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Isfahan is Half the World

Isfahan is Half the World. HIST 1007 11/20/13. Gunpowder/Muslim/Early Modern/ Turko -Persian Empires. Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) Safavid Empire (1502-1722) Mughal Empire (1526-1761). Ottoman Empire - Refresher. Turkish pastoralists serving Seljuqs Ghazi frontier warriors

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Isfahan is Half the World

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  1. Isfahan is Half the World HIST 1007 11/20/13

  2. Gunpowder/Muslim/Early Modern/Turko-Persian Empires • Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) • Safavid Empire (1502-1722) • Mughal Empire (1526-1761)

  3. Ottoman Empire - Refresher • Turkish pastoralists serving Seljuqs • Ghazi frontier warriors • Expansion into Balkans • Conquest of Constantinople • Turkic cavalry and gunpowder janisarries • Austere sultan

  4. Iran after the Timurids • Uymaq – Turkic chieftaincy • Chieftain and military retainers • Allied clans - clients • Political and economic upheaval • ¼ of population Turkish • Pastoral nomadism vs. sedentary agriculture • Disruption of irrigation and agricultural infrastructure • Uymaqrivalry and perpetual violence • White Sheep vs. Black Sheep Turkmen

  5. Iranian Sufism • Organize rural populations against political oppression • Populist and pan-sectarian • Veneration of the `Alid lineage • FadlallahAstarabadi (d. 1394): founder of Hurufiyya Sufi Order • Claims to be hidden imam • Mystical interpretation of letters and numerology • Millenarianism and jihad Chart exploring esoteric values of letters by al-Buni (d. 1225)

  6. Safavid Sufi Order • Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili (1252-1334) • Kurdish Sunni/Sufi shaykh • Ardabil – near Azerbaijan • Preaching a purified Islam • Sadr al-Din (d. 1391) • Son and successor to Safi al-Din • Claims descent from Prophet • Missionary movement Tomb of Shaykh Safi al-Din, Ardabil, Iran

  7. Safavid Sufi Order • ShaykhJunayd (d. 1460) • Missionize uymaqs of Anatolia • Militarize Sufi order • Qizilbash – the red heads • Uymaqs allied to Safavids • Intermarriage between chieftains and Sufi shaykhs • Named for distinctive headgear • Combination of imperial, religious, and tribal identities and motivations

  8. The Safavid Empire (1502-1722) • Shah Isma`il (r. 1502-1524) • Shi’ite identification • Hidden imam, reincarnation of `Ali, and manifestation of the divine • Shadow of God on Earth • Messiah and shah • Divine fire and royal farr • Murshid-ikamil– perfect Sufi master

  9. Building the Safavid Empire • 1501 – 1511 – Shah Isma`il conquers Iran, defines borders of Iran to this day • Qizilbashuymaqs rule rural Iran, receive government subsidies and military levies • Urban bourgeoisie • Rival Sufi movements • Incorporation of non-Qizilbash into military • Establish administration of Persian scholar-bureaucrats (adab)

  10. Problems of Messianism • 1514 – Battle of Chaldiran: Ottoman Empire defeats Shah Isma`il • Stops Safavid expansion into Anatolia • Gives Ottomans eastern Anatolia and Iraq • If Shah Isma`il is the messiah, how can he lose in battle? • Tone down messianism– emphasize Shi’ism

  11. Safavids and ImamiShi’ism • ImamiShi’ism declared official religion of Iran • Importation of Shi’ite scholars • Impose a legalistic form of Shi’ism • Sadr – chief of religious bureaucracy • Soyurghal – land grants for religious officials • Empire-wide suppression of non-Shi’ites (including Safavid Sufis!) Qom, Iran – center of Shi’ite scholarship

  12. Shah Abbas I (r. 1587-1629) • Transforms Isfahan as new capital. • “Anyone who has seen Isfahan has seen half the world.” • “Anyone who says that has only seen half of Isfahan.” • Often a point of comparison with Istanbul as sites of royal performance. • Image of Safavid “party kings” • Shi’ite piety meets Persian kingship

  13. Esfahan nefs-e jahanest!

  14. Isfahan is Half the World!

  15. Ali Qapu

  16. “Party Kings”

  17. Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

  18. Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

  19. Shah Abbas I (r. 1587-1629) • Unification of empire • Shah-seven – Lovers of the Shah • Establishment of crown lands • Balance slave soldiers vs. Qizilbash and uymaq • Isfahan as recruitment Center • Maintain centralized authority over `ulama • 162 mosques, 48 colleges, 182 caravansaries, and 273 public baths French portrait of Shah Abbas

  20. Shah Abbas and State Monopolies • Isfahan bazaar • Relocation of Armenian craftsmen and merchants • Silk monopoly • Royal factories for international markets – arrival of British, French, and Dutch merchants • Royal workshops and guilds • Carpets, metalworking, ceramics, etc. • Artist studios

  21. Safavid Carpets

  22. Jean Chardin (1643-1713) • Protestant French jeweler and traveler • 1664-1670 – travels with merchants to Safavid Empire • 1671-1680 – travels through Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires • 1681 – moves to London to escape persecution • Publishes his travel memoirs • How does Chardin view the Safavid court?

  23. Safavid Decline

  24. Ottomans, Safavids, and Inflation • Flood of New World silver causes wide spread inflation • Can’t hire soldiers or purchase improved gunpowder weapons. • Ottomans a land-based empire, never tried to keep up with maritime trade. • Safavids location prevented them from engaging in new trade. • Focused primarily on silk and carpets. • 1722: Safavids overthrown by Pashtun marauders.

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