Chapter 15 Section 2 – The Rule of the Safavids
(p. 492-497)
MAIN IDEAS
The Safavid Dynasty
(1501-1722)
(p. 492-493)
 See map on p. 493
NOTES
1.) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Descendant of Safi-od-Din

Safi od-Din = Safavid

Safi od-Din was a leader of a community of Turkish ethnic groups in Azerbaijan near the Caspian
Sea in the early 1300s
2.) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Was a teen
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________

Shah = king
3.) Tried to __________________________________________________________________________________

Islam was formed from the teachings and prophecies of Muhammad in the 600s
o Allah is the one God and Muhammad was God’ prophet

Shia Muslims (680) = accepted only direct descendants of Muhammad as rulers
o People in Iraq and Iran are mostly Shia

Sunni Muslims = Believed that rulers need only to be followers of Islam and Muhammad
o Ottoman Turks were Sunni Muslims
o The Ottoman sultan declared himself to be the caliph (leader of the Islamic religion)
o Sunni are the majority in the Muslim world
a.) Ottoman sultan ____________________________________________________________________
4.) _________________________________________________________________________________________
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________
5.) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Ottoman Sultan Selim I
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________

Tabriz was the capital of the Safavid Empire
b.) Used ____________________________________________________________________________
6.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

a few years later
7.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ Turks
and Persians
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________

the shah declared himself the spiritual leader of all Muslims

the Ottoman sultan (Sunni Muslim) had also declared himself the religious head of Islam
b.) _________________________________________________________________________________
c.) _______________________________________________________________________________ if
they refused
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Chapter 15 Section 2 – The Rule of the Safavids
(p. 492-497)
Glory of the Safavid
Empire
(p. 494)
1.) _________________________________________________________________________________________

Forced the new shah, ‘Abbas to sign peace treaty

Safavids lost NW territory
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________
b.) _________________________________________________________________________________
2.) Safavids moved ____________________________________________________________________________

Esfahan was one of the world’s largest cities and trading centers

Population of one million

Trading center

Persian architecture
3.) 1588-1629 = ______________________________________________________________________________

High point of the Safavid dynasty

Intellectual freedom
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________

Administrators helped to run the empire
b.) _________________________________________________________________________________

Armed the army with the latest weapons
4.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Early 1600s = Several European states helped ‘Abbas
a.) 1612 = Safavids ____________________________________________________________________

Ottomans and Safavids signed a peace treaty in 1612
Decline of the Safavid
Empire
(p. 494)
1.) After 1629 = ______________________________________________________________________________

Religious orthodoxy = Pressure to conform to traditional religious beliefs
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________
b.) _________________________________________________________________________________
(i.e. forced to ________________________________________________________________________)

Women forced into seclusion and freedoms were limited
2.) Early 1700s = _____________________________________________________________________________
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Esfahan was the capital city
a.) Safavids __________________________________________________________________________

Azerbaijan was their original homeland
4.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
5.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Anarchy = lawlessness and disorder
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Chapter 15 Section 2 – The Rule of the Safavids
(p. 492-497)
Life Under the Safavids
Role of the Shah
(p. 495)
 Safavids were a combination of Turkish and Persian cultures
1.) ___________________________________________ = _____________________________________ religion

Shahs were supported by Shias believers
2.) ______________________________________________________________________________ their subjects

They were available and familiar with the people
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Jobs not given to individuals because of their birth or family

Controlled the power of the aristocracy
a.) _________________________________________________________________________________
Economy & Trade
(p. 495)
1.) Kept _____________________________________________________________________________________

Horse or camel caravans

Persia was in the middle of the Silk Road route to China
2.) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Iran was a vital connection between Asia and Europe

See pages 496-497
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Europeans controlled the sea to the south

Ottomans controlled the land to the west
Safavid Culture
(p. 495)
1.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
4.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
a.) ________________________________________________________________________________
b.) ________________________________________________________________________________
5.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
a.) ________________________________________________________________________________
b.) _________________________________________________________ colors
c.) _________________________________________________________ movement
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