After the fall of the Timurid Empire (1370-1506), Persia was politically fragmented, leading to a series of religious movements. From these diverse movements, Qizilbash Safawid was politically stronger and thanks to its success was that Shah Ismail I won political power in 1501. The Safavid dynasty was founded around 1501 by Shah Ismail I. He was known as a young courageous and charismatic, zealous in their Shiite faith and believed to be of divine descent. Ismail I invaded neighboring Shirvan to pay for the death of his father, and then prepared the capture of Tabriz, in July 1501, where he was established as Azerbaijan and Shahanshah Shah of Iran was proclaimed. Ismail I eventually won the struggle for power throughout Persia, which had …show more content…
been going on for nearly a century between various dynasties and political forces. A year after his victory in Tabriz, Ismail claimed most of Persia, as part of its territory, and within 10 years established a complete control over everything. The Safavid Dynasty (1501-1722) was borned and considered the largest Iranian Empire from the Muslim conquest of Persia. The Safavids ruled Iran between 1502 and 1722, and was one of the most important dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires after the Muslim conquest of Persia. The Safavids established control over all of the Great Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity in the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sassanian Empire to establish an independent Iranian state unified and for the first time since the Muslim conquest Persia. With this, they were reaffirming Iranian political identity, and establishing Shi'a Islam as the official religion of Iran. This marks one of the most important points in Muslim history. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic empires together with its neighbors, the Ottoman and Mughal empires. Shāh Tahmasp succeeded his father Ismail I in 1524, when he was ten years and three months old. Tahmasp reigned for 52 years, the longest reign in the history of Safavid. During the reign of Tahmasp, Uzbeks attacked the eastern provinces of the kingdom five times. With the loss of territory, Tahmasp realized that the capital was unsafe, and was forced to move the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin. Tahmasp made peace with the Ottomans in 1555, ending the war. In addition, Tahmasp should be remembered for the rebirth and flourished of the arts. Then when the successor of Shah Tahmasp came to the throne, Persia was in a calm state, with secure borders and cordial relations with neighbors to the east and west, this would not change until reaching the throne by his grandson Shah Abbas. AbbasI moved the capital to Isfahan, most in central Iran.
Abbas I built a new city next to the old city. From this time the state began to take on a more Persian character. The Safavids ultimately succeeded in establishing a new national Persian monarchy. Abbas tolerance toward Christians was part of its policy of establishing diplomatic relations with the European powers to try to enlist their help in the fight against the common enemy, the Ottoman Empire. A correct term for the Safavid society is what we today call a meritocracy, that is, a society in which officials were appointed on the basis of value and merit, and not on the basis of his birth. However, during the Safavid Persian society it was a hierarchy, with the Shah at the top of the hierarchy, ordinary people, traders and farmers at the base, and the aristocrats in the middle. The legal system was made up of two branches: the civil law and traditional experience. The growth of the economy arises because Iran's position between the flourishing civilizations of West Europe and India and Central Asia to the east and north. The Silk Road that passed through northern Iran to India revived. Abbas also supported direct trade with Europe, particularly England and the Netherlands which sought Persian carpet, silk and textiles. Other exports were horses, goat hair and pearls. The main imports were spice, textiles (woolens from Europe, cotton in Gujarat), metals, coffee and sugar. Shah Abbas I recognized the commercial …show more content…
benefit of promoting the arts and crafts, providing much of the foreign trade of Iran. In this period, handicrafts, such as the manufacture of tiles, ceramics and textiles and great advances in miniature painting, were made. Tabriz was the center of this industry. The carpets of Ardabil were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty. The Safavids had a crucial role in making Shia Islam the official religion in the whole of Iran.
There were large Shia communities in some cities like Qom and Sabzevar as early as the eighth century. As a result of Mongol conquest and religious tolerance on the Ilkhanids, Shia dynasties were re-established in Iran, after his conquest of Iran, Ismail I made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. Ismail I gave land and money in return for loyalty. Later, during the Safavid period the power of the Shia Ulema increased. Iran became a feudal theocracy: the Shah was held to be the divinely ordained head of state and
religion. The legacy left by the Safavids was the rebirth of Persia as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of a state with an efficient bureaucracy, its architectural innovations and their arts. The Safavids have left their mark until the present time by the spread of Shia Islam.
The Persian empire was ruled by mainly kings and satraps, as the kingdom began to extend it’s reaches to other civilizations, this way of government became more dominant than the form of government before. A lot of the empire’s success is based on pulling skills from different cultures and bringing them together to better the empire. The Persians greatly affected culture because they set the basis for all empire to come and how those empires should use their resources to become a culturally diverse
Not only did the religious history play a large role in Iran’s beliefs but also foreign invaders have been imposing their power on the Iranian region for thousands of years. Iran...
The Persian Empire was ruled by Darius the Great from 522 to 485 BCE. He spent years improving administrative organization then worked on expanding the empire. This empire lasted longer than all the others because people could keep their own laws as long as they pay their taxes. The Persian army also allowed more protection from invasions. They used cuneiform writing borrowed from Summerians. More unifying forces they use was Universal System of Weights and Measure, Highway System, Postal service, and Zoroastrianism which was based on individual
Prior to the Islamic Revolution, Iran was ruled by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and furthermore, not governed by religion. The Shah’s White Revolution launched a series of reforms in 1963 that are indicative of where women’s rights for Iran were heading prior to the Islamic revolution. The reforms included, giving women the right to vote, run for office and to become lawyers and judges. This large of a reform in regards to women’s rights, was far more drastic than anything Iran had experienced in the past, and the shock of these “extreme” measures, received a large backlash from over 90% of the population1, the Shia Muslims.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi replaced his father as the ruler of Iran in 1941 when his father was forced into exile by the Soviet Union and Great Britain because of his friendly relations with Germany. His father, Reza Shah Pahlavi, established Iran as a "new state of considerable apparent strength...capable of asserting its power...throughout the country and over the entire population." Reza Shah implements and enforced the nationalists' agenda without the aid of tribe...
...adical reform. Unlike Mahmud II, Isma’il’s gave considerable power to European powers rather than strengthening the Egypt’s central government. He hoped stronger ties with Europe would lead to modernization. The result, however, was large amounts of debt and a complete loss of political autonomy (Cleveland 97). The third reformer was Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran. Much of the power in Iran in the nineteenth century lied with the Shi’a leaders, the ulama, and local tribes. Unable to centralize power, Nasir al-Din’s reforms failed and he was forced to sell concessions to European powers out of desperation for money. All three reformers tried similar techniques to modernize their countries; yet, the success of these reforms was varied. The biggest factor in deciding whether reforms would be successful or not was a country’s ability to maintain a strong central government.
First, the Shah, out-of-touch with what his people wanted, became the catalyst for massive xenophobic and anti-Western feelings to spread throughout the nation. By giving up traditional Islamic ideals and becoming sort of a “puppet” for the U.S. and the Western world, the Shah made a mockery of himself and of those traditional Islamic values, which were paramount in Iran. For many years, Iranians wrote letters to the Shah, voicing their discontent with many aspects of his rule — the spread of the Bahá’í Faith, the collapse of Islamic traditions, and the crumbling economy. The Shah, however, did nothing to fix these issues. Instead, he designed a political reformation movement, hoping to silence his opponents, to introduce personal rights for women, and to establish a sense of fiscal equality. This series of reforms, which appeared to be a blatant attempt to Westernize Iran, became known as the “White
Ultimately, European influence played a fundamental role in the shaping of the Ottoman Empire and Egypt during the 18th and early 19th century. It’s influence was most significant through government, economic, and military influence but its effects reverberated throughout society. Western influence was much less significant in Iran, primarily due to the fragmented nature of governorship in the region.
Battles raged on between the Ottoman Empire and religious group Safavid Empire. Ismail I was leading the Safavid Brotherhood. Ismail I control much of Iran and expanded his empire to parts of modern day Georgia and Turkey (Safavid Empire). He named the religion of the soon Safavid Empire, Shi’ism. Which was disturbing to neighboring civilizations. He was thought to be the rightful head of the Muslims. This is the reason for conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, because they seized control of the Islamic religion. In the year of 1514 AD Shah Ismail I was defeated by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, which was his Sunni rival (Ismail I).
Reza Shah Pahlavi’s rise to power ended the 131-year reign of the Kajar dynasty and established the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925. Much to the chagrin of not only Muslim clerics, but also the general population, Reza Shah Pahlavi leaned heavily towards secular ...
Though the White Revolution’s efforts were made to remove Islamic values, create a secular rule and “westernize” Iran by Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, the people desired a fairer governmental rule immensely influenced by Islam. The Shah’s tight dictatorial rule and military expansion attempts were viewed as threats as well and resulted in the overthrowing of the government to create religious and political change. Although the Iranian Revolution was a religious and political movement that ended an oppressive rule to established a republic and which was fought to maintain Islamic beliefs, it was more a religious movement in that the movement was a result of desires to create a society influenced religiously and politically and that the result was a republic based on Islamic values and law.
Iran was included in the territory of what was then the ancient Persian Empire. For centuries Iran (land of the Aryans) was also referred to as Persia, which was the official name until 1935. Fourteen years had passed before the Iranian government allowed the use of both names. Few groups of people today have significant history like the Iranians, descending from the ancient Persians, who possess one of the world’s richest and oldest cultures. Historically, a variety of other cultures and groups had once occupied the ancient Iranian plateau as early as 4,000 B.C.E, with little importance. Beginning by the third millennium, Persia was ruled by some of the greatest kings of all time, from Cyrus the Great to Darius the III, who turned the Persian Empire into one of the world’s greatest civilizations.
In February of 1979, Muhammad Reza Shah was in exile and Ayatollah Khomeini arrived as the triumphant leader of a revolution. Throughout the remainder of the year, the execution of former prime ministers, SAVAK agents, and high- ranking military officers took place. Muhammad Reza Shah’s regime was no longer in power and the Iranian Revolution was in full effect, but what caused this rapid shift of power? In the years leading up to the revolution, the Shah implemented the White Revolution in attempts to modernize Iran. The White Revolution was an attempt to turn Iran into an economic power, however; it went against many of the core beliefs of Islam. The White revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s caused the Iranian revolution because it marginalized
Moving along, Persian Empire was founded around 548 BC. It was the first largest empire stretching from Atlantic Ocean, Morocco, to Indus River, India. The Persian Empire is most famous for its tolerance over other religions and races and the first people to write the Charter of Human Rights. They also invented coins, roads, postal system, and many more innovations.
In the sixth century B.C, the land that we now call Iran was the center of the largest empire in the world. The kings of Ancient Persia( such as Cyrus the Great) were the leaders of a great civilization that made amazing advances in laws, goverment and communication. Founded in 550 B.C by King Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire spanned from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east. Unlike most empires at that time, the Persian kings were benovelent rulers, and allowed a diverse variety of diffrent people with diffrent ethnic backgrounds. The Persian empire was split into three diffrent empires with three diffrent time periods but the first empire was called the Achaemenid Empire. It began with King Cyrus the Great and ended with King Darius III.