Safavid

(proper noun)

One of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires after the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height controlled all of modern Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey.

Related Terms

Examples of Safavid in the following topics:

  • Safavid Dynasty

    • The Islamic Iranian Safavid Empire (1501-1786) is marked by the development of various artistic styles in Persia.
    • His painting and calligraphic style influenced Iranian artists for much of the Safavid period, which came to be known as the Isfahan school.
    • Reza Abbasi's Two Lovers, 1630, are emblematic of Safavid painting, which featured portraiture and romantic subjects.
    • The carpets of Ardabil were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty and are considered classics of Persian carpet weaving.
    • Describe the importance of carpet weaving, manucript illumination, and architecture in the Safavid Dynasty.

  • Islamic Architecture

    • Architecture flourished in the Safavid Dynasty, attaining a high point with the building program of Shah Abbas in Isfahan, which included numerous gardens, palaces (such as Ali Qapu), an immense bazaar, and a large imperial mosque.
    • Isfahan, the capital of both the Seljuk and Safavid dynasties, bears the most prominent samples of the Safavid architecture, such as the the Imperial Mosque, which was constructed in the years after Shah Abbas I permanently moved the capital there in 1598.

  • The Modern Era

    • From the 15th century the number of smaller Islamic courts began to fall, as the Ottoman Empire, and later the Safavids and European powers, swallowed them up.
    • The Turks of the Ottoman Empire adopted versions of Rococo which had a lasting effect on sculpture and architecture, and the Qajars, a Turkmen tribe established after the fall of the Iranian Safavids, displayed art with an increasing European influence, as seen in their steelwork and in the large oil paintings portraying the Qajar shahs.

  • Islamic Textiles

    • The Iranian Safavid Empire (1501-1786) is distinguished from the Mughal and Ottoman dynasties by the Shi'a faith of its shahs, which was the majority Islamic denomination in Persia.
    • Safavid art is contributed to several aesthetic traditions particularly to the textiles arts.
    • The carpets of Ardabil, for example, were commissioned to commemorate the Safavid dynasty and are now considered to be the best examples of classical Persian weaving, particularly for their use of graphical perspective. 

  • Islamic Book Painting

    • Under the rule of the Safavids in Iran (1501 to 1786), the art of manuscript illumination achieved new heights, the most noteworthy example of this is the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, an immense copy of Ferdowsi's epic poem containing more than 250 paintings.
    • These books contain numerous illustrations and exhibit a strong Safavid influence, perhaps inspired by books captured in the course of the Ottoman-Safavid wars of the 16th century.

  • The East

    • Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central Asia, and many architectural features of this time were incorporated into later Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal architecture.

  • Luxury Arts

    • The Mughal miniature movement began by importing Persian artists, especially a group brought back by Humayun when exiled in Safavid, Persia.