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400 Years Ago in West Asia

After many decades of foreign rule, the Persian Empire rose yet again under Shah Ismail, founder of the Safavid dynasty, crowned in 1502 in the city of Tabriz. The Safavid dynasty had its origins in a long established Sufi order which had flourished in Azerbaijan since the early 14th century. Its founder was Sheikh Safi al-Din (d.1334) after whom it is named. He came from Ardebil, where his shrine exists to this day. In 1501 the young head of the order, Shah Ismail I (1501-1524), defeated the Turkoman ruler of Iran, Alvand, at Sharur and occupied Tabriz. The victory was managed with the help of the Qizilbash turkoman tribesmen. The new shah made the Shi'ite form of Islam the state religion.

The Shi'ite Qizilbash tribesmen that lived in the Ottoman province of Anatolia begin a serious revolt in the early 1500s. The Ottoman emperor Selim "the Grim" crushes the revolt and invades Persia itself, winning a major battle at Caldiran in 1514. Mesopotamia (Iraq) is annexed by the Turks.

The 60 years following the death of Ismail saw Persia weakened by royal in- fighting. Shah Abbas I (1587-1629) proved to be a decisive ruler, the first of the Safavid shahs to establish Persia as a homogeneous state, enforcing, often brutally, adherence to Shi'ism, and imposing Farsi (Persian) as a unifying language throughout the land. With the aid of two English mercenaries, the Sherley brothers, who taught his armies how to use artillery, he defeated the Turks and repulsed the Portuguese from the strategically important island of Ormuz. He established his capital at Isfahan and was responsible for the redevelopment of the city.

Abbas, however, feared treachery from the large royal family, as had happened to past rulers, and blinded or imprisoned his own sons. Abbas died in 1629 and was followed by his grandson Safi. He had little training in how to rule and proved incompetent and cruel. He in turn was followed by his ten-year old son, Shah Abbas II (1642-1666), who was initially brought up very strictly by his austere and religious ministers. He seems, however, to have been a kind and liberal monarch, tolerant in religious matters and lenient with his subjects. Many of the finest monuments in Isfahan date from his reign, the Khajou Bridge, The Palaces of Chehel Sotoon, and Talar Ashraf, and the Mosque of Hakim.

A tea-house today in Isfahan, built in one of the arches of the Si-oh-Seh Bridge, built in 1602 during the reign of Shah Abbas. Si-oh-Seh is Persian for "33", after the 33 arches used in the bridge. A tea-house is a traditional kind of restaurant.

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