safavid empire political structure

Szczepanski, Kallie. Abbas I recognized the commercial benefit of promoting the artsartisan products provided much of Iran's foreign trade. There probably did not exist any parliament, as we know them today. -Shah Abbas made the empire a monarchy, a huge step toward modernization. Saffron was the best in the world Melons were regarded as excellent fruit, and there were more than 50 different sorts, the finest of which came from Khorasan. The Sunni scholars, called Ulama (from alim, knowledge), were either killed or exiled. According to official Safavid history, before passing away, Ali had designated his young brother Ismail as the spiritual leader of the Safaviyya.[31]. Later, during the Safavid and especially Qajar period, the Shii Ulema's power increased and they were able to exercise a role, independent of or compatible with the government. The Persians schools of thought were the true heirs of the great Islamic thinkers of the golden age of Islam, whereas in the Ottoman empire there was an intellectual stagnation, as far as the traditions of Islamic philosophy were concerned. Commercial Cleaning New York > Cleaning Tips > safavid political structure Why The Right Cleaning Equipment & Supplies Are Vital Posted on February 8, 2022 by Ismail's 14-month reign was notable for two things: continual bloodletting of his relatives and others (including his own supporters) and his reversal on religion. During the reign of Shah Abbas I, as he tried to upgrade the Silk Road to improve the commercial prosperity of the Empire, an abundance of caravanserais, bridges, bazaars and roads were built, and this strategy was followed by wealthy merchants who also profited from the increase in trade. Most sources agree that the Ottoman army was at least double the size of that of Ismil;[48] furthermore, the Ottomans had the advantage of artillery, which the Safavid army lacked. The Shah had a dozen of each in his service and would usually be accompanied by three doctors and three astrologers, who were authorized to sit by his side on various occasions. The Ottomans pushed further and on August 23, 1514, managed to engage the Safavids in the Battle of Chaldiran west of Tabriz. Ferrier, R. W.; A Journey to Persia: Jean Chardin's Portrait of a Seventeenth-century Empire; pp 7171. [222] The Persians complied, and thousands of Persians emigrated to the Deccan during the 16th and 17th centuries, continuing a process that already began under the Bahmani Sultanate of the Deccan. [78] Having to flee from city to city, Humayun eventually sought refuge at the court of Tahmsp in Qazvin in 1543. The Uzbeks struck in the Spring of 1578 but were repelled by Murtaza Quli Sultan, governor of Mashhad. "The Safavid Empire of Persia." [185] Majlisi promoted specifically Shii rituals such as mourning for Hussein ibn Ali and visitation (ziyarat) of the tombs of the Imams and Imamzadas, stressing "the concept of the Imams as mediators and intercessors for man with God."[186]. The Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires were very powerful and well respected in their time. Map Code: Ax01488. Indeed, this had been the situation throughout Persian history, even before the Safavids, ever since the Arab conquest. In 1500, Ismil I invaded neighboring Shirvan to avenge the death of his father, Sheik Haydar, who had been murdered in 1488 by the ruling Shirvanshah, Farrukh Yassar. It forever influenced Persian nationalism. The Europeans began to be fascinated by the Iranians and their culture Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (160102), for example, makes two references (at II.5 and III.4) to 'the Sophy', then the English term for the Shahs of Iran. By 1511, the Uzbeks in the north-east were driven across the Oxus River where they captured Samarkand establishing the Shaibanid dynasty, and from which they would continue to attack the Safavids. Each magistrate executes justice in his own house in a large room opening on to a courtyard or a garden which is raised two or three feet above the ground. Nadir had effective control under Shah Tahmasp II and then ruled as regent of the infant Abbas III until 1736 when he had himself crowned shah. Rml and Kopek Sultn Ustajlu (who had been Ismail's last wakl) established themselves as co-regents of the young shah. The interpretation of the Safavid Empire as a revival of an Iranian imperial tradition dating back to the Achaemenids is not credible, but the dynasty did create the framework in which modern Iran developed. [80] Humayun handed over Kandahar, but Tahmsp was forced to retake it in 1558, after Humayun seized it on the death of the Safavid governor. Abbas I also supported direct trade with Europe, particularly England and The Netherlands, which sought Iranian carpets, silk, and textiles. According to Willem Floor and Hasan Javadi,[250]. Szczepanski, Kallie. By the time of Isml I, the orders sixth head, the afavs commanded enough support from the Kizilbashlocal Turkmens and other disaffected heterodox tribesto enable him to capture Tabrz from the Ak Koyunlu (Turkish: White Sheep), an Uzbek Turkmen confederation. Daggers were worn at the waist. Even though the Safavids were not the first Shii rulers in Iran, they played a crucial role in making Shia Islam the official religion in the whole of Iran, as well as what is nowadays the Republic of Azerbaijan. The country was repeatedly raided on its frontiersKerman by Baluchi tribesmen in 1698, Khorasan by Afghans in 1717, constantly in Mesopotamia by peninsula Arabs. But the Portuguese ambassador to the Safavids, De Gouvea, still mentions the Council of State[188] in his records, which perhaps was a term for governmental gatherings of the time. That condition would not change (and in fact it would worsen) until Tahmsp's grandson, Abbas I, assumed the throne. In the war against the Uzbeks he showed that the Safavids had become a gunpowder empire. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Safavid-dynasty, Efahn, Iran: Masjed-e Shaykh Luf Allh (Sheikh Lofollh Mosque), Efahn, Iran: interior of Masjed-e Shaykh Luf Allh (Sheikh Lofollh Mosque). [190], Next in authority were the generals: the General of the Royal Troops (the Shahsevans), General of the Musketeers, General of the Ghulams and The Master of Artillery. The Safavids' archrivals, the neighbouring Ottomans, invaded western and northwestern Safavid Iran and took swaths of territory there, including the city of Baghdad. At its height, the Safavid Dynasty controlled not only the entirety of what is now Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, but also most of Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, and the Caucasus, and parts of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. There are many reasons as to why the empire was as successful as it was, but some of them include its very strong and organized military and its centralized political structure. At the apex of this system was the Shah, with total power over the state, legitimized by his bloodline as a sayyid, or descendant of Muhammad. [192], The only field within medicine where some progress were made was pharmacology, with the compilement of the "Tibb-e Shifai" in 1556. What was the most significant role that the Safavid dynasty played? [194] There were the Persians who still dominated the bureaucracy and under Abbas held the two highest government offices of Grand Vizier and Comptroller-General of the Revenues (mostoufi-ye mamalek), which was the nearest thing to a finance minister. All other . With his new army, Abbs defeated the Turks in 1603, forcing them to relinquish all the territory they had seized, and captured Baghdad. Then they had a bureaucracy and other classes in which through their own merit they could possible rise up in the ranks. And since the Safavid society was meritocratic, and successions seldom were made on the basis of heritage, this meant that government offices constantly felt the pressure of being under surveillance and had to make sure they governed in the best interest of their leader, and not merely their own. [72] The victory resulted at least in part from Safavid use of firearms, which they had been acquiring and drilling with since Chaldiran.[73]. The Takkalu replaced the Rumlu as the dominant tribe. The shah used that occasion to proclaim the 11-year-old Sultan Hamza Mirza (Mahd-i Uly's favorite) crown-prince. (1986). Seven years later Shah ahmsp II recovered Efahn and ascended the throne, only to be deposed in 1732 by his Afshrid lieutenant Nadr Qol Beg (the future Ndir Shh). He had effective control under Shah Tahmasp II and then ruled as regent of the infant Abbas III until 1736, when he had himself crowned shah. Browne, "A Literary History of Persia," Vol. Mohammad was selected and received the crown on February 11, 1579. (2020, August 25). Persianization went hand in hand with the popularization of 'mainstream' Shii belief. Ismil's decisive victory over the Uzbeks, who had occupied most of Khorasan, ensured Iran's eastern borders, and the Uzbeks never since expanded beyond the Hindukush. The greatest Safavid ruler was Shah Abbas I (r. 1587 - 1629), who modernized the Persian military, adding musketeers and artillery-men; moved the capital city deeper into the Persian heartland; and established a policy of tolerance towards Christians in the empire. His tactics in dealing with the Ottoman threat eventually allowed for a treaty which preserved peace for twenty years. Portuguese EmpireType of GovernmentOne of the most powerful of the European colonial empires, the Portuguese Empire was ruled by an absolute monarch. 113131. The Safavids were defeated and, as the Ottoman force moved on Tabriz, engaged in scorched-earth combat. A very strenuous form of exercise which the Persians greatly enjoyed was hunting. It was certainly not homogenousmaybe it was an Azerbaijanian-Ottoman mixed language, as Beltadze (1967:161) states for a translation of the gospels in Georgian script from the 18th century. Richard Tapper. The idea of such an anti-Ottoman alliance was not a new oneover a century before, Uzun Hassan, then ruler of part of Iran, had asked the Venetians for military aidbut none of the Safavids had made diplomatic overtures to Europe. Ottoman Political Hierarchy. The Persian Empire emerged under the leadership of Cyrus II, who conquered the neighboring Median Empire ruled by his grandfather. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Iran , Azerbaijan and Armenia, most of Iraq , Georgia , Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Turkey. [71] Putting aside internal dissension, the Safavid nobles responded to a threat to Herat in 1528 by riding eastward with Tahmsp (then 17) and soundly defeating the numerically superior forces of the Uzbeks at Jm. The empire's rulers, like the Ottoman rulers, were Muslim, yet the Safavid Empire used religion differently to promote order and stability within its realm. [238] He wrote the Al-Hikma al-mutaaliya fi-l-asfar al-aqliyya al-arbaa ("The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect"),[239] a meditation on what he called 'meta philosophy' which brought to a synthesis the philosophical mysticism of Sufism, the theology of Shi'a Islam, and the Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophies of Avicenna and Suhrawardi. Despite the reforms, the Qizilbash would remain the strongest and most effective element within the military, accounting for more than half of its total strength. The state religion was Shi'a Islam. 378. The Shah had stables in all the principal towns, and Shah Abbas was said to have about 30,000 horses in studs around the country. "The Safavid Period". The Silk Road, which led through northern Iran to India, revived in the sixteenth century. In earlier times, the Shah had been closely involved in judicial proceedings, but this part of the royal duty was neglected by Shah Safi and the later kings. The group crossed the Caspian Sea and spent the winter in Moscow before proceeding through Norway and Germany (where it was received by Emperor Rudolf II) to Rome, where Pope Clement VIII gave the travellers a long audience. Restoring Persia as a major center of political power and cultural creativity, they also established one of the strongest and most enduring centers of Shi'ism within the Islamic world. Suleiman was eager to negotiate his son's return, but Tahmasp rejected his promises and threats until, in 1561, Suleiman compromised with him. Furthermore, the Safavids maintained a sizeable sphere of influence overseas, particularly in the Deccan region of India. [130][131] Nowadays, there is a community of nearly 1.7 million people who are descendants of the tribes deported from Kurdistan to Khorasan (Northeastern Iran) by the Safavids.[132]. Shah Abbas: the ruthless king who became an Iranian legend, p. 165. [244], Safavids also used Persian as a cultural and administrative language throughout the empire and were bilingual in Persian. [121] Moreover, he planned to deport all nobles of Kartli. In 1585 two events occurred that would combine to break the impasse among the Qizilbash. He had completely driven out the Afghans, who were still occupying Persia, by 1730. Following the conquest of Iran, Ismail I made conversion mandatory for the largely Sunni population. Ruda Jurdi Abisaab. After the death of Babur, his son Humayun was ousted from his territories and threatened by his half-brother and rival, who had inherited the northern part of Babur's territories. He expanded commercial links with the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. What were the strengths of the Ottoman Empire? The Mughals adhered (for the most part) to a tolerant Sunni Islam while ruling a largely Hindu population. As well as wrestling, what gathered the masses was fencing, tightrope dancers, puppet-players and acrobats, performing in large squares, such as the Royal square. [121] Raised at the court in Isfahan and a Muslim, he was fully loyal to the shah. More importantly, the Dutch East India Company and later the English/British used their superior means of maritime power to control trade routes in the western Indian Ocean. The Ottoman Turks and Safavids fought over the fertile plains of Iraq for more than 150 years. Savory, R.; Iran under the Safavids; pp. It was perhaps to perpetuate the distinction of Persian from Arabic culture that attracted the Iranians towards Shi'a Islamthe heartland and sacred sites of Sunni Islam would always be in the Arabian peninsula. Due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known as the Safaviyya. According to historian Roger Savory, "Sheikh Junayd was not content with spiritual authority and he sought material power. Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing GRAB THE BEST PAPER 95.7% of users find it useful When he reached the capital with Abbas a public demonstration in the boy's favor decided the issue, and Shah Mohammad voluntarily handed over the insignia of kingship to his son, who was crowned Abbas I on October 1, 1588. Stefan Sperl, C. Shackle, Nicholas Awde, "Qasida poetry in Islamic Asia and Africa", Brill Academic Pub; Set Only edition (February 1996), p. 193: "Like Shah Ni'mat Allah-i Vali he hosted distinguished visitors among them Ismail Safavi, who had proclaimed himself Shahanshah of Iran in 1501 after having taken Tabriz, the symbolic and political capital of Iran". Meeting with little success, Abbs engaged in a major army reform. The Safavid Empire, based in Persia (Iran), ruled over much of southwestern Asia from 1501 to 1736. [214] According to Chardin, they were also more abundant than in the Mughal or Ottoman Empires, where they were less frequent but larger. They were the continuers of the classical tradition of Islamic thought, which after Averroes died in the Arab west. They in turn provided for the safety of the travelers, and both Thevenot and Tavernier stressed the safety of traveling in 17th century Iran, and the courtesy and refinement of the policing guards. [65] The Qizilbash, which still suffered under the legacy of the battle of Chaldiran, was engulfed in internal rivalries. Its founder was the Persian[1] mystic Sheikh Safi al-Din (12541334), after whom the order was named. [39] From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region,[40] thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Buyids to establish a national state officially known as Iran.[41]. [171], Following the full implementation of this policy by Abbas I, the women (only Circassian and Georgian) now very often came to occupy prominent positions in the harems of the Safavid elite, while the men who became part of the ghulam "class" as part of the powerful third force were given special training on completion of which they were either enrolled in one of the newly created ghilman regiments, or employed in the royal household. Roemer, H. R. (1986). [121] Ultimately forming an alliance, the two sought refuge with the Ottoman forces in Ottoman ruled Imereti. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Tobacco grew all over the country and was as strong as that grown in Brazil. [183] It remains only a small minority in the Shii world. However, a mutiny among his officers who refused to spend the winter at Tabriz forced him to withdraw across territory laid waste by the Safavid forces, eight days later". With the substantial new revenue, Abbas was able to build up a central, standing army, loyal only to him. Iran's neighbors seized the opportunity to attack. The Safavid rulers were a Sufi religious order that dated back to the mid 1200s when Sheikh Safi od-Din Ardabili was alive. Had corrupt bureaucracy and officials Peasant revolts Had external conflicts from rival Muslim empires and other Empires that were threatening to take land Rich and powerful spent money for a life of luxury Because of the relative insecurity of property ownership in Iran, many private landowners secured their lands by donating them to the clergy as so called vaqf. Second place was held by fencing, where the wrist had to be firm but flexible and movements agile. however, in the safavid case, the classical turko-mongol an political model underwent two significant changes: first, as the law of the politico- military caste, the ys or tre was now supplanted by the religio-organizational fr principles of the safavid tariqa.30 second, the political and religious leadership was united under one man Except for Shah Abbas II, the Safavid rulers after Abbas I were therefore rendered ineffectual, and the Iranian government declined and finally collapsed when a serious military threat emerged on its eastern border in the early eighteenth century. The dependence of Abbas on the Qizilbash (which provided the only military force) was further reinforced by the precarious situation of the empire, in the vice of Ottoman and Uzbek territorial plunder. A dispute arose in the Ottoman Empire over who was to succeed the aged Suleiman the Magnificent. We will write a custom Essay on The Ottoman and Safavid Empires: Comparison specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page 808 certified writers online Learn More Introduction All empires, no matter how great they are, inevitably have to experience the same cycle of gradual development, the possible rise, and the inevitable downfall. Thvenot and Tavernier commented that the Iranian caravanserais were better built and cleaner than their Turkish counterparts. It was perhaps this sort of attitude towards the rest of the world that accounted for the ignorance of Persians regarding other countries of the world. In day-to-day affairs, the language chiefly used at the Safavid court and by the great military and political officers, as well as the religious dignitaries, was Turkish, not Persian; and the last class of persons wrote their religious works mainly in Arabic. "Iran and Pre-Independence Lebanon" in Houchang Esfandiar Chehabi. Immediately after Nader Shah's assassination in 1747 and the disintegration of his short-lived empire, the Safavids were re-appointed as shahs of Iran in order to lend legitimacy to the nascent Zand dynasty. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article The relationship between the Turkic-speaking 'Turks' and Persian-speaking 'Tajiks' was symbiotic, yet some form of rivalry did exist between the two. The Canon of Medicine by Avicenna (c. 9801037) was still regarded as one of the primary textbooks in medicine throughout most of the civilized world. Martha's mother Theodorabetter known as Despina Khatun[43]was a Pontic Greek princess, the daughter of the Grand Komnenos John IV of Trebizond. Regarding the usage of Georgian, Circassian and Armenian at the Royal Court, David Blow states,[195]. The Judge is seated at one end of the room having a writer and a man of law by his side. "the Order of the Lion and the Sun, a device which, since the 17 century at least, appeared on the national flag of the Safavids the lion representing 'Ali and the sun the glory of the Shii faith", Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovski, J. M. Rogers, Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, Courtauld Institute of Art. Not until the Safavid era did Iran witness the rise of a state similar in importance to the Ottoman empire or the empire of the Egyptian Mamlks. There had been, however, Shi'a communities in some cities like Qom and Sabzevar as early as eighth century. Safavids went on and conquered rest of . $ 3.95. The Safavid Empire, based in Persia ( Iran ), ruled over much of southwestern Asia from 1501 to 1736. Chardin specifically noticed the rank of doctors and astrologers and the respect that the Shahs had for them. Beginning in 1526 periodic battles broke out, beginning in northwest Iran but soon involving all of Khorasan. Thirdly there was horsemanship. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. In place of the usual royal audience, these high dignitaries had to assemble each morning at the entrance to the womens apartments in order to receive the Begums orders. 1867. [134] For his part, Abbas declared that he "preferred the dust from the shoe soles of the lowest Christian to the highest Ottoman personage. And with the assistance of the Muscovy Company they could cross over to Moscow, reaching Europe via Poland. Not taken care of accordingly, these were a serious threat to the ruler, or worse, could bring the fall of the former or could lead to unnecessary court intrigues. Safavid culture is often admired for the large-scale city planning and architecture, achievements made during the reign of later shahs, but the arts of persian miniature, book-binding and calligraphy, in fact, never received as much attention as they did during his time. The Safavid Empire lasted from 1501-1722. The language chiefly used by the Safavid court and military establishment was Azerbaijani. [119] As mentioned by the Encyclopaedia Iranica, lastly, from 1600 onwards, the Safavid statesman Allhverd Khan, in conjunction with Robert Sherley, undertook further reorganizations of the army, which meant among other things further dramatically increasing the number of ghulams to 25,000.[120]. After subsequent campaigns, the Safavids recaptured Baghdad, in 1623, but lost it again to Murad IV in 1638. The princes had Turcoman, Persian, Kurdish, and even Armenian, Indian, Afghan, or Georgian mothers. The Safavid Empire was no doubt a popular empire in Persia. In addition the shah's personal bodyguard, made up exclusively of Caucasian ghulms, was dramatically increased to 3,000. Dabashi, H. (1996) 'Mir Damad and the Founding of the School of Isfahan', in SH Nasr and O. Leaman (eds) History of Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge, ch. His descriptions of the public appearance, clothes and customs are corroborated by the miniatures, drawings and paintings from that time which have survived. The Safavid Empire was a theocracy. Quickly making a name as a military genius both feared and respected amongst the empire's friends and enemies (including Iran's archrival the Ottoman Empire, and Russia; both empires Nader would deal with soon afterwards), Nader Shah easily defeated the Afghan Hotaki forces in the 1729 Battle of Damghan. The beginning of the seventeenth century saw the power of the Qizilbashthe original militia that had helped Ismail I capture Tabriz and which over the century had insinuated themselves as entitled bureaucrats in the administrationdeclined. Ismail I, despite his heterodox Shi'a beliefs, which were not compatible with orthodox Shi'ism (Momen, 1985) patronized Shi'a religious leaders, granting them land and money in return for loyalty. [219] He convinced the British to assist him by allowing them to open factories in Shiraz, Isfahan and Jask. What fueled the growth of Safavid economy was Iran's position between the burgeoning civilizations of Europe to its west and India and Islamic Central Asia to its east and north. After that they join together in uttering a great cry and trying to overthrow each other. The second most senior appointment was the Grand Steward (Ichik Agasi bashi), who would always accompany the Shah and was easily recognizable because of the great baton that he carried with him. Shah ljeitthe sultan of Ilkhanate converted to Twelver Shiism in thirteenth century. [73] Nevertheless, given the insecurity in Iraq and its northwest territory, Tahmsp moved his court from Tabriz to Qazvin. His primary job was to appoint and supervise all the officials of the household and to be their contact with the Shah. [76] Under the Peace, the Ottomans agreed to restore Yerevan, Karabakh and Nakhjuwan to the Safavids and in turn would retain Mesopotamia (Iraq) and eastern Anatolia. Although they lasted a long time it was necessary to have changes for different occasions like weddings and the Nowruz, while men of status never wore the same turban two days running. When the second Persian vakil was placed in command of a Safavid army in Transoxiana, the Qizilbash, considering it a dishonor to be obliged to serve under him, deserted him on the battlefield with the result that he was slain. - The Ottomans were able to capture Constantinople in 1453 by using a 26-foot bronze cannon and several other cannons from 15 to 22 feet in-The methods that the safavid empire used to expand their empire was using an early safavid military hero named ismail who was also 14-15 years old conquered most of persia and iraq (Desiree)-They conquered . [102] More seriously the Ottomans ended the Peace of Amasya and commenced a war with Iran that would last until 1590 by invading Iran's territories of Georgia and Shirvan. The Safavid Empire lasted from 1501-1722. 900901, tr. In September of that year, Tahmasp and Bayezid were enjoying a banquet at Tabriz when Tahmasp suddenly pretended he had received news that the Ottoman prince was engaged in a plot against his life. In the next 10 years he subjugated the greater part of Iran and annexed the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad and Mosul. In 161416 during the OttomanSafavid War (16031618), Abbas suppressed a rebellion led by his formerly most loyal Georgian subjects Luarsab II and Teimuraz I (also known as Tahmuras Khan) in the Kingdom of Kakheti. In January 1502, Esma'il defeated the army of Alvand Beig of Aq Qoyunlu, ruler of Azerbaijan, and seized Tabriz and made this city his capital. Roemer, H.R. For . With the Safavid state and its territories secured, in 1738 Nader conquered the Hotaki's last stronghold in Kandahar; in the same year, in need of fortune to aid his military careers against his Ottoman and Russian imperial rivals, he started his invasion of the wealthy but weak Mughal Empire accompanied by his Georgian subject Erekle II,[155] occupying Ghazni, Kabul, Lahore, and as far as Delhi, in India, when he completely humiliated and looted the militarily inferior Mughals. The Ottoman Empire ran for over many centuries and consisted of a complex governmental organization which has the Sultan at the top of the pyramid of the hierarchical structure. The epic called the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), a stellar example of manuscript illumination and calligraphy, was made during Shah Tahmasp's reign. In addition to fighting its perennial enemies, the Ottomans and Uzbeks, as the seventeenth century progressed, Iran had to contend with the rise of two more neighbors. [67] In the absence of a charismatic, messianic rallying figure like the young Ismail, the tribal leaders reclaimed their traditional prerogative and threatened to return to the time of local warlords. It ruled over many parts of southern Europe, west Asia and North Africa. And the Naqsh-e Jahan Square ("Examplar of the World"). 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