Editing History of Iran (section)

=={{anchor|Early modern era (1502-1925)}}Early modern period==
Persia underwent a revival under the [[Safavids|Safavid dynasty]] (1502–1736), the most prominent figure of which was [[Abbas I of Safavid|Shah Abbas I]]. Some historians credit the Safavid dynasty for founding the modern nation-state of Iran. Iran's contemporary Shia character, and significant segments of Iran's current borders take their origin from this era (''e.g. [[Treaty of Zuhab]]'').

===Safavid Empire (1501–1736)===
{{Main|Safavid Empire}}
{{See also|Portuguese–Safavid wars|Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|Ottoman Safavid War}}
[[File:Safavid Empire 1501 1722 AD.png|thumb|350px|The [[Safavid Empire]] (1501–1736) at its greatest extent]]

The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, and "is often considered the beginning of modern Persian history".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | first = Rudi
| last= Mathee
| year = 2008
| title= Safavid Dynasty
| encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Iranica | url= http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids | access-date= 2014-06-02 | archive-date= 2019-05-24 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190524085947/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids | url-status= live }}</ref> They ruled one of the greatest Iranian empires after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]<ref>{{ cite book
| editor-link= Helen Chapin Metz
|editor-last= Chapin Metz| editor-first = Helen
| title=Iran, a Country study | year=1989
| publisher= University of Michigan | page = 313}}{{pb}}{{ cite book 
| first = Emory C. | last =Bogle
| title=Islam: Origin and Belief
| publisher=University of Texas Press
| year=1989 | page =145}}{{pb}}{{cite book
| first = Stanford Jay | last=Shaw
| title=History of the Ottoman Empire
| publisher=Cambridge University Press
| year=1977 | page= 77}}{{pb}}Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran: ''Rebirth of a Persian Empire'', I.B. Tauris (30 March 2006).</ref> and established the [[Twelver]] school of [[Imamate (Twelver doctrine)|Shi'a Islam]]<ref name="savoryeiref"/> 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, they controlled all of modern Iran, [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Armenia]], most of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], the [[North Caucasus]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]] and [[Afghanistan]], as well as parts of [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], [[Pakistan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "[[Gunpowder Empires|gunpowder empires]]", along with its neighbours, its archrival and principal enemy the [[Ottoman Empire]], and to the east, the [[Mughal Empire]].
[[File:Persian Gulf 1507-1750.gif|thumb|352x352px|Portuguese empire in the Persian Gulf - 1501-1750.]]
The Safavid ruling dynasty was founded by Ismāil, who styled himself [[Ismail I|Shāh Ismāil I]].<ref name="ismailsafaviiranica">
{{citation
| first1= Roger M. | last1=Savory
| first2= Ahmet T. | last2=Karamustafa
| year = 2012 | orig-date=1998
| url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/esmail-i-safawi
| title= Esmāʿīl I Ṣafawī
| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190725111610/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/esmail-i-safawi
| url-status=live 
| archive-date= 25 July 2019
| volume=VIII/6
| pages = 628–636
}}

</ref> Practically worshipped by his [[Qizilbash|Qizilbāsh]] followers, Ismāil invaded [[Shirvan]] to avenge the death of his father, [[Shaykh Haydar]], who had been killed during his siege of [[Derbent]], in Dagestan. Afterwards he went on a campaign of conquest, and following the capture of [[Tabriz]] in July 1501, he enthroned himself as the Shāh of Iran,<ref>{{ cite journal
| first = Richard | last = Tapper
| title= Shāhsevan in Ṣafavid Persia
| journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
| volume=37 | number=3 | year =1974
| jstor= 612582
| publisher =Cambridge University Press 
| pages = 321–354
| doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00136286
| s2cid = 177504456
}}</ref>{{rp|324}}<ref>Lawrence Davidson, Arthur Goldschmid, ''A Concise History of the Middle East'', Westview Press, 2006, p. 153</ref><ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9377424/Safavid-dynasty "Safavid dynasty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120194533/http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9377424/Safavid-dynasty |date=2008-01-20 }}, Britannica Concise. Online Edition 2007</ref> minted coins in this name, and proclaimed Shi'ism the official religion of his domain.<ref name="savoryeiref" />

Although initially the masters of Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan only, the Safavids had, in fact, won the struggle for power in Iran which had been going on for nearly a century between various dynasties and political forces following the fragmentation of the [[Kara Koyunlu]] and the [[Aq Qoyunlu]]. A year after his victory in Tabriz, Ismāil proclaimed most of Iran as his domain, and<ref name="savoryeiref" /> quickly conquered and unified Iran under his rule. Soon afterwards, the new Safavid Empire rapidly conquered regions, nations, and peoples in all directions, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, parts of Georgia, [[Mesopotamia]] (Iraq), Kuwait, Syria, [[Dagestan]], large parts of what is now Afghanistan, parts of Turkmenistan, and large chunks of Anatolia, laying the foundation of its multi-ethnic character which would heavily influence the empire itself (most notably the Caucasus and [[Peoples of the Caucasus|its peoples]]).

[[File:ShahAbbasPortraitFromItalianPainter.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Portrait of Shah Abbas I]]

[[Tahmasp I]], the son and successor of [[Ismail I]], carried out multiple invasions in the Caucasus which had been incorporated in the [[Safavid empire]] since Shah Ismail I and for many centuries afterwards, and started with the trend of deporting and moving hundreds of thousands of [[Circassians]], [[Georgians]], and [[Armenians]] to Iran's heartlands. Initially only solely put in the royal harems, royal guards, and minor other sections of the Empire, Tahmasp believed he could eventually reduce the power of the [[Qizilbash]], by creating and fully integrating a new layer in Iranian society. As ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' states, for Tahmasp, the problem circled around the military tribal elite of the empire, the Qizilbash, who believed that physical proximity to and control of a member of the immediate Safavid family guaranteed spiritual advantages, political fortune, and material advancement.<ref>{{citation 
| last = Mitchell| first=Colin P.
| year = 2009
| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica
|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tahmasp-i|title=Ṭahmāsp I
|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-date=17 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517061306/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tahmasp-i|url-status=live}}</ref> With this new Caucasian layer in Iranian society, the undisputed might of the Qizilbash (who functioned much like the ''[[Ghazi (warrior)|ghazis]]'' of the neighbouring [[Ottoman Empire]]) would be questioned and fully diminished as society would become fully [[Meritocracy|meritocratic]].

Shah [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] and his successors would significantly expand this policy and plan initiated by Tahmasp, deporting during his reign alone around some 200,000 [[Georgians]], 300,000 [[Armenians]] and 100,000–150,000 [[Circassians]] to Iran, completing the foundation of a new layer in Iranian society. With this, and the complete systematic disorganisation of the Qizilbash by his personal orders, he eventually fully succeeded in replacing the power of the Qizilbash, with that of the [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian]] ghulams. These new Caucasian elements (the so-called ''[[ghilman]]'' / غِلْمَان / ''"servants"''), almost always after conversion to [[Shia Islam|Shi'ism]] depending on given function would be, unlike the Qizilbash, fully loyal only to the Shah. The other masses of Caucasians were deployed in all other possible functions and positions available in the empire, as well as in the [[harem]], regular military, craftsmen, farmers, etc. This system of mass usage of Caucasian subjects remained to exist until the fall of the [[Qajar dynasty]].

[[File:როსტომ ხანი.gif|thumb|upright|[[Rostom of Kartli|Rostom]] (also known as ''Rustam Khan''), viceroy of [[Kingdom of Kartli|Kartli]], eastern Georgia, from 1633 to 1658|alt=]]

The greatest of the Safavid monarchs, [[Shah Abbas I the Great]] (1587–1629) came to power in 1587 aged 16. Abbas I first fought the Uzbeks, recapturing [[Herat]] and Mashhad in 1598, which had been lost by his predecessor [[Mohammad Khodabanda]] by the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)]]. Then he turned against the Ottomans, the archrivals of the Safavids, recapturing Baghdad, eastern Iraq, the Caucasian provinces, and beyond [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618)|by 1618]]. Between 1616 and 1618, following the disobedience of his most loyal Georgian subjects [[Teimuraz I of Kakheti|Teimuraz I]] and [[Luarsab II of Kartli|Luarsab II]], Abbas carried out a punitive campaign in his territories of Georgia, devastating [[Kakheti]] and [[Tbilisi]] and carrying away 130,000<ref>Eskandar Beg, pp. 900–901, tr. Savory, II, p. 1116</ref> – 200,000{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2015|pages=291, 536}}<ref>{{citation
 |last1=Matthee |first1=Rudi |title=GEORGIA vii. Georgians in the Safavid Administration |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/georgia-vii- 
| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica
| volume=X/5 | pages= 493–496
|orig-date= 2001 |year =2012 |archive-date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519082609/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/georgia-vii- |url-status=live }}</ref> Georgian captives towards mainland Iran. His new army, which had dramatically been improved with the advent of [[Robert Shirley]] and his brothers following the [[Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602)|first diplomatic mission to Europe]], pitted the first crushing victory over the Safavids' archrivals, the Ottomans in the above-mentioned 1603–1618 war and would surpass the Ottomans in military strength. He also used his new force to dislodge the Portuguese from [[Bahrain]] (1602) and [[Hormuz Island|Hormuz]] (1622) with aid of the English navy, in the Persian Gulf.

He expanded commercial links with the [[Dutch East India Company]] and established firm links with the European royal houses, which had been initiated by Ismail I earlier on by the [[Habsburg–Persian alliance]]. Thus Abbas I was able to break the dependence on the Qizilbash for military might and therefore was able to centralize control.
The Safavid dynasty had already established itself during Shah Ismail I, but under Abbas I it really became a major power in the world along with its archrival the Ottoman Empire, against whom it became able to compete with on equal foot. It also started the promotion of tourism in Iran. Under their rule Persian Architecture flourished again and saw many new monuments in various Iranian cities, of which [[Isfahan]] is the most notable example.

Except for Shah [[Abbas the Great]], Shah [[Ismail I]], Shah [[Tahmasp I]], and Shah [[Abbas II of Persia|Abbas II]], many of the Safavid rulers were ineffectual, often being more interested in their women, alcohol and other leisure activities. The end of Abbas II's reign in 1666, marked the beginning of the end of the Safavid dynasty. Despite falling revenues and military threats, many of the later shahs had lavish lifestyles. Shah Soltan Hosain (1694–1722) in particular was known for his love of wine and disinterest in governance.<ref>Mottahedeh, Roy, ''The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran'', One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000, p.204</ref>

The declining country was repeatedly raided on its frontiers. Finally, [[Ghilzai]] [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] chieftain named [[Mirwais Hotak|Mir Wais Khan]] began a rebellion in [[Kandahar]] and defeated the Safavid army under the Iranian Georgian governor over the region, [[Gurgin Khan]]. In 1722, [[Peter the Great]] of neighbouring [[Imperial Russia]] launched the [[Russo-Persian War (1722–1723)]], capturing many of Iran's Caucasian territories, including [[Derbent]], [[Shaki, Azerbaijan|Shaki]], [[Baku]], but also [[Gilan]], [[Mazandaran]] and [[Astrabad]]. In the midst of chaos, in the same year of 1722, an Afghan army led by Mir Wais' son [[Mahmud Hotak|Mahmud]] marched across eastern Iran, [[Siege of Isfahan|besieged and took Isfahan]]. Mahmud proclaimed himself 'Shah' of Persia. Meanwhile, Persia's imperial rivals, the Ottomans and the Russians, took advantage of the chaos in the country to seize more territory for themselves.<ref>[[Michael Axworthy]], biography of Nader, ''The Sword of Persia'' (I.B. Tauris, 2006) pp. 17–56</ref> By these events, the Safavid dynasty had effectively ended. In 1724, conform the [[Treaty of Constantinople (1724)|Treaty of Constantinople]], the Ottomans and the Russians agreed to divide the newly conquered territories of Iran amongst themselves.{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2011|p=1024}}

===Nader Shah and his successors===
{{Main|Afsharid dynasty|Zand dynasty}}
[[File:NaderShahPainting.png|thumb|[[Nader Shah]]]]
[[File:Afsharid Iran 1741.png|thumb|left|The Afsharid Empire at its greatest extent in 1741–1745 under [[Nader Shah]]]]
Iran's territorial integrity was restored by a native Iranian [[Turkic people|Turkic]] [[Afsharid|Afshar]] warlord from Khorasan, [[Nader Shah]]. He defeated and banished the Afghans, [[Ottoman–Persian War (1730–35)|defeated the Ottomans]], [[Restoration of Tahmasp II to the Safavid throne|reinstalled the Safavids on the throne]], and negotiated Russian withdrawal from Iran's Caucasian territories, with the [[Treaty of Resht]] and [[Treaty of Ganja]]. By 1736, Nader had become so powerful he was able to depose the Safavids and have himself crowned shah. Nader was one of the last great conquerors of Asia and briefly presided over what was probably the most powerful military force in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Axworthy |title=The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant |date=2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris | page=xv| isbn=978-1850437062}}</ref> To financially support his wars against Iran's arch-rival, the [[Ottoman Empire]], he fixed his sights on the weak but rich [[Mughal Empire]] to the east. In 1739, accompanied by his loyal Caucasian subjects including [[Erekle II]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITnRAAAAMAAJ|title=The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658–1832
| page=142
|isbn=978-0-231-93710-8 |last1=Lang |first1=David Marshall |year=1957 |publisher=Columbia University Press
}}</ref><ref name="The Making of the Georgian Nation">{{Cite book|last=Suny|first=Ronald Grigor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=riW0kKzat2sC&dq=erekle+appointed+king+of+kakheti+by+nader+shah&pg=PA55|title=The Making of the Georgian Nation, Second Edition|date=1994-10-22|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-20915-3|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|55}} he [[Nader Shah's invasion of India|invaded Mughal India]], defeated a numerically superior Mughal army in [[Battle of Karnal|less than three hours]], and [[Sack of Delhi|completely sacked and looted Delhi]], bringing back immense wealth to Iran. On his way back, he also conquered all the Uzbek khanates – except for [[Kokand]] – and made the Uzbeks his vassals. He also firmly re-established Iranian rule over the entire Caucasus, Bahrain, as well as large parts of Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Undefeated for years, his defeat in [[Nader's Dagestan campaign|Dagestan]], following guerrilla rebellions by the [[Lezgins]] and the assassination attempt on him near [[Mazandaran province|Mazandaran]] is often considered the turning point in Nader's impressive career. To his frustration, the Dagestanis resorted to guerrilla warfare, and Nader with his conventional army could make little headway against them.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA739|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East
| page=739
| series= 6 volumes |date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-672-5|language=en}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Andalal]] and the Battle of Avaria, Nader's army was crushingly defeated and he lost half of his entire force, as well forcing him to flee for the mountains.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAYhAQAAMAAJ
|year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7734-3194-2
| first = Ramazan Gadzhimuradovich | last= Abdulatipov 
 | title = Russia and the Caucasus: On the Arduous Path to Unity 
| publisher= Edwin Mellen Press
| page=15
 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2023|reason=self-published source}} Though Nader managed to take most of [[Dagestan]] during his campaign, the effective guerrilla warfare as deployed by the Lezgins, but also the [[Avar people (Caucasus)|Avars]] and [[Gazikumukh Khanate|Laks]] made the Iranian re-conquest of the particular [[North Caucasus|North Caucasian]] region this time a short lived one; several years later, Nader [[Nader's Dagestan campaign|was forced to withdraw]]. Around the same time, the assassination attempt was made on him near Mazandaran which accelerated the course of history; he slowly grew ill and megalomaniac, blinding his sons whom he suspected of the assassination attempts, and showing increasing cruelty against his subjects and officers. In his later years this eventually provoked multiple revolts and, ultimately, Nader's assassination in 1747.<ref>Axworthy ''Iran: Empire of the Mind'' (Penguin, 2008) pp. 152–167</ref>

Nader Shah's death was followed by a [[Division of the Afsharid Empire|period of anarchy in Iran as rival army commanders fought for power]]. Nader's own family, the Afsharids, were soon reduced to holding on to a small domain in Khorasan. Many of the Caucasian territories broke away in various [[Khanates of the Caucasus|Caucasian khanates]]. Ottomans regained lost territories in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. [[Oman]] and the Uzbek khanates of [[Bukhara]] and [[Khiva]] regained independence. [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], one of Nader's officers, founded an independent state which eventually became modern Afghanistan. [[Erekle II]] and [[Teimuraz II of Kakheti|Teimuraz II]], who, in 1744, had been made the kings of [[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]] and [[Kingdom of Kartli|Kartli]] respectively by Nader himself for their loyal service,<ref name="The Making of the Georgian Nation" />{{rp|55}} capitalized on the eruption of instability, and declared ''de facto'' independence. Erekle II assumed control over Kartli after Teimuraz II's death, thus unifying the two as the [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti]], becoming the first Georgian ruler in three centuries to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia,<ref>{{citation
| first = Keith | last = Hitchins
| year = 2012 | orig-date=1998
| url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/erekle-ii
| title= Erekle II
| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica
| volume=VIII/5
| pages = 541–542
| editor-last= Yarshater | editor-first= Ehsan
|isbn=978-0-7100-9090-4
}}</ref> and due to the frantic turn of events in mainland Iran he would be able to remain ''de facto'' autonomous through the [[Zand dynasty|Zand]] period.{{sfn|Fisher|Avery|Hambly|Melville|1991|p=328}} From his capital [[Shiraz]], [[Karim Khan Zand|Karim Khan]] of the [[Zand dynasty]] ruled "an island of relative calm and peace in an otherwise bloody and destructive period,"<ref>Axworthy p.168</ref> however the extent of Zand power was confined to contemporary Iran and parts of the Caucasus. Karim Khan's death in 1779 led to yet another civil war in which the [[Qajar dynasty]] eventually triumphed and became kings of Iran. During the civil war, Iran permanently lost [[Basra]] in 1779 to the Ottomans, which had been captured during the [[Ottoman–Persian War (1775–76)]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMkUAAAAIAAJ|title=British Interests in the Persian Gulf|first=ʻAbd al-Amīr Muḥammad|last=Amīn|date=1 January 1967|publisher=Brill Archive|access-date=10 August 2016|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219023233/https://books.google.com/books?id=lMkUAAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Bahrain]] to [[Al Khalifa family]] after [[1782–83 unrest in Bahrain|Bani Utbah invasion]] in 1783.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}