Featuring: Phil Brooks and Gerardo Duran
Editor: Lilija Stevenson
Introduction: Welcome to this episode where Phil and Gerardo will discuss the Safavids! In this one, they’ll be discussing the events that lead to the start of the Safavid Empire.
Phil: Okay, so today we're going to discuss the start of the Safavid Empire all the way up to the wars with the Ottomans. Now, in 1501, Ishmael I was able to unite the local provinces of the Timurid empire and oust them from Persia into India, creating the Mughal Empire, which we'll discuss in a later episode. Ishmael adopted Shia Islam as the state religion, and as a result, clashed with the Sunni worshipping Ottomans. While the Safavid Empire experienced extreme support from Ottoman Shiites in the form of revolt, their youth as an empire resulted in severe losses, especially at the Battle of Chaldiran, where they lost significant pieces of their territory, including the capital.
Phil: The Safavids persevered under the next ruler, Tahmasp I, who continued the war. Tahmasp was only 10 years old when he took power in 1524. But he was forced to deal with extreme issues including a Civil War. This Civil War contributed to the Ottoman-Safavid conflict that began in 1532, in which the Ottomans attempted to replace Tahmasp with rulers who would better suit the Ottoman ideology. Meanwhile, the Mughal empire to the east was experiencing conflicts as well with Humayun claiming to be the true heir of the Empire being forced to flee to the Safavid Empire. Humayun requested military aid from Tahmasp and he got it. By 1555, the Ottoman-Safavid War had ended with the loss of territory for Tahmasp in the Caucuses, but a successful placement of Humayan back on the Mughal throne.
Gerardo: The main emphasis of the Safavids came in the battle that Phil mentioned right now, which is the Battle of Chaldiran. So before this battle, the Safavids were really weak in terms of their technology and tactics, because they used the lingering tactics of the Persian empires, and these tactics were outdated and obsolete. Within this time period, the Safavids were able to really take advantage of gunpowder. Gunpowder created an array of military weapons for the Safavids. Now, in a way, they were looking for arms for their soldiers because they realized that swords were no longer effective in battle. They wanted heavier artillery, so they created heavy cannons. Now, these two independent gunpowder technologies really influenced the Safavid fighting style, and it gave the Safavid Empire its name as one of the gunpowder empires.
Gerardo: Now, it's also important to recognize that they also incorporated horses into their cavalries, and this made their army more modern in a way. Because fighting on horseback was higher, it gave them an advantage, they were faster. And finally, in terms of culture, I want to talk about how the Safavids turned to ships for trade. And not only were they used for trade, but they were also used for some military purposes. They didn’t have a highly notable Navy, it was just sometimes used, but the main focus is really on commerce. Now, this is again, relating back to how it is in this culture, very Islam. It is an Islamic empire and as a result, it had an intricate trade network. They have, what I would say, one of the most interesting parts of Islamic religion because they had Sufi Islam in comparison to most of the other empires which are actually Sunni, so it was a very religious branch of Islam, and that's what makes their culture very unique. I want to mention that they are interacting in commerce, there was immense spending on shrines and religious schools to promote the Sufi religion.
Phil: After several invasions, the Safavid Empire was finally at peace when Tahmasp died in 1576. This launched a civil war again, a succession between two of Tahmasp’s sons, with Ishmael II claiming victory and executing his brother Haydar. Ishmael II ruled for a short period of time as he became the radical Sunni tyrant, killing many of his family members. His own sister and personal ally, Pari Khan Khanum, may have betrayed him by poisoning him in 1577, leading to his death. Pari Khan Khanum served as regent for Mohammad Khodabanda, who was blind and was placed on the throne in 1576. She was among the most powerful people in the Safavid Empire. Thus she was targeted and many attempts were made at her life, but she prevailed. Mohammed Khodabanda ended his reign after failing to defend against the Ottomans and understanding the lack of ability of his local rulers by giving the throne to his son, Abbas I, in 1588.
Phil: Abbas I carried many of the orders have carried a boss the first created many orders of business to recover lost territory and maintain domestic security. He did so by strengthening the army and bureaucracy and ensuring their loyalty. He became very skilled at orchestrating assassinations of rival leaders and successfully controlled the local rulers Abbas reorganized the Persian monarchy and recaptured some more territory in Central Asia. Finally, he decided to target the Ottomans by 1603 in the second Ottoman Safavid war. And he also removed some Portuguese ports by creating an alliance with the English but that's less relevant to this. But by 1618, the Ottoman Safavid War ended with several Safavid victories, marking the first time declaring victory against their rivals to the northeast or the Northwest.
Gerardo: As a final note, the city of Isfahan became one of the largest cities of the time, but it is also recognized for having a large number of mosques, religious schools, and shops. It also has public baths.
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Editor’s Note: Thank you so much for learning about the Safavids with us!