MMW 13 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Qizilbash, Qadi, Zoroastrianism
Lecture 8 Notes continued: The Safavid Empire
Military Reorganization
Shift unreliable Qizilbash warriors to the more dependable
Ghulam system
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Alliance with Europeans to counter Ottoman advance
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Promote commerce
Safavid’s Isfahan phase starting in 1590 under Shah Abbas
Isfahan nicknamed “Half the World”
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Welcomed European merchants and even Christian
missionaries
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Secured all trade routes within the Safavid realm
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Pragmatic ruler “both feared and loved”
Ruler in the Machiavellian vein?
Pragmatist not ideologue or religious zealot
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Skillfully manipulated public image as “Shah of the People”
Made sure his authority and person was highly visible
Would mingle with people and created an image of
someone who cared about the people
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Frugal with food and modest in clothing
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“More feared than loved”?
Played no favorites, tolerated no sycophants
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Don’t resist him
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Absolute authority
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Not having favorites
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Effectively built a mythology around himself
Could tell if people were lying to him
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Effective in stabilizing his rule
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Religious Policies
Very curious about a lot of different religions
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In public--> presented himself as a devote Mulsim
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Father Simon: No one knew for sure what faith Shah Abbas
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Lecture 9
Friday, April 20, 2018
10:05 AM
