Safavid
Empire
Alex Chambers, Parker Thiel, Browning Dunn
Social
Women:
• Seldom in public (veiling of women)
• Private sections of the home
• Islamic law did allow women to
retain property after marriage.
Men:
• Had all rights
• Were supposed to be well rounded
(like Renaissance men)
Family / Kinship
• The Safavid family was a literate
family.
• The social role of economics in the
Safavid Empire was an important.
There was a great chain of being
for the people in the society.
Political
 Like the Ottoman Empire, the Safavids
emerged following the struggles of the
Mongols.
 Of the Muslim empires, the Safavids
adopted Shi'ite theology.
 The political structure of the Safavid empire
was originally started as military based
government.
 The Safavid state was one of checks and
balance, both within the government and on
a local level. At the apex of this system was
the Shah, with total power over the state.
 Nationalism played an important role in the
Safavid Empire’s rise.
 The empire was brought down due to Shah
Abbas not finding a successor.
Interaction
 In the 11th and 12th centuries, a large migration
of Oghuz Turks, not only Turkified Azerbaijan, but
also Anatolia.
 Azeri Turks were the founders of Safavid dynasty.
 It is probable that the Safavid
family originated in Persian
Kurdistan, and then later
moved to Azerbaijan.
 The Safavid family adopted
the Azari form of the Turkish
spoken there. Eventually they
settled in the small town of
Ardabil during the eleventh
century.
Culture
 Safavid culture is often admired for the large-scale city planning
and the advanced architecture.
 The arts played a large role in the Safavid Empire. Persian
rugs, book-binding, and writing
 Even Shahs themselves supported Persian literature, poetry,
and art projects. One of the most famous art projects included
the Grand Shahnama, of Shah Tahmasp)
 Members of the family had a strong belief in literacy. Some
Shahs created their own Persian poetry.
 The main philosophy / idea of the Safavid Empire was making
the people literate. School was extremely important.
Economics
 Subsistence farming and herding major employment
 No significant manufacturing sector to speak of
 Got silk fabrics from the north to make carpets and other
things
 No interest in building agricultural economy for same reasons
as Ottomans
 Grew many kinds of fruits and vegetables that were never
herd of in Europe
 Best known trade routes were the silk road and the Persian
Gulf
The End
( ‫) النهاية‬
( Son )