The Safavid Empire: Azerbaijan's Legacy And Identity

The Safavid Empire, which included Persia, was created and ruled by Azeri-Turkic people. It covered parts of modern-day Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, and Northern India. The empire was established in the 16th century by Shah Ismail I, who was of Turkic origin and wrote all his literature in Azeri-Turkic. The capital of the Safavid Empire was Tabriz, a city in modern-day Iran, until 1555. The Safavid Empire is considered part of today's Azerbaijan Republic history, and it played a significant role in the formation of modern Azerbaijani national identity. However, some Persian-nationalist historians claim that the Safavid Empire was a Persian state, which is disputed by Azerbaijani scholars and historians.

The Safavid Empire was an Azerbaijani state

The Safavid Empire, established in 1501, was a medieval Azerbaijani state. It was founded by Shah Ismail Khatai, a spiritual leader from Ardabil, a town in the South Azerbaijan region of modern-day Iran. Shah Ismail, also known as Ismail I, had Azerbaijani genetics on his mother's side and Turkic roots on his father's side. He was well-versed in Azerbaijani culture and literature, and his palace staff spoke in Azerbaijani.

At the time of its establishment, Azerbaijan was the political, economic, and cultural centre of the Safavid Empire. The Azerbaijani version of the Turkic language was the official language of the empire, and the capital was in Tabriz, a city in modern-day Iranian Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Turks dominated the political and military leadership of the Safavid state, and the empire played a significant role in the formation of modern Azerbaijani national identity.

However, towards the end of the 16th century, frequent wars with the Ottoman Empire forced Shah Abbas I to relocate the empire's centre from Azerbaijan to Iran. This relocation, along with the later move of the capital to Isfahan in 1598, marked the beginning of the Safavid state's gradual transformation from its Azerbaijani roots to Persian influence. Despite this shift, the Azerbaijani-Turkic language remained dominant in the royal palaces throughout the Safavid state's existence until its end in 1736.

The capital of the Safavid Empire was Tabriz

Tabriz was the capital of the Safavid Empire until 1555, when the capital was moved to Qazvin. The Safavid Empire was founded by Shah Ismail I, who captured Tabriz in July 1501 and enthroned himself as Shah of Azerbaijan. In May 1501, Ismail I declared Tabriz his capital.

The Safavid Empire was ruled by the Safavid dynasty, which was descended from Sheikh Ṣafī al-Dīn of Ardabīl, head of the Sufi order of Ṣafaviyyeh. The Safavid Empire was preceded by the Ak Koyunlu, or "White Sheep", an Uzbek Turkmen confederation.

The Safavid Empire included all of what is now Iran, as well as Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, and parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Safavid Empire was one of the largest and long-standing Iranian empires. It is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history and was one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Empire left a legacy of reviving Iran as an economic stronghold and establishing an efficient state bureaucracy.

The Safavid Empire was founded by Shah Ismail Khatai

The Safavid Empire was founded by Shah Ismail I (also known as Khatai or Khaṭāʾī), who ruled from 1501 until his death in 1524. The empire was one of the gunpowder empires and is considered the beginning of modern Iranian history.

Shah Ismail I was born in 1487 in Ardabil, in what is now the Iranian Azerbaijan region. His father, Haydar, was the sheikh of the Safavid tariqa (Sufi order) and a direct descendant of its Kurdish founder, Safi-ad-din Ardabili. Ismail's ancestry was mixed, including various ethnic groups such as Georgians, Greeks, Kurds, and Turkomans. He was bilingual in Persian and a Southern Turkic dialect, a precursor of modern Azeri Turkic.

The Safavid Empire had its origins in the Safavid Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region. The empire was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but the ruling family intermarried with dignitaries from various ethnic groups, including Turkomans, Georgians, Circassians, and Pontic Greeks. As a result, the Safavid dynasty became Turkish-speaking and Turkified.

One of Shah Ismail's first actions as ruler was to proclaim the Twelver denomination of Shia Islam as the official religion of the Safavid Empire, marking a significant turning point in the history of Islam. This decision had major consequences for the ensuing history of Iran, as it caused sectarian tensions in the Middle East. Ismail also contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language through his poetry, which he wrote under the pen name Khatai.

Under Shah Ismail's leadership, the Safavid Empire quickly established control over parts of Greater Iran, as well as present-day Iraq and Turkey. At its height, the empire controlled all of what is now Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, most of Georgia, the North Caucasus, and Iraq, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

The legacy of the Safavid Empire includes the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state bureaucracy, architectural innovations, and patronage of the fine arts. The Safavid dynasty ruled Iran for over two centuries, until 1722, and their cultural and political influence extended beyond the fall of the empire in 1736.

The Safavid State lost its Azerbaijani identity

The Safavid state was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, with Turkish-speaking rulers of Iranian origin. The Safavid state was ruled by Shah Ismail I, who was of mixed Turkoman, Kurdish, Pontic Greek, and Georgian descent. He was the last in the line of hereditary Grand Masters of the Safaviyeh order, prior to its ascent to a ruling dynasty.

The Safavid state was ruled from 1501 to 1722, with a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736 and 1750 to 1773. At its height, the Safavid state controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Safavid state was one of the gunpowder empires and is considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid state established Twelver Shīʿīsm as the state religion of Iran and left a legacy of architectural innovations, fine arts patronage, and an efficient state bureaucracy.

• The Safavid state was an Iranian dynasty: While the Safavid rulers were of mixed ethnic origins, including Turkish-speaking elements, the dynasty itself was rooted in Iranian Kurdistan and later moved to Iranian Azerbaijan. The Safavid state became the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.
• Intermarriage with non-Azerbaijani groups: The Safavid rulers intermarried with non-Azerbaijani groups, including Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries. This intermarriage diluted the Azerbaijani identity within the ruling class.
• Adoption of Persian as the administrative language: While Azerbaijani Turkish was the mother tongue of Shah Ismail and was widely spoken in the Safavid state, Persian was the official language of the empire, the administrative language, and the language of literature and historiography. This use of Persian as the language of administration and high culture contributed to the loss of Azerbaijani identity within the Safavid state.
• Centralization of power and reduction of Qizilbash influence: Shah Abbas I undertook a series of reforms to centralize power and reduce the influence of the Qizilbash, who were predominantly Turkic-speaking military and ruling elites. He created a standing army directly loyal to the Shah and composed of ethnic Caucasians, primarily Georgians, Circassians, and Armenians. This reduced the power of the Qizilbash and diminished the influence of Turkic-speaking groups within the Safavid state.
• Move of the capital to Isfahan: In 1598, Shah Abbas I moved the capital of the Safavid state from Qazvin to Isfahan, a city with a predominantly Persian character. This move further distanced the Safavid state from its Azerbaijani identity and traditions and reinforced the shift towards a more Persian-influenced culture and administration.
• Loss of Azerbaijani territories to the Ottoman Empire: The Safavid state lost control of several Azerbaijani territories, including Tabriz, to the Ottoman Empire during the 16th and 17th centuries. The loss of these territories and the associated cultural influences may have contributed to the diminishing Azerbaijani identity within the Safavid state.

The Safavid Empire was the largest single Azerbaijani state

The Safavid Empire, also known as Safavid Iran or the Safavid Persia, was a large Iranian empire that ruled from 1501 to 1736. It is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The empire was ruled by the Safavid dynasty, which had its origin in the Safavid order of Sufism, established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region.

The Safavid Empire is considered part of today's Azerbaijan Republic history. It is one of 17 historical Turkic empires and played a significant role in the history of Islam by establishing Twelver Shīʿīsm as the state religion of Iran and spreading Shīʿa Islam in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and Mesopotamia.

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