Safavid Empire during the reign of Shah Abbas I Shah Abbas took the throne in He created a golden age of culture that drew from the best Ottoman, Persian and Arab worlds. Shah Abbas reformed some aspects of the empire.

Military- limited the power of the military, created two new armies that would be loyal to him alone, one being made up of Persians the other of Christian recruits that he modeled after the Ottoman janissaries. Both armies were equipped with modern weapons.

Government- he punished corruption severely and promoted only those officials who proved competent and loyal, he was known to hire foreigners to fill gov’t positions.

To convince European merchants of his religious tolerance, he brought in Christian religious orders to the empire Europeans moved into the land. This caused a large exchange of art, trade and industry between the Europeans and Safavid empire.

Safavid moved the capital to Esfahan which is almost directly south of current day Tehran, Iran. The city covered 4 ½ miles and was considered to be one of the prettiest in the world. Foreign and Safavid artist both worked on the construction of the city.

- Armenians wove carpets -300 Chinese potters produced glazed building tiles Shah Abbas brought in many Chinese artists and had them work side by side with Safavid artists.

They created intricate metal works, pottery, glass work, calligraphy, and tile work. This started a collaboration between Chinese and Persian artists.

The most important Western influence on the Safavids though was the demand for Persian carpets. This changed weaving from a local craft to a national industry.

At first carpets reflected Persian themes but as the empire grew, the designs became more culturally blended. In the 16 th century, Shah Abbas, sent artist to Europe to study under Raphael. Rugs began to show European influence after the artists returned.

The empire declined after Shah Abbas’ death. This was in large part because he had made the same mistake the Ottoman ruler Suleyman had made by killing or blinding his best sons. Because he had done this, his spoiled grand son took over control of the empire. He was hated so much that one of his own soldiers assassinated him.

5