Welcome to the Empire of the Underdogs. The Safavids are seemingly always outgunned and out manned. They are the odd-man out in this world of Gunpowder Empires. They are wedged between the Wealthiest empire of this period (the Mughals) and the longest lasting empire of all time (the Ottomans). Plus, they are further outcast by the fact that the Mughals and Ottomans are Sunni; the Safavids are Shi’a. Pretty much everything you need to know about the Safavid Dynasty revolves around one of two things: 1. Their belief and use of Shi’a Islam to maintain/justify their rule. 2. Their rivalry with the Sunni Ottomans to their west. Below are the Safavids:

1. SAFAVID ORDER
2. SHAH ISMAIL I
3. TWELVER SHI’A ISLAM
4. QIZILBASH
5. BATTLE of CHALDIRAN

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1. NAQSH-E JAHAN SQUARE, 1841, Pascal Coste (French Architect painting during his visit to Isfahan)

2. VANK CATHEDRAL FRECOES, 1655, Armenian Cathedral in Isfahan (This was towards the end of the Safavids when their zeal for Sh’a orthodoxy had waned)

3. PERSIAN MINIATURE of a POLO MATCH, 1449, TABRIZ, IRAN (Miniatures weren’t an Ottoman thing… miniature paintings permeated across Asia in this period)

4. EMBASSY TO THE DOGE’s PALACE, VENICE, 1599 (Safavid ambassadors visiting the Venician Doge (leader) )

5. JOURNEY TO PERSIA COVER, 1729, Jean Chardin (French Jeweler who visited the Safavid Empire at the end of their reign and wrote extensively on his travels)

1. Don’t spend too much time here.
2. Focus on the Safavids for their Shi’ism. Every other Islamic thing we’ve mentioned so far is Sunni or the Mystical Sufis.
3. Shah Ismail moves in after the Tamerlane Empire was slipping.
4. He forcibly converts the population to Shi’a Islam.
5. The Safavids are constantly clashing with the Ottomans and come out on the losing end more often than not. Think of them as the Shi’a little brother to the Sunni Ottoman Empire.