29 - Safavid Empire (comprehensive)

Safi al-Din

(1252-1334) Persian Sufi mystic and founder of the Safavid dynasty; claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad

Isma'il

(1487-1524) Sufi commander who conquered Persian capital of Tabriz in 1501; first Safavid to be proclaimed shah

Safavid empire

(1502-1736) Persian dynasty; originally a Turkic nomadic group; family originated in Sufi mystic group; conquered Persia and established kingdom; espoused Shi'a Islam

Isfahan

(1592-1629) Safavid capital under Abbas the Great; planned city laid out according to shah's plan; example of Safavid architecture

Nadir Khan Afshar

(1688-1747) soldier-adventurer following fall of Safavid dynasty in 1722; proclaimed himself shah in 1736; established short-lived dynasty in reduced kingdom

Tahmasp I

(r. 1524-1576) won the throne after Isma'il; rebuilt the Safavid dynasty; brought Turkic chiefs under control; restored peaceful relations with the Ottoman empire and took control of most of Iraq, including Baghdad

Mahd-e Olya

(r. 1578-1579) wife of the Shah Mohammed Khodabanda and mother of Abbas I; a powerful political figure and de facto Safavid ruler

Abbas I the Great

(r. 1587-1629) extended Safavid domain to greatest extent; created slave regiments based on captured Russians who monopolized firearms within Safavid armies; incorporated Western military technology

shah

Persian title for king; leader of the Safavid empire

imams

according to Shi'ism, perfect spiritual and political leaders free of error and sin who could trace descent from the successors of Ali

Twelver Shiism

branch of Shi'a Islam spread by Safavid Shah Ismail; stressed that there were twelve imams, perfect spiritual and political successors to Muhammad free of error and sin; Ali was the first of these imams followed by Muhammad's male descendants while the last went into hiding and would return someday

Ali Qapu

grand Safavid palace in Isfahan built by Shah Abbas I

padishah

grand title meaning "king of kings"; equivalent to emperor or caliph

mullahs

local mosque officials and prayer leaders within the Safavid Empire; agents of Safavid religious campaign to convert all of population to Shi'ism

Sufis

mystical form of Islam that emphasized personal inward experience of God and rejected materialism; produced influential Islamic art and literature; helped spread Islam

qizilbash (red heads)

name given to Safavid followers because of their distinctive red headgear

battle of Chaldiran

site of battle between Safavids and Ottomans in 1514; Safavids severely defeated by Ottomans; checked western advance of Safavid empire