Abbas I of Persia

ʿ Abbās I ( Persian شاه عباس [ AEB ʃɒ ː ː ɔ ː s], Abbas the Great: Persian شاه عباس بزرگ; Azerbaijani Shah Abbas Səfəvi; born January 27, 1571 † January 19, 1629 in Māzandarān ) was a Persian ruler from the dynasty of the Safavids. He reigned from 1587 to 1629 as Shah of Persia.

Policy

On the power he came after he had overthrown his father in a palace coup. He was crowned in the pavilion Chehel Sotun in Qazvin. Between 1590 and 1602 he carried out a comprehensive political and economic reforms the country. After the Uzbek prince ʿ Abd II had died in the spring of 1598, he managed to drive the Uzbeks from Khorasan and Herat and Mashhad take. 1599 reformed Abbas I. his army with the help of the English.

With his new army, he was able to defeat the Ottomans in 1603 and deprive them of Azerbaijan Tabriz and Southeast Anatolia. He also reconquered the western Persian territories and Iraq ( Mesopotamia ), including Baghdad, which Shah Tahmasp I. had lost. In 1605 he expelled the Ottomans from Basra and southern Kurdistan. The Indian rulers of the Mughal Empire, he defied from parts of Afghanistan.

As the Kurdish Emir Emirhan Lepzerin ( dt: Goldarm ) had it rebuilt the Castle of Dimdim on Lake Urmia, Abbas I interpreted this as a threat to his power and began a campaign against the Kurds. The battle lasted from 1609 to 1610, before the castle was finally dropped. The Kurds were then deported to Khorasan and settled in their place, the Turkmen.

1615 suggested Abbas I. an uprising of the Georgians in Tbilisi down, with more than 60,000 people died and another 100,000 were displaced. An alliance between the Ottomans and Tatars in 1618 was also beaten by his troops. In 1622 he finally conquered the island Hormuz back by the Portuguese. At this time he founded the city of Bandar Abbas.

As Abbas I died, his empire ranged from the Tigris to the Indus. Fearing that he would also be overthrown by a family member, he put to death his eldest son Safi Mirza and imprison other relatives. His successor his grandson Safi I. was appointed. However, after that began the downfall of the dynasty. Many of the conquered territories reverted to the Ottomans, who recurred immediately after the death of the ruler. Even the " Holy Places " ( the tombs of revered by the Shiites Imams Ali and Hussein in Iraq ) were lost to the Ottomans.

Expansion of Isfahan as the new capital

1598 ʿ Abbās moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. In December of the same year he began work on Maydān -i Haaroon Wilāyat. In 1602 he started the construction of the Maidan -i -i Jahan Naqsch and umliegenenden building and laid the foundation stone for a new district. It created magnificent gardens, boulevards, mosques, caravanserais ( one is now the " Hotel Shah Abbas (now Abbasi " ) ), public baths and madrasas. In 1611 he began the construction of the Masjid -i Shah ( "King Mosque " ) at the southern end of the Maidan -i Naqsch -i Jahan, could in time 1617-1624 was followed by the construction of the palace ʿ Alī qapu ( عالیقاپو ) on the west side and Qaisariyya the bazaars on the north side. The cosmopolitan city allowed the peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians.

Trade relations

Abbas I wont trade relations with Europe and made ​​contact with the European courts. It was already the advantage that he knew in the back allies of the Ottoman Empire. Abbas I exported silk and spices to Europe. Using a fleet of the East India Company, he was able the economic power of the Portuguese to expel from the island of Hormuz, which had controlled since the days of da Gama Vasco sea trade with India from the Persian Gulf.

He received at his court many ambassadors of European rulers and concluded trade agreements with several Western European powers. He also had good trade relations with India and China: China After he exported cobalt for the porcelain painting and got in return valuable china.

Art

Abbas had to invent a new, cross -like pattern, which should always remember him. It was used in carpets and paintings, and he made new palaces and mosques in Isfahan build, is to be found in their paintings its pattern. The art of his time is very delicate and has been affected due to the trade with Western Europe, China, India and other surrounding cultures.

In paintings Abbas is often recognizable by the unusual length of his mustache and flamboyant supporting manner of his turban.

Abbas on a carpet pattern goes back, the Shah Abbas pattern.