Documentary: The Beautiful And Historic City of Isfahan
After the disastrous invasion of Mongols, in the 1200s, migrated Turks and Mongolian tribes adopted the Persian customs and even language. The Safavids, lasting from 1501 to 1722, began from a small Turkish nomadic group and grew into a centralized state based on military conquest. They quickly created the basics of an impressive, modernized state machine that was controlled by a hereditary kingship to support a political infrastructure that eventually would last into the twentieth century.
The Neighboring Ottoman Empire of the Safavid empire created many cultural similarities and differences between the two empires, a key difference being that the Ottomans were Sunni Muslim not Shi'ite. Muhammad, the religious founder brought many problems with his death, including the divisions of religion. The Sunnis believed in crowning the leader from the Sunni, but the Shi'ites demanded that the ruler be chosen from Muhammad's son-in-law, who at the time was Ali. The location of the Safavid empire placed them right in the middle of the conflict between the Ottomans, Mughals, and alliance with Europe.
By the 15th century, ruled by Ismail I, the Safavids began converting large masses of their empire to devote themselves to the Shi'ite Muslim religion. Soon after, Abbas I came into power after his predecessor Mohammad had resigned. During this time, the Shaj mosque was designed along with many others of this ruling. Abbas supported and fueled the growth of Safavid economy and with Iran's position between the civilizations of Europe to its west and India and Islamic Central Asia to its east and north, increasing this trade was extremely doable. The Silk Road which led through northern Iran to India revived in the 16th century. Abbas also supported direct trade with Europe, particularly England and The Netherlands which brought in Persian carpet, silk and textiles. Abbas also marked a cultural high point for the empire. The arts, literature, poetry and architecture all flourished. In 1598 The capital was moved from Tabriz to Isfahan, a location more securely in the center of his empire and better situated on major trade routes. He then undertook a major building program to turn the city into a glorious focal point of his empire creating the royal palace, the royal mosque, and the Mosque of Sheikh Lutfullah (the private mosque of Shah Abbas).
Abbas contributed much to the lifestyle of the Safavids and was considered one of the greatest rulers of the dynasty even today. The following ruler, Husayn, let the empire fall right before his eyes while the Hotaki empire invaded. Soon after control was regained, problems began to arise everywhere; epidemics, famine, invasions, corruption. The army itself ceased to be reliable, and with the overthrow of Shah Soltan Hosein by Hotaki, in 1722 the Safavid Empire came to a close.
Abbas the Great (Shāh ‘Abbās I)
Ismail I (Shāh Ismāʿil)
The Safavid Empire emerged in the beginning of the sixteenth century, after the collapse of the empire of Tamerlane. The Empire was founded by Shah Ismail, a man who made many contributions to the Safavid Empire throughout his reign. In 1501 he seized the lands of Iraq, and soon after proclaimed Shi'ism the state religion. The establishment of the Safavid Empire was disturbing to the rest of the Muslim world, because the shah's followers thought him to be the rightful head of the entire Muslim community. This brought the Safavids into conflict with the Sunni Ottoman sultans who claimed the leadership of the Islamic community for themselves. In 1514 Ismail was defeated by his Sunni rival, the Ottoman sultan Selim I. Death followed Ismail but his reign will forever be remembered.
Battle of Chaldiran
The first full battle between the armies of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires was the Battle of Chaldiran took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. The most immediate factor that took place soon after the war was the absolute superiority of the Ottoman army over the Safavids and also showcased the effectiveness of new forms of weaponry of the Ottomans. The outcome of the war resulted in the Ottomans gaining immediate and permanent control over far eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq, as well as temporary control of northwestern Iran. The battle, however, was just the beginning of 41 years of destructive war between the two empires that finally ended in 1555 with the Treaty of Amasya.