The Safavid Dynasty

In Our Time: Culture

BBC

History

4.6 • 978 Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2012

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Safavid Dynasty, rulers of the Persian empire between the 16th and 18th centuries.In 1501 Shah Ismail, a boy of fifteen, declared himself ruler of Azerbaijan. Within a year he had expanded his territory to include most of Persia, and founded a ruling dynasty which was to last for more than two hundred years. At the peak of their success the Safavids ruled over a vast territory which included all of modern-day Iran. They converted their subjects to Shi'a Islam, and so created the religious identity of modern Iran - although they were also often ruthless in their suppression of Sunni practices. They thrived on international trade, and their capital Isfahan, rebuilt by the visionary Shah Abbas, became one of the most magnificent cities in the world. Under Safavid rule Persia became a cultural centre, producing many great artists and thinkers. With:Robert GleaveProfessor of Arabic Studies at the University of ExeterEmma LoosleySenior Lecturer at the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of ManchesterAndrew NewmanReader in Islamic Studies and Persian at the University of Edinburgh.Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:45.1	Hello one of Iran's greatest architectural masterpieces can be found in the city of
0:49.7	Isfahan. It's the Shah Mosque, a magnificent building elaborately decorated with blue tiles and its construction was begun almost exactly 400 years ago.
1:00.0	The mosque was a centerpiece of an ambitious program of building which turned Isfahan
1:05.2	into the most spectacular city in the Persian Empire, so large and impressive that its residents
1:10.3	dubbed it Isfahan, half of the world. The ruler who commissioned it Shah Abbas
1:15.3	was a member of the Safavids, a dynasty which re-established the Persian Empire and
1:20.7	ruled for well over 200 years after coming to power in 1501.
1:25.0	The Safavids made Shia Islam their national religion, set up a robust state and economy
1:30.6	and traded with Europe and the East, and their legacy includes some of the greatest
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