TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

Shah Abbas I, the status of the Sufis and that of the khalīfat al-khulafā further waned. As
Savory concludes, “…in 1700, after almost two hundred years that Sūfī fervor had
brought the Safawids to power, it was possible for a mujtahid to denounce Sūfism as
‘this foul and hellish growth’.” 1989
In the same vein, the importance of the office of āmir al-umarā began to decline
during the reign of Shah Tahmasb I, especially when he succeeded in establishing his
absolute authority after the civil war over the qizilbash tribes. Savory notes that the
office is not recorded among the appointments made by Shah Abbas I on his
accession. 1990 Among others, arguably one of the most affective factors contributed to
the decline of the office was the introduction of Caucasian elements into the Safavid
state under Shah Tahmasb I. 1991 From then on, the influence of Caucasians in state
affairs, especially in the army, continuously increased, reaching its apex under Shah
Abbas I. It is suffice to indicate the extent to which Georgian elements infiltrated into
the important positions even before the reign of Shah Abbas I and to remind the fact that
in 1585-6, a Georgian, Keyhusrev Beg, was appointed as lala of Tahmasb Mirza b.
1989 Savory, “The Office of Khalīfat al-Khulafā under the Safavids”, p. 502.
1990 Roger M. Savory, “The Principal Offices of the Safawid State during the Reign of Tahmāsp I (930-
84/1524-76”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XXIV, 1961, p. 84.
1991 Indeed, Shah Tahmasb’s first attempt to curb excessive power of the qizilbash amirs and to break
down their tribal loyalty came before the introduction of the Caucasian elements. As we learn from the
author of the Şerefnāme, the sons of the noblest āmirs were taken to the royal court and given a special
education under the direct supervision of the Shah. Şerefhan Bitlisī says that “they were entrusted to the
care of tutors of experienced piety and morals. As they grew up, they were thought all kinds of military
exercises, including polo. Even painting was a part of their syllabus.” (Quoted in TM, p. 133.) As a result,
they grew up as better educated and more cultured which at the same time loosened their tribal bonds
while reinforcing their devotion to the royal house both in terms of practical means and ideology. As
Savory has already indicated, another consequence of this practice appeared as the blurring of the formerly
clearly-defined lines between ‘Turk’ and ‘Tājīk’, for the qizilbash princes who underwent this education
turned out at the end “to be more ‘Tājīk’ than ‘Turk’ in their background and outlook.” See Savory, “The
Qizilbāsh, Education and the Arts”, pp. 174.
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