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The Art of the Safavids before 1600

In the early sixteenth century, Iran was united under the rule of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1722), the greatest dynasty to emerge from Iran in the Islamic period. The Safavids descended from a long line of Sufi shaikhs who maintained their headquarters at Ardabil, in northwestern Iran. In their rise to power, they were supported by Turkman tribesmen known as the Qizilbash, or red heads, on account of their distinctive red caps. By 1501, Isma c il Safavi and his Qizilbash warriors wrested control of Azerbaijan from the Aq Quyunlu, and in the same year Isma c il was crowned in Tabriz as the first Safavid shah (r. 1501–24). Upon his accession, Shi c i Islam became the official religion of the new Safavid state, which as yet consisted only of Azerbaijan. But within ten years, all of Iran was brought under Safavid dominion. However, throughout the sixteenth century, two powerful neighbors, the Shaibanids to the east and the Ottomans to the west (both orthodox Sunni states), threatened the Safavid empire.

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Associated subjects: tahmasp (+), manuscript illustration (+), timurid (+), textiles (+), trade with europe (+), ottoman army (+), carpets (+), ottomans (+), shah c abbas (+), commercial and diplomatic relations (+), glass (+), clocks (+), ilkhanids (+), mamluks (+), islamic-style bookbindings (+), armor (+), portraits (+), ottoman empire (+), spice (+), ayyubids (+), crusaders (+), fatimids (+), south and southeast asia (+), calligraphy (+), bird (+), sufi (+), rulers (+), isfahan (+), illustrated manuscript (+), timurid persia (+)

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