Safavid State Research Articles

Doctoring the Body and Exciting the Soul: Drugs and consumer culture in medieval and early modern Iran

AbstractThis article focuses on the development of early modern consumerism in a part of the Middle East that historians of consumer culture are yet to fully explore. Making use of a wide variety of unexplored and underexplored original sources, the article contends that early modern consumer culture in Iran was grounded deeply in the ever-widening patterns of exchange and use that had developed slowly over the course of the previous centuries. The discussion below takes the growing popular interest in a few key psychoactive substances as a useful barometer of the dynamics of mass consumption, and chronicles how the slow and ever-expanding use of alcohol, opium, and cannabis (or a cannabis-like product) in the medieval period led to the popularity of coffee, tobacco, older drugs, and still other commodities in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The aim here is to use the history of drug culture as an entry point to scrutinize the emergence of early modern consumerism among the elites and the non-elites in both urban and rural areas of the Middle East. In doing so, this article reconstructs the cultural and social history of recreational drugs prior to and during the early modern period, and elucidates the socio-economic context that helped bring about a ‘psychoactive revolution’ in the Safavid state (1501–1736).

SAFEVİ ŞEYHLERİNİN DULKADİRLİ MÜRİTLERİ

The introduction of a new religion explanation in accordance with the Islamic understanding of the Safavid order of the Turkmans facilitated the dissemination of the tariqat among the nomads. Safavid sheikhs were able to gather supporters sending caliphs to the tribes that were far from the influence of zawiyas adherent to madrasas and Sunnih Islamic doctrine. The sect was first spread among the nomadic tribes in the Aqkoyunlu and Karakoyunlu regions and later in Anatolia. The Safaviyye sect found a significant number of followers from the Turkmans who formed the community of Ramazanoglu and Karamanoglu, as well as nomads from the Ottoman Empire. One of the Turkman organizations, who were sincere followers of Safavid sheikhs and participated in the foundation of the Safavid State, was the Dulkadir Turkmans. The aim of this article is to explain which of the tribes belonging to Dulkadirli Turkmens participated in the Safavid Union and in what way they participated. In the first part of the article, the conditions that enabled Safavi tariqat spread among the Dulkadirli tribes are discussed. For this purpose, the data especially from the Ottoman Registry Books about the religious environment which was effective in Maras, Kars-i Maras (Kadirli) and Bozok (Yozgat) regions of Dulkadirli Turkmans in XV. and XVI. centuries are presented. The second part of the study is about the tribes who joined the Safavid unit from the Turkman of Dulkadir. Some examples of Dulkadirli personalities who carried out important duties in the Safavid State are presented; which tribe they belonged to and what region they were from the Dulkadirs and where they left for Iran are explained. The Ottoman Tahrir books are used as the main source for the determination of the main dwellings of the tribes who joined the Safavids.

Uvod u rešavanje pitanja Safavidskog nasleđa (1721-1723) - prema britanskim izvorima

The crisis which at the beginning of the 18th century caught Persia strengthened the aspirations of its neighbors, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, in regard to certain parts of its territory. The ascent of Persia in the era of Safavid contributed to the production of raw silk, which made it a major exporter of raw and processed silks of the finest quality. This was the main reason why some European countries (England, France and the Netherlands) established permanent diplomatic and trade relations with Persia. With several decades of delay, a new competitor appeared in that field, Russia, which in the middle of the 17th century was seriously interested in joining this trade, but by its own model. The British East India Company, which opened the factories in the most important centers of silk production, established by the benefits it gained a certain degree of monopoly on its exports directly from the territory of Persia. Although in certain periods the Porte was leading a protectionist policy to ban the export of Persian Silk through its territories, it did not succeed in it precisely because of the demand of the European market for the merchandise. Silk and raw yarn exported from Persia to the Ottoman Empire became the object of the trade of European Levant companies (English, French, and Dutch). The interests which the European trading companies placed in the course of events in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia took on the mark of serious diplomatic activities, which used various means to achieve political pressure. The initial phase of the disintegration of the Safavid state found its place in British diplomatic sources. The significance of these archival sources can be seen in the fact that they offer a different point of view it shows the realities in Persia in the period from 1721 to 1723, while presenting plenty of new data. The British diplomatic mission in the Ottoman Empire, led by Ambassador Abraham Stanyan, had a series of justifications to monitor developments in the Caspian and Caucasus regions, fearing that they would influence the fall of the British exchange with those areas. Due to the ambitions of Russia to divert to its territory parts of the trade route where the exchange of silk took place, the Levant Company would have become the most damaged side, which additionally influenced Stanyan to engage in the defense of British trade interests. Diplomacy, as a rule, played a role in normalizing relations in Persia, but its mechanisms of pressure, which it employed, proved insufficiently strong to prevent the Russian army from attacking Dagestan and Georgia, as well as the breakthrough of the Ottoman army in Persia. Attempting to neutralize the actions of French Ambassador Marquise de Bonacca, Stanyan sought to closely moni­tor developments in Persia and respond in a timely manner. In doing so, he was aided by the privileged position in the diplomatic corps in Istanbul, which British diplomats gained in successful mediation during the negotiations in Sremski Karlovci in 1699 and Požarevac in 1718, which was contrary to the principles of Russian diplomacy, which did not trust the Great Britain and its representatives in the Ottoman state and Persia.

AZERBAIJANI LITERARY LANGUAGE OF THE 17th CENTURY: THE SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTENT AND LANGUAGE OF THE ERA

The article reveals the socio-political content of the XVII century. Both dependence on foreigners and the influence of internal tensions between tribes on the political life of the Safavid state are investigated. In such historical circumstances, the cultural environment is also based on sources that have not yet been identified. Under such circumstances, a description of the language is given. In particular, during the period of the Shah Abbas (during the rule of other shahs), attitudes toward the Turkish language are expressed in contradictory ideas. It has been established that the stage of the XVII century literary language is not a way out, but history as a turning point. This is proved, on the one hand, by scientific data, as well as facts about language. As a result of the research, it turns out that the language policy that underlies the existence of the state and the nation is carried out in the direction of Turkic rule in the 17th century. The article contains the rich language of the real world, including the introduction of the Turkish language in the history of the 17th century Azerbaijani literary language, the decline of the Persian language (including the accompanying Arabic language), the destruction of cults, as well as the intensification of new processes, such as differentiation, stabilization and democratization examples. In the 17th century, as in all periods of the history of the Azerbaijani literary language or at all stages of historical development, the process of defining a literary language and defining different styles (charming, scientific, official epistolary) took place. Style plays a significant role in relationships. In volume, the rate is determined in style and appears. As a result, it is noted that the 17th century very dynamically develops phonetic, lexical and grammatical norms in the direction of nationalization. The development of literary language, of course, all levels of language are available. But what if you want to translate it into one language? The real fact, which is obvious, or hidden, or not, is voluminous in the volume, which is a lexical system, which leads to great changes. This does not mean that in other languages, such as the phonological system, the language is checked and the file is checked. All, that is, it is not so, but here is a breakthrough for change. This is not an idea or an idea of ignorance and ignorance, but there is no certainty that changes in language change. The truth is that everything that creates a change in the original of another phenomenon, which confirms the existence of legality. The definition of phonetic norms for a certain period of time (continent, period or phase) is contained in a volume that is one of the other publicly available versions of the phone in the language, and, in each other's eyes, by removing from one-dimensional parallels, stabilization in language and content.

Trade العلاقات التجارية للدولة الصفوية مع الدول الخارجية

Trade relations of the Safavid state with foreign countries Trade is one of the most important economic activities, where the consumer gets to life through a point of communication between the producer and the consumer. Trade is divided into internal and external trade, where the internal trader's responsibility is to deliver and provide products and services within the geographical boundaries of the state. Foreign trade is the process of exchanging national economic products outside the country's geographical borders, as well as the transfer of ownership of products and resources to one another through the import and export process. Therefore, trade is the important areas of life, which have become important factors that affected the economy (Iran) in a record period in the Safavid era, which led to the expansion and development of trade relations with neighboring countries abroad, and in order to recognize the importance of this aspect, this research Shows the importance of trade and its impact on political treaties of that era. This research is divided into an introduction with three main sections, the first deals with domestic and foreign trade, while the second section highlights the attention on trade routes, either the third and last section was for the purpose of studying the commercial relations of Safavid with other Nations, which include the (Ottoman, The Portuguese, British, Dutch, French, and Russians).

Trade العلاقات التجارية للدولة الصفوية مع الدول الخارجية

Trade relations of the Safavid state with foreign countries
 Trade is one of the most important economic activities, where the consumer gets to life through a point of communication between the producer and the consumer. Trade is divided into internal and external trade, where the internal trader's responsibility is to deliver and provide products and services within the geographical boundaries of the state. Foreign trade is the process of exchanging national economic products outside the country's geographical borders, as well as the transfer of ownership of products and resources to one another through the import and export process.
 Therefore, trade is the important areas of life, which have become important factors that affected the economy (Iran) in a record period in the Safavid era, which led to the expansion and development of trade relations with neighboring countries abroad, and in order to recognize the importance of this aspect, this research Shows the importance of trade and its impact on political treaties of that era.
 This research is divided into an introduction with three main sections, the first deals with domestic and foreign trade, while the second section highlights the attention on trade routes, either the third and last section was for the purpose of studying the commercial relations of Safavid with other Nations, which include the (Ottoman, The Portuguese, British, Dutch, French, and Russians).

بونیادی ئایدیۆلۆژى سیستمی کۆمارى ئیسلامی ئێران لێکۆڵینەوەیەک لە تیۆرى ولایەتى فەقیهـ

The basic idea of this study entitled: ( The political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran: a study of the implications of Wellyat Al-Faqih ) is to highlight on the study and analysis of the Iranian political system (methodological study), focusing on the issue of Wellyat Al-Faqih, which represents the Iranian Islamic state ideology. This ideology which has played a central orientation role and ongoing since the triumph of the revolution of the Iranian people against the monarchy in Iran in 1979 till now, which is the same (the theory of Wellyat Al-Faqih) that have been came an identification with the construction formulations of the constitutional Iranian political system and its characteristics, under the influence of ideas and directions of Imam Khomeini, in which the Supreme Guide of Islamic Revolution (Wellyat Al-Faqih) Considered the high authority in political and religion affairs inside the political system of Iran. Methodological, adopted in our study the entrance to the political Ideology in the context of the case study approach, by focusing on the role of religious- political culture of the (the 12th Imamy Shiite) in general, as an impotence which gives legitimacy to various political systems, by focusing on principle of Wellyat Al-Faqih in the Iranian Current political system, as the most important elements in the Iranian contemporary Political Culture. We divide our study into three topics, in the first topic we discussed the case of the historical context of the emergence of the theory of Wellyat Al-Faqih, to deal with the theoretical level of the problematic of the relation between the religion authority in the Shi'ite political thought (Al-Imamy), thus, through standing in most important outstanding stages of the theory Since the beginning centuries of Hegira until the era of The Safavid State. In the second topic we have shed light on the question of the development of the Wellyat Al-Faqihfrom idea to theory of power, Through which we referred to the experience of the Safavid state and the additions and developments that took place on the theory of the Wellyat AlFaqih in the stages that followed the Safavid state, Especially Khomeini's attempts in this regard But, in the third and final topic we have focused on embodiments of the theory ofWellyat Al-Faqih in the Iranian political system, which came as practical application of the views of Khomeini directions in this regard. In the end of the study we mentioned the most important conclusions that we reached

INTERACTION AND CONTRADICTION BETWEEN CARMELITE MISSIONARIES AND SHIITE CLERICS IN IRAN DURING SAFAVID DYNASTY

After the beginning of the Safavid State and expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, the presence of European states citizens and evangelistic missionary associations in Iran highly intensified. These associations who mostly were entering Iran for political and religious purposes, in some periods like Shah Abbas I reign could establish bases for themselves in Iran and could work there for long whiles. Among these missionary associations, the Carmelite missionaries who in the beginning entered Iran as Pope`s ambassadors are very significant. The Carmelites had a continuous presence in the Iran`s Shi`ite community for about 160 years (1608-1768 AD / 1018-1182 AH) and performed various religious, political and cultural activities. They converted some Shi`ites of Iran into Christianity during 1618-1621 AD/ 1027-1030 AH that this their attempt faced the intense reaction of Shia scholars. The authors in this study at the first order attend to discuss the contexts and the quality of the presence of the Carmelite missionaries in Iran, then analyze the interaction and opposition between them and the Shi`ite clerics as well as people`s masses and explain its consequences by noting some evidence.

INTERACTION AND CONTRADICTION BETWEEN CARMELITE MISSIONARIES AND SHIITE CLERICS IN IRAN DURING SAFAVID DYNASTY

After the beginning of the Safavid State and expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, the presence of European states citizens and evangelistic missionary associations in Iran highly intensified. These associations who mostly were entering Iran for political and religious purposes, in some periods like Shah Abbas I reign could establish bases for themselves in Iran and could work there for long whiles. Among these missionary associations, the Carmelite missionaries who in the beginning entered Iran as Pope`s ambassadors are very significant. The Carmelites had a continuous presence in the Iran`s Shi`ite community for about 160 years (1608-1768 AD / 1018-1182 AH) and performed various religious, political and cultural activities. They converted some Shi`ites of Iran into Christianity during 1618-1621 AD/ 1027-1030 AH that this their attempt faced the intense reaction of Shia scholars. The authors in this study at the first order attend to discuss the contexts and the quality of the presence of the Carmelite missionaries in Iran, then analyze the interaction and opposition between them and the Shi`ite clerics as well as people`s masses and explain its consequences by noting some evidence.

Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi and Safavid Shi‘ism: Akhbarism and Anti-sunni Polemic During the Reigns of Shah ‘Abbas the Great and Shah Safi

ABSTRACTThe rise of the Akhbari school in the Safavid period has been portrayed as a challenge to both the clerical power of the ʿulamaʾ and sometimes even as in opposition to the Safavid state. As a counter example to these characterisations of Akhbarism, one might consider the example Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi (d.1070/1659), known as “The First Majlisi”, and father of the famous Safavid scholar Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (“The Second Majlisi”, d.1110/1699 or 1111/1700). He had close relations with the Safavid court, dedicating a work to Shah Abbas II, and generally accepting royal patronage when it was offered. His system of legal interpretation and the analysis of hadith in particular, is thoroughly Akhbari. In this article I analyse Taqi al-Majlisi’s ideas as found in the introductory sections to his Lawamiʿ-i Sahibqirani, a Persian language commentary on an early collection of Twelver Shiʿi reports from the Imams. As an appendix, I translate one section which demonstrates not only his thoroughly Akhbari methodology, but also his originality within the Akhbari school. He should, I argue, be particularly remembered for promoting the authority of the ʿulamaʾ from an Akhbari perspective, and here he links the rejection of ijtihad (a hallmark of the Akhbari school) to the Shiʿi rejection of the selection of Abu Bakr as caliph. In doing this, he establishes and exploits a link between the support of ijtihad (that is, the Usuli position), the heresy of Sunnism and the betrayal of fundamental Shi‘i beliefs.

Peasant Uprisings in Astarabad: the Siyāh Pūshān (wearers of black), the Sayyids, and the Safavid State

Rebellions bringing together peasant-pastoralists, local dignitaries, and a few Sayyids prevented the Safavid monarchs from effectively controlling the political and economic activities in the province of Astarabad until the late sixteenth century. This paper investigates the nature of these rebellions led by the siyāh pūshān (wearers of black), and the socio-economic background and religious leanings of these rebels and their diverse allies. It also pays special attention to Astarabad's Sayyids, their intellectual formation, and their distinct approaches to the Safavid state from the early sixteenth century until the late 1570s when the uprisings lost much of their vigor. While heterodoxy may have been part of Astarabad's religious landscape, there is no evidence that it had a significant manifestation in the Siyah Push movement. More importantly, urban Shiʿi doctrinal and legal traditions had profound roots in Astarabad, nurtured by the Sayyids and promoted by the Betekchi dignitaries prior to the rise of the Safavids. This is significant given the fact that a group of Sayyids from Astarabad (especially the town of Fenderesk) were directly involved in the insurgency against the early Safavids.

Кумыкские феодальные владения в кавказской политике России в период антииранских восстаний (1707—1721) и распада сефевидского государства

The article, based on an analysis of archival materials, information, Caucasian studies, Russian and Western European authors XVIII—XIX centuries. Kumyk considered fiefs in the Caucasian policy of Russia in the context of anti-Iranian revolts 1707—1721; characterized international position Kumyk possessions, defines the political situation in the region, where all the time competed for influence in the province of the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia; It indicates the growth of pro-Russian orientation Kumyk princes in a collapse of the Safavid state and the aggressive ambitions of ports.

The Decline of Safavid Iran in Comparative Perspective

This essay analyzes the incontrovertible weakening of the Safavid state in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century by putting it in a larger context. It does so by comparing various manifestations of Iran’s “decline” at the time to conditions and developments in the adjacent Ottoman and Mughal states, where similar processes were playing out in the same period. In order to arrive at a measured and balanced view of similarities and differences between these three early modern Islamic empires, it singles out and focuses on four areas: geographical/environmental and economic conditions, political developments, the state of the army, and ideological characteristics.

Messianic Oeuvres in Interaction: Misattributed Poems by Shah Esmāʿil and Nesimi

This paper discusses the philological, literary and cultural-historical background of 23 poems that can be found in manuscript copies of the respective divān of both Nesimi (d. 1407), the most prominent poet of the Horufi tradition, and Shah Esmāʿil, the founder of the Safavid state (r. 1501-24) who was also known for his popular Turkic poetry with a heavily messianic veneer. One possible reason for this textually detectable confluence and intermixture might be the partially oral, ritual, homiletic context with fluid notions of authorship in which these poems were performed, but there was also a broader socio-religious context of interaction between various popular messianic traditions of the day, the Horufis, the Bektashis, the Safavids and others.

The Rise of the Safavids According to their Old Veterans: Amini Haravi's Futuhat-e Shahi

This article studies an early Safavid chronicle, Futuhat-e Shahi by Amini Haravi. In 1521, the founder of the Safavid state, Shah Isma‘il, provided Haravi with a number of veterans from the early days of the Safavid uprising as informants. Their narrative presents an alternative view on the early career of the shah that differs from the dominant version current in modern scholarship. From the perspective of the Futuhat, the rise of the Safavids did not occur as a wild apocalyptic explosion, but was a carefully planned and cautious campaign run by experienced commanders who kept a tight rein on the teenage Shah Isma‘il.

SAFEVİ DEVLETİ’NİN KURULUŞU MESELESİ: KIZILBAŞLARIN ORTAYA ÇIKIŞI

After the crisis of Political, economic andsocial that Mongol and Timur Invasions made, Ardabil Sect flourished in Ardabil and increased its followers. After The Founder of The Sect, Safi-ad-din Ardabili, The Sect politicized and seized power with help of Aq Qoyunlu Turks. The most important Turkish tribes in the seizure of political power were Shamlu, Rumlu, Ustadjlu, Takkalu, Zulkadir (Dulkadir), Afshar, Qajar, Warsak and Karadag. Members of the Turkish tribes were also follower of Ardabil Sect and they were called as Qizilbash (Redhead) because they worea red cap. Safavid state also were called as Safavid Qizilbash State because Shah Ismail I depended on them to found the dynasty. In the founding of Safavids, Qizilbash Turks had important role but later, they started to be trouble for the dynasty. Shah Tahmasp I took precautions for Qizilbash Turks but He was not successful and the problems kept. Qizilbash Turks were effective in administration and were in the activities of the Sect. In this study, It is tried to be explained what reasons the Sect depended on, what reasons made The Sect spread from Iran to West of Anatolia and how the followers politicized as Qizilbash.

Vintages of the Sāqī-nāma: Fermenting and Blending the Cupbearer's Song in the Sixteenth Century

Drawing on a rich tradition of anacreontic poetry and taking inspiration from works by Nizāmī and Hāfiz, the sāqī-nāma or “cupbearer's song” emerged as an independent genre in the early sixteenth century and flourished throughout the Persian literary world for the next 250 years. Looking back on the development of the genre, the early seventeenth-century literary historians ‘Abd al-Nabī Qazvīnī and Awhadī Balyānī give contrasting accounts of its formation, but both agree on the significance of the work of Hakīm Partuvī Shīrāzī (d. 928/1520–21). An examination of his sāqī-nāma, together with two other early representatives of the genre by Sidqī Astarābādī (d. 952/1545) and Sharaf Jahān Qazvīnī (d. 968/1561), shows how closely this new genre was tied to the politics and ideology of the new Safavid state and reveals profound structural similarities to the preeminent panegyric genre of the Islamicate world, the qasīda. But once the basic components of the sāqī-nāmā were distilled and taken up by poets outside this socio-political environment, the genre proved to be as protean as the wine symbolism at its core. Cupbearer songs from the end of the century, particularly those of Muhammad Sūfī Māzandarānī (d. 1035/1625–26) and Sanjar Kāshānī (d. 1021/1612), show how the basic elements of the genre could be reconfigured to serve a variety of more personal interests.

Yutaka Hirano. « On the Intertribal Conflict Known as ‘The Takkalu Disaster’ ». Meiji University Journal of Asian History, 10, 2005, pp. 55-67 [in Japanese

By analyzing the course of a civil war in 1531, generally known as “The Takkalu disaster,” this paper reconsiders the process with which Sāh Ṭahmāsp, the second Safavid ruler, took power into his own hands. Since the ascendance of the young ruler, the reign of the Safavid State had remained in the hands of powerful Qizilbash leaders, who fiercely vied for the pre-eminent position of amīr al-omarā. The incident began with the accession of Chūha Solṭān Takkalu to this office in 1527. His lust f...

Roger Savory. « Relations between the Safavid State and its Non-Muslim Minorities ». Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 14, 4 (2003), pp. 435-458.

The eminent Safavid historian Roger Savory offers here a concise exploration of the status and treatment of non-Muslims during the Safavid period (1501-1722) of Iran. In addition to a short overview of Islamic juridical justifications for the second-class status of Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sabeans living under Islamic rule, Savory provides a brief synopsis of the rise of Mongol ecumenical policies in 13th and 14th century Iran and their subsequent disappearance during the interneci...

Relations between the Safavid State and its Non-Muslim Minorities 1

The article outlines the history of relations between the Safavid state and its dhimm L ¥ minorities. Important policies derived from and peculiar to Ithna 'Ashar L ¥ doctrine are also discussed as well as the importance of the ruler's discretion in the application and enforcement of the policies within the region. Particular attention is paid to the period of rule under 'Abba ¥ s I in which multiculturalism and tolerance were prevalent throughout the kingdom. The more hostile relations of the state to its non-Muslim minorities before and after 'Abba ¥ s I's reign are attributed to the eventual decline of the state.