safawi

PERSIA

The Safawi Dynasty

BRIEF HISTORY

The genealogy of the Safawi dynasty can be traced to a certain Firuz Shah, surnamed Zarrin Kulah "golden cap", who settled in Ardabil during the twelfth century AD. The name of the dynasty is take from Sheikh Safi ud-din 'Abdu'l Fath Ishaq (b. 1252; d. 12th September 1334), founder and Grand Master of a Sufi religious order at Ardabil in 1301. Converting from the Sunni to the Shi'ite sect, his descendant Junaid became a zealous propagator of the Shi'ite faith, extending his influence over large areas of North Western Persia, Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia. Temporal power soon followed in the wake of his religious successes with the establishment of the Qizilbashes (red caps), a powerful military force including a large number of nomadic tribes. They were eventually strong enough to seize the reigns of temporal power and install their Grand Master as Shah Ismail I in 1501. His descendants ruled Persia until the Afghan invasions of 1719 and 1722 reduced them to puppets in the hands of others. However, they continued to be recognised as Shahhanshahs, at least in some parts of the country, for a further 60 years. The last Shah of the dynasty was finally deposed and exiled to India in 1786.

STYLES & TITLES:Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© CBuyers
The Sovereign: Ala Hazrat Zill-u'llah 'Abu'l Muzaffar Sultan (reign name) (personal titles, if any) Shahanshah-i-Iran, Shadow of God, Servant of the Conquerer, King of Kings of Iran, with the style of His Majesty.Copyright© C Buyers
The first lady in the realm: 'Aliya Hazrat Mahd-i-'Aliya, i.e. the Sublime Cradle, rendered as Her Majesty the Queen Mother.Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© CBuyers
The Heir Apparent: Vala Hazrat Vali Adh, i.e. Crown Prince, with the style of His Royal Highness.
Sons of the sovereign: Vala Hazrat Shahzada (personal titles, if any) Sultan (personal name) Mirza, i.e. Prince, with the style of His Royal Highness.
Grandsons and great-grandsons of the sovereign, in the male line: Sultan (personal name) Mirza, i.e. Prince.Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher Buyers
Other male descendants of the sovereign, in the male line: (personal name) Mirza, i.e. Prince.Copyright©
Daughters of a sovereign: Shahzadi 'Alamiyan (personal titles, if any) (personal name) Khanum, i.e. Princess, with the style of Her Royal Highness.Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright©
Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Copyright© Christopher Buyers
RULES OF SUCCESSION:Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright©
Male primogeniture amongst the sons of Ismail Shah I.Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© C Buyers
Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Copyright© Christopher Buyers
SOURCES: Copyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© Christopher BuyersCopyright© C BuyersCopyright©
Zahiru'd-din Muhammad Babur Padshah Ghazi. Vols. I and II. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi, 1979.
M.L. Bierbrier. "Sources for the Study of Persian and Indian Royal Genealogies", The Genealogist, Volume 3, No. 2, Fall 1982.
M.L. Bierbrier. "The Descendants of Theodora Comnena of Trebizond". The Genealogist, Volumes 11, No. 2, Fall 1997 to 14, No. 1, Spring 2000 (inclusive). American Society of Genealogists, Picton Press, Rockport, ME.
Collection of Papers in the Office of the Superintendent of Political Pensions. IOR (V/27/71/1), India Office Collection, British Library, St Pancras, London.
Layla S. Diba (ed.) and Maryam Ekhtiar. Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925, I.B. Tauris Publishers, New York, 1998.
Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume II Africa & the Middle East, Burke's Peerage Ltd., London 1980.
Gul-Badan Begum. Humayun Nama. The History of Humayun translated by Annette S. Beveridge. Goodwood Books, New Delhi, 2001.
Laurence Lockhart. The Fall of the Safavi Dynasty and the Afghan Occupation of Persia. , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1958.
Roger Savory. Iran Under the Safavids, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980.
Maria Szuppe. "La participation des femmes de la famille royale à l'exercice du pouvoir ed Iran Safavide au XVIe siècle. Seconde partie: L'entourage des princesses et leurs activités politiques". Studia Iranica. L'association pour l'avancement des études Iraniennes, Paris. Tome 23/2 (1994), pp. 211-258 and Tome 24/1 (1995), pp.61-122.
E. Yarshater (ed.). Encyclopaedia Irancia, New York, 1982.
M.K. Youssef-Jamali. The Life and Personality of Shah Ismai'l I (1487-1524). Thesis. University of Edinburgh, 1981. Unpublished microfiche, D38335/81 DSC, British Library, Sr Pancras, London.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Dr Morris L Bierbrier, FSA.

SAFAWI 2

SAFAWI 3

SAFAWI 4

SAFAWI 5

PERSIA

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may have changes, corrections or additions to contribute. Please contact me at:

CONTACT