Table of Contents
What ethnic origins did the Safavids have?
The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Azerbaijani, Kurdish Persian and Turkmen, which included intermarriages with Georgian and Pontic Greekdignitaries).
What preceded the Safavid Empire?
Almost simultaneously with the emergence of the Safavid Empire, the Mughal Empire, founded by the Timurid heir Babur, was developing in South-Asia. The Mughals adhered (for the most part) to a tolerant Sunni Islam while ruling a largely Hindu population.
How did the origins of the Safavid Empire differ from those of the Ottoman Empire?
The Ottomans were Sunni Turks, whereas the Safavids were Shiite Iranians. Safavids were superior than Ottomans in art and architecture and had a great impact on Ottomas. Safavids spoke Persian and Turkish while Ottomans only spoke Turkish.
What was the Safavid Empire influenced by?
There, the Safavids influenced the local Turcoman tribes, and they themselves were influenced by Turcomans, such that the originally Iranian-speaking Safavids became Turkic-speaking. In fact, from Sheikh Junayd to Sheikh Ismail I—the founder of the Safavid Empire—all ruling Sheikhs of the Safavids had Turcoman mothers.
What did the Safavid Empire create what was unique about the Safavid empire?
Safavid dynasty, (1501–1736), ruling dynasty of Iran whose establishment of Twelver Shiʿism as the state religion of Iran was a major factor in the emergence of a unified national consciousness among the various ethnic and linguistic elements of the country.
Why is Ardabil important in Safavid history?
From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.
How were the Ottoman and Safavid similar?
Both empires had religious tolerance and accepted people of other religions. During sometime periods, people of religions other than Islam were taxed but political changes made by different rulers either ignored or abolished these taxes. Both the Ottomans and the Safavids had Golden Ages.
What was the history of the Safavid Empire?
History & Culture. The Safavid Empire, based in Persia (Iran), ruled over much of southwestern Asia from 1501 to 1736. Members of the Safavid Dynasty likely were of Kurdish Persian descent and belonged to a unique order of Sufi -infused Shi’a Islam called Safaviyya.
Who was the fourth leader of the Safavid dynasty?
By the time of the order’s fourth leader, Sheikh Junayd, it had become explicitly Shiʿi. Masjed-e Emām (“Imam Mosque”), formerly Masjed-e Shāh, Eṣfahān, Iran.
When did the Safavids take control of Iran?
The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan .
What kind of religion did the Safavids ban?
Alien shrines were vandalised, and Sufi mystic groups forbidden. This was surprising, since the Safavids owed their origins to a Sufi order and to a form of Shi’ism that they now banned.