Shahs ruled the Safavid Empire. The shah was the head of a monarchy. He was firmly in power and controlled the lands of his empire by buying the lands of the aristocrats. The people felt close to the shah, although he was a semi-divine character. The shah was able to achieve this feeling by mingling with his subjects in public and always making himself available to his people.
The Shah also was the head of religious life of the Safavid Empire. (The Safavids were Shi'ite, one of the two major groups of Islam, the other being Sunnite; for more information on Shi'ite go to the Social Past) He was the self-proclaimed spiritual leader of all of Islam, though the Shi'ite sect of Islam was less numerous than the Sunni sect. The shah held the belief that the founder of his empire was the prophet Muhammad.
The shah dominated government, but there were various other positions in government that wielded some influence on society. Appointment to senior positions in government was done by merit rather than birth. This is highly advanced for people living at this time (1). At one point during the Safavid Empire, the shah hired foreigners to participate in government to avoid competition between the Turkish and non-Turkish peoples of the empire.
Two shahs who had profound impacts on the Safavid Empire were Shah Ismail and Shah Abbas. Shah Ismail is credited with founding the empire. He was the leader of a community of Turkish tribes living near Azerbaijan which is near the Caspian Sea (see map). In 1501, using a strong army, he conquered much of what is today Iran and Iraq. He tried to convert people from the neighboring Ottoman Empire to Islam by sending preachers into the empire. However, this backfired because the Ottoman sultan did not want his people to convert so he waged war on the Safavids and claimed the city of Tabriz. Later, Ismail regained Tabriz.
Before Shah Abbas came to power, the Safavid Empire was forced to turn over much of its territory in a 1580 peace treaty when the Ottomans again attacked. Even though these things happened, he was able to make his rule the high point in the glory of the Safavid Empire (2). When Shah Abbas became the shah in 1587, he moved the capital from Tabriz in the Northwest to Isafan in the South. (see map) He created a strong army and trained his administrators. He was beloved to his people. He highly encouraged the arts and architecture as can be seen by the courtyard surrounded by the beautiful architecture in Isafan that was financed by Shah Abbas as seen below.
He regained Azerbaijan for the Safavids in a 1612 peace treaty with the Ottomans.
When he died in 1629, the Safavid Empire began to weaken until it eventually was invaded by Afghan tribesmen who seized the capital of Isafan in 1723. The Safavids then retreated to Azerbaijan and Persia sank into a long period of political and social anarchy.
1. Britannica Online
2. http://www.smcm.edu/Academics/ALDiv/Art/webcourses/arth100/Empire/Safavids/safhm.htm
