Venetian merchants who came to Tabriz in the early 16th century were struck by one thing: the shah’s soldiers saw him not only as a ruler but as a holy murshid and rushed into battle without armour in his name. This devotion was the state’s strength. Yet the greatest power after the shah, the Qizilbash emirs who held the troops and the provinces, was also a source of danger. How was the Safavid state governed, and how did the shahs balance the power of the nobles?
The shah: ruler and murshid
The Safavid state was a centralised feudal monarchy. The shah’s power was unlimited and hereditary; he was both a secular ruler and the religious head of the Qizilbash Sufis, the murshid-i kamil («perfect guide»). The Safavids traced their descent to Imam Musa al-Kazim and so gave their power a religious basis. The state religion was Shi‘ism (the Twelver school). The succession to the throne was not firmly regulated, so after every shah’s death a struggle began among the princes and the emirs who backed them.
Azerbaijani Turkic was used at court, in the army and in diplomatic letters; Persian was also widely used in the chancery and in finance. Military affairs were in the hands of the Qizilbash emirs, while civil administration was mostly run by Persian-speaking officials.
The Qizilbash tribes and the nobility
The main force that had founded the state was the Qizilbash tribes: the Shamlu, Rumlu, Ustajlu, Takkalu, Zulqadar, Afshar and Qajar, as well as the Bayat, Qaradaghli and others. Each tribe was led by its own emir. The highest offices and the provinces were given to these emirs, who kept their troops on the income of their tiyul. For example, Shah Ismail’s tutor (lala), Husayn Beg Shamlu, became the state’s first vakil.
The weak side of this system soon showed itself: the powerful tribal emirs competed with one another and, under a weak or child shah, tried to seize power. Shah Tahmasp’s childhood and the last quarter of the 16th century proved it — see the lesson «Shah Tahmasp I: unification completed and the Safavid–Ottoman wars». To depend less on the Qizilbash, the shahs began to create troops directly subordinate to themselves.
TiyulDefinition
The temporary grant of the tax income of a district in return for service (mainly military service). A tiyul was not hereditary and was taken back when the service ended; under the Safavids it was the main form of conditional landholding.
High offices and provincial government
The most important matters were discussed in a council chaired by the shah with the high officials taking part. The table shows the main offices; the role of some changed over time: in the early 16th century the highest office was that of vakil, which later lost its importance, and in the 17th century the grand vizier was called etimad al-dawla.
| Office | Duty |
|---|---|
| Vakil | the shah’s deputy; represented him in state affairs |
| Amir al-umara | commander-in-chief of the Qizilbash troops |
| Vizier (grand vizier) | civil administration and finance |
| Sadr | religious affairs, the clergy and waqf lands |
| Qorchibashi | head of the shah’s Qizilbash guard (the qorchis) |
| Qollaraghasi | head of the ghulam troops |
| Tufangchiaghasi, topchubashi | heads of the musketeer infantry and of the artillery |
| Eshikaghasibashi | court ceremonies and the palace service |
| Divanbeyi | head of the supreme court |
| Beylerbeyi | governed a province (beylerbeylik) and led its troops |
The country was divided into beylerbeyliks, usually governed by beylerbeyis appointed from among the Qizilbash emirs. A beylerbeylik was split into smaller units ruled by emirs with the title of khan, sultan or hakim. On Azerbaijani lands there were four beylerbeyliks: Tabriz (Azerbaijan), Shirvan (centre Shamakhi, from 1538), Karabakh (centre Ganja) and Chukhur-Saad (centre Iravan). The beylerbeyi collected taxes, kept order and in war brought the provincial troops to the shah’s army.
Not all lands became beylerbeyliks at once. Until 1538 the Shirvanshahs ruled their country as vassal rulers who recognised the supreme power of the Safavid shah; once Shirvan was annexed, a beylerbeylik was set up in its place. Under Abbas I some provinces were turned into khassa (crown) land and began to be run by viziers appointed by the shah: the emirs’ income fell and the treasury’s grew.
The army and the capitals
The core of the army was the Qizilbash cavalry: in wartime each emir brought the warriors of his tribe. The shah’s personal guard was formed by the qorchis, who were paid from the treasury. The defeat at Chaldiran (1514) showed the need for firearms, and musketeer (tufangchi) and artillery units were gradually formed. At the end of the 16th century Shah Abbas I created a corps of ghulams from young men brought from Georgia, Armenia and Circassia who had converted to Islam, and strengthened the standing army — see the lesson «Shah Abbas I: accession and reforms».
The capital was moved twice: Tabriz → Qazvin → Isfahan. The reason was the Ottoman threat: Tabriz lay very close to the border, and Ottoman troops had taken it in 1514, 1534, 1548 and 1585. Shah Tahmasp I moved the capital to Qazvin in the middle of the 16th century, and Shah Abbas I moved it to Isfahan in 1598. Tabriz remained the largest city and trading centre of Azerbaijan.
Thus the strength of the Safavid system was religious unity and the military might of the Qizilbash tribes, and its weakness was dependence on the emirs of those tribes. The shahs reduced this dependence step by step: first the qorchi guard, then the musketeer and artillery units, and finally the ghulam corps and the khassa lands. The road ended with the reforms of Abbas I.
| Shah | Reign | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Ismail I | 1501–1524 | Tabriz |
| Tahmasp I | 1524–1576 | Tabriz, then Qazvin |
| Ismail II | 1576–1577 | Qazvin |
| Muhammad Khudabanda | 1578–1587 | Qazvin |
| Abbas I | 1587–1629 | Qazvin, from 1598 Isfahan |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| the Qizilbash tribes had founded the state | the high offices and provinces went to their emirs |
| the emirs kept troops on tiyul income | tribal feuds under a child shah |
| the superiority of firearms at Chaldiran | musketeer and artillery units were formed |
| the Ottomans took Tabriz again and again | the capital moved to Qazvin, then Isfahan |
| Feature | Aghqoyunlu state (15th c.) | Safavid state (16th c.) |
|---|---|---|
| Ruler | padishah — a secular ruler | shah — both ruler and murshid |
| State religion | Sunni Islam | Shi‘ism |
| Conditional land | the soyurghal prevailed | the tiyul became the main form |
- 1501
Tabriz becomes the capital and Shi‘ism the state religion
- 1514
The defeat of 1514 shows that firearms are essential
- 1524
The child Tahmasp on the throne; the feuds of the Qizilbash emirs begin
- 1534
The Ottomans take Tabriz
- 1538
The beylerbeylik of Shirvan is formed
- mid-16th century
The capital is moved to Qazvin
- 1585
The Ottomans take Tabriz again
- 1587
Shah Abbas I comes to the throne
- late 16th century
Ghulam, musketeer and artillery corps
- 1598
Isfahan becomes the capital
Interactive
Source (adapted): based on the notes of an anonymous Venetian merchant who travelled in the Safavid lands in the early 16th century.
This ruler is loved by his people, and above all by his soldiers, as a holy being, and they bow to him with reverence. Many of his warriors go into battle without armour, because they believe their murshid will protect them. They wear red caps on their heads and are known by a special name because of them.
Source tasks
Problem
1. Which ruler and which warriors does the text describe?
2. Explain one religious and one economic reason for the warriors’ devotion to the ruler.
3. Building on this devotion and on the Qizilbash role in the state, name two consequences that the text does not state.
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
2. Religious: the Qizilbash saw the shah as the murshid-i kamil. Economic: the emirs received offices, provinces and tiyuls, the warriors won booty. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3. For example: the Qizilbash emirs grew so strong that they fought for power during the childhood of Tahmasp; to depend less on them the shahs created the qorchi and later the ghulam troops; after Chaldiran faith in the shah’s «invincibility» was shaken. Marks: two correct consequences — 1; one — ½.
DIM-type task: office → duty
Problem
Match:
1. sadr
2. qorchibashi
3. vizier
a. religious affairs and waqf lands
b. the shah’s Qizilbash guard
c. civil administration and finance
d. the ghulam troops
e. court ceremonies
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
Spare options: d is the job of the qollaraghasi, e that of the eshikaghasibashi. Trap: the qorchis were Qizilbash, while the ghulams were young men brought from the Caucasus; do not mix them up.
Answer: 1-a, 2-b, 3-c.
DIM-type task: «unlike X»
Problem
Unlike the Aghqoyunlu state, in the Safavid state:
A) the core of the army was the cavalry of nomadic Turkic tribes
B) the ruler was also seen as the religious head of the Qizilbash, their murshid
C) Tabriz was the capital for a time
D) the ruling dynasty was of Turkic origin
E) the high offices were held by tribal emirs
Show solutionHide solution
Solution
Answer: B.
Remember
- The shah was both a secular ruler and the murshid of the Qizilbash; the state religion was Shi‘ism and the language of court and army was Azerbaijani Turkic.
- The Qizilbash tribes (Shamlu, Rumlu, Ustajlu, Takkalu, Zulqadar, Afshar, Qajar) were the pillar of the state; their emirs received offices, provinces and tiyuls.
- High offices: vakil (deputy), amir al-umara (commander-in-chief), vizier (finance), sadr (religion, waqf), qorchibashi, qollaraghasi, tufangchiaghasi, topchubashi, eshikaghasibashi, divanbeyi.
- Four beylerbeyliks in Azerbaijan: Tabriz, Shirvan (Shamakhi), Karabakh (Ganja), Chukhur-Saad (Iravan).
- Army: Qizilbash cavalry and qorchis; after Chaldiran musketeers and gunners, at the end of the 16th century ghulams. Capital: Tabriz → Qazvin → Isfahan (1598).