SAFIVID DYNATSY

The period of the Safavids, the dynasty that took control of Persia in the early 16th century, is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history, also known as Persian nation state Safavid society continued Mongol and Timurid patterns and practices, through administrative institutions. With the surfacing of the Shi'ite faith, the Safavid Dynasty started to spread across the lands. This powerful dynasty lasted until its decline starting in 1629, leading to its initial fall in 1736. Shah Ismail, who ruled from 1487 to 1524, assumed control of the dynasty at age seven and led the Dynasty into war at age twelve. He subdued Baghdad in 1508, sent the Shiite priests into Anatolia to promote rebellion among the Ottoman Empire, and he forces the Shi'ite religion upon Iran . shah ismail was the first Shah of the dynasty.

Shah Abbas 1 was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad. Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves. In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne.

 But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces.

He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals.
Abbas was a great builder and moved his kingdom's capital from Qazvin to Isfahan.

SAFIVIDS KINGS:
1502 - 1524 : Ismail I 1524 - 1576: Tahmasp 1576 - 1577: Ismail II 1577 - 1587: Mohammad 1587 - 1629: Abbas I, the Great 1629 - 1642: Safi I 1642 - 1667: Abbas II 1667 - 1694: Safi II 1694 - 1722: Soltan Hossein 1722 - 1732: Tahmasp II 1732 - 1736: Abbas III

SAFIVIDS ART
Safavid art is the art of the Persian Safavid dynasty from 1501 to 1722, in present day Iran. From 1501 to 1722, in present day Iran. It was a high point for the art of the book and architecture; and also including ceramics, metal, glass, and gardens. While nourished by ancient Persian culture, the Safavid artists were strongly influenced

by Turkmen culture due to the origins of the dynasty, as well as Chinese, Ottoman, and Western culture The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires, with artistic accomplishments, since the Muslim conquest of Persia

Advances in art included the painting of humans and their daily lives. Young ladies, boys, lovers, dervishes were all subject to being painted in oil paintings.

APPAREAL AND APPEARANCE:

the Persian character was its love of luxury, particularly on keeping up appearances They would adorn their clothes, wearing stones and decorate the harness of their horses. Men wore many rings on their fingers, almost as many as their wives. They also placed jewels on their arms, such as on daggers and swords. Daggers were worn at the waist. In describing the lady's clothing, it was noted that Persian dress revealed more of the figure than did the European, but that women appeared differently depending on whether they were at home in the presence of friends and family, or if they were in the public. In private they usually wore a veil that only covered the hair and the back, but upon leaving the home, they would put on a large sheet, that concealed the whole of the body except from the face.

The Muslims under the Safavid rule were not to wear cloth made entirely of natural silk. It was also forbidden to wear red garments. For Muslim men, they were recommended to grow a beard because their prophet, Muhammad, grew a long beard. Muslim women were required to wear a dress which covered their body in a proper manner, avoiding transparent materials which showed parts of their body. They were advised to wear dresses that weren't hemmed too far above their ankles because of this. Women with slender waists were regarded as more attractive than those with larger figures. Women from the provinces and slaves pierced their left nostrils with rings, but well-born Persian women would not do this. The most precious accessory for men was the turban. As for food and drink, pork was, and still is, forbidden to all Muslims, as well as alcoholic drink.

TECHNOLOGY
The Safavid Dynasty also gave way to other technologies that were developed for trade. The Safavid held overland trade routes to other countries, and shipped out their wares to Europe and Central Asia and India. The Safavids usually sent out silks and Persian carpets, usually made of wool and cotton.

SAFIVIDS TEXTILE
A crucial item of furnishing in the Islamic world, the carpet served not merely as a floor covering but as seating and bedding as well. Carpets were used in religious settings prayer rugs and the multiniche prayer carpets, or safs made for mosques but also in political settings: the monarch held official audiences in a throne

room richly embellished with textiles and carpets, and sometimes outside, either beneath a dais or a kiosk with fitted rugs or less formally, seated cross-legged on a small mat. Luxury textiles in the form of robes of honor (Arabic khila), bolts of silk cloth and fine carpets were routinely conferred as a mark of favor and as diplomatic gifts The Iranians had since antiquity imported from India cheap cotton stuffs and cash crops, from jute, raw cotton to entire cargoes of the precious red insect dye lc. The Persians exported luxury goods to the Indian sub-continent, but they generated insufficient foreign currency to compensate for the quantity of import

PERSIAN CARPET
During the Safavid period, the export of carpets flourished, to destinations in Europe and to the Mughal Empire, where Persian carpets stimulated local production. Some Safavid carpets were also transported by the Dutch East India Company towards Jakarta, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kochi, India as well as to the Netherlands. European orders came to the Persian Empire for the weaving of special carpets: for example, the group of "Polish carpets" was undoubtedly knotted in Isfahan, but certain ones carry the arms of Poland. The rapid development of the carpet industry in the Persian Empire during the Safavid period seems to be due to the sovereigns' taste for this art form. Ismail I, then Shah Tahmasp

and Shah Abbas I are known for having been personally interested in carpet production. was in this period and particularly since Shah Tahmasp that the first carpets with floral decoration were created, in order to satisfy the taste of the Safavids. The difference between the carpets of the nomads and the floral ones is due to the role of the "master" , who draws the pattern which will be reproduced by the knotters.