Document Type : .

Authors

• Boroomand Sooreni ¹
• Nasrolah Poor Mohammadi Amalshi ²

¹ PhD in History of Iran, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, ,Qazvin, Iran.

² Professor of History, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Qazvin,, Iran.

Abstract

In order to overcome many internal and external problems, Shah Abbas I tried to use diplomatic measures in parallel with the use of repressive measures. Besides fending off foreign invasions and changing the structure of the bureaucracy, he acted to attract and depend on various elements of power in different regions of the country through family ties with them in order to create peace and stability in different dimensions and provide the ground for the elevation of the Safavid government. The present study, using library sources and with a descriptive-analytical approach, seeks to investigate and explain why and how political alliances influence the creation of centralist policies and structures during the period of Shah Abbas I, because Along with various political, military and social measures, Shah Abbas added the use of family ties to his set of measures to create political centralization and territorial integrity.

Keywords

• Safavid era
• political marriage
• Shah Abbas I
• Iranian Sadat
• local rulers

 Extended Abstract

Examining the necessity of political marriages in the centralist policies of Shah Abbas I

Marriage as a social and efficient fact of generation survival and causal connection of two families in the pre-modern Iranian society was somehow influenced by social deterrence, and regardless of the morals and the problem of "Kfu" of the couple, most of the social interests of a group or society were considered. In order to change the elements of power, Shah Abbas I transferred the central core of the Safavid state structure from the elements of Qezlbash and Arab scholars to the Tajik elements using family ties.

The present study explains the reasons and goals of Shah Abbas I in the family connection with political elements using the library method and the descriptive-analytical method. The main problem is to analyze the causes and consequences of Shah Abbas' efforts in connecting with power-seeking elements. Changes in his policies. In reducing the influence of Qezalbashan, attention to Sadat's social and religious position and the geostrategic position of some states were factors of his interest in connecting with the elements of power.

Banafsheh Hijazi in the book "Zaaifeh", Hassan Azad in "Behind the Curtains of the Haramsara" and "Maria Jupe" in the article "Participation of Royal Family Women in the Exercise of Power in Safavid Iran" have paid more attention to women's activities. The articles "Effect of political marriage on the political ups and downs of governors in the Safavid era (with emphasis on the two governorates of Ardalan and Lorestan)", "Political marriages: from the arrival of the Timurids to the emergence of the Safavids (causes and consequences)" and "The role of marriages" "Politics in the stabilization of the Safavid government during the period of Shah Tahmasab I" by Pourmohammadi Amalshi and Sorani have paid attention to the importance of political alliances in the rule of the Safavids, because so far no research has been devoted to the historical and social explanation of the political alliances of the era of Shah Abbas I. The investigation and analysis of these connections became the subject of this thesis.

Among the actions taken by Shah Abbas I to restore peace in the domestic situation, to strengthen the central nucleus of the Safavid dynasty and to attract the harem, he married the two daughters of Sultan Hossein Mirza and Mustafa Mirza Safavi.

In the Safavid era, "Sadat" as a "prestigious group" had a successful function in establishing relations between different functional groups. Sadat gained the position of Sadr, with the function of religious unification, because by creating ideological unity, the conditions for better dealing with conflicts were provided. Also, the Shah assigned his relatives to the post of Sadr to carefully monitor the wealth of the religious institution. In this way, he suppressed the thousand-belief rebel elements such as the Naqtawis who fueled the legitimacy crisis of the Safavid dynasty. One of the characteristics of the political structure in this period was the transformation of the civil-religious structure into a civil-family structure through connection. Due to the experiences of the Iranian Sadats in the bureaucratic system, Shah Abbas showed a tendency to unite with them.

In order to confront the Ottomans and prevent the influence of the Afshars in the eastern areas of Khuzestan, Shah Abbas married one of his sisters to Seyyed Nasser Moshaashaai. With the sudden death of Seyyed Nasser, his successor Seyyed Mohammad married the daughter of Imam Qoli Khan Biglarbeigi of Fars province to deal with the rivals within the family. he did. Shah Abbas made Zobaideh Begum the wife of Isa Baig Shaikhavandi and appointed his son-in-law to the post of Ghorchibashi. Because Ghorchibashi was the main bodyguard of the king and the royal palace. Shah married Khan Aghabaigom to Caliph Sultan; Due to the common lineage of Caliph Sultan and Khair al-Nesabaigom, the mother of the Shah, this connection allowed the expansion of Shah Abbas's influence in Isfahan and Mazandaran.

In order to increase security in Khorasan, Shah Abbas married Fakhr al-Nesabaigom to Mirzam Hassan Razavi and appointed his son-in-law to be in charge of Astan Quds. In order to stabilize the position of Mirza Razi al-Din Shahrashtani Sadr Khaseh, Shah Abbas chose Hawabegum as his wife because she had more control over the huge income of endowments. Part of it to Isfahan prevented poets from emigrating.

Shah Abbas made an alliance with them to exert influence on the local powers; Due to the proximity of Gilan to Qazvin and keeping it within his interests, Shah Abbas married Bayakhan Begum, the daughter of Khan Ahmad Khan Kiai. Shah Abbas gave credit to the men of that clan due to the support of Morsheid Qoli Khan Stajlu in the matter of succession. Because of Lorestan's closeness to Osmani, he married one of Badi al-Zaman's daughters to Shahvardi Khan, the ruler of Lorestan, and chose Shahvardi's sister as his wife. Shahvardi also chose his sister as Bahram Sultan Oramani's wife to counter the expansionist actions of Ardalan governors.

To dominate Kurdistan and Mesopotamia, Shah Abbas chose his sister Zarin Kolah as the wife of Khan Ahmad Khan Ardalan. In order to prevent Mokri clan's relationship with Osmani, he proposed to himself the sister of Qobad Khan, the head of the clan. In order to balance the power in Georgia, Shah Abbas married Tinatin, the daughter of the sister of Lohrasab Governor of Kartil and Marta, the granddaughter of Alexander Governor of Kakht, and on the other hand, Jahan Banubigum married his granddaughter to Samayun Khan and Mehrsharaf Baigom to Alexander Mirza.

Finally, it must be said that Shah Abbas changed political actors to create a centralized structure and implemented his centralist ideas through alliance with Sadat and local rulers. Iranian Sadats were the focus of Shah Abbas I's attention due to their prominent scientific, religious and social status and the rulers of the states due to their confrontation with the Ottomans and keeping them in the sphere of Safavid interests.

Key words: Safavid era, political marriage, Shah Abbas I, Iranian Sadat, local rulers.