhammad, who became the fourth caliph until being killed in 661, allowing a rival family, the Umayyads, to take power and claim the title of caliph.  Even after his death, many still supported Ali and his family’s claim to lead Islam.  These supporters became known as the Shi’ites or Shias.  Those who did not support Ali became known as Sunnis.  The animosity between Shi’ites and Sunnis has continued throughout history, even today.  Shi’ites have historically been smaller, making up only about 10% of Muslims.  During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the warfare and competition between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire were driven in part by the division between Sunnis and Shi’ites.