Power discourse: reflecting Shah Abbas I’s political thoughts on Safavid architecture and urban development (Isfahan’s Baghshahr Utopia)

Abstract

The Safavid era is one of the golden eras of Iranian architecture and art influenced by Shiite and Iranian thought, especially during the 42-year reign of Shah Abbas I, in which thinking, ideology and economics grew because of the silk trade. As a result of the centralized consolidation of power and economics following the political formations, the state sought its ideas in the field of art and architecture. Historical analysis of what has happened in the structure of cities and in different periods is the effect of the power of the ruling class on their structure. Isfahan, as the first garden city, is no exception. The Persian Garden has been the utopia of its creators since it was rooted in their beliefs and therefore the Safavid Garden is the manifestation of two heavenly beliefs centered on the four-garden principle of the shadow of paradise in the present world. School of Isfahan, based on shiite and ancient Iran thought, had established its Architecture and Urban design in an exemplary and imaginative form. Using these ideological foundations, Shah Abbas sought to construct his utopia in order to have an immortal and perpetual influence on all arts, as the Isfahan school was indebted to his thoughts. Isfahan's Baghshahr, first chosen by Shah Abbas I for political influence, was the capital to serve as a venue for the king's power and utopia. Safavid political discourse is based on the interplay of the components of Sufism, Shi'ism, Islamic tradition and caliphate and the Divine glory. In this article, with an analytical and descriptive perspective, we try to prove the influence of politics on the art of the Safavid period, so that this hegemony is also abundant in the religious ideology of that period. The questions we face here are: What strategies did the Safavids use to form their own political government? Do political factors influence Safavid art and architecture? And how does it appear and occur? Finally, sixteen political factors were identified in the process of city structure, not only in politics, but also in geography, economics, and religion, all of which influenced the design of the Safavid garden city alongside the political model.