Journal of Safavid Studies

Historical maps are one of the most important sources for studying the historical geography of lands, borders of dynasties and territories, historical names and border changes. also, by studying historical maps, one can discover the geographical vision and view of people throughout the centuries and in different societies, and in this way achieve a correct understanding of concepts such as the world, geography, territorial boundaries and things like these. on the other hand, the researcher of Iranian history, especially the researcher of the Safavid era, is bound to refer to various maps that have been drawn about the geographical boundaries of Iran. by studying the elements and data included in the historical maps, one can get a visual understanding of the borders of Iran's territory and the correct recording of specific geographical names. the map of the "Etats du Grand-Seigneur en Asie : Empire de Perse, Pays des Usbecs, Arabie et Egypte" was drawn in the first half of the 12th century AH/18th CE by the efforts of two of the most prominent European cartographers of that era, namely Gilles Robert de Vaugondy and his son Didier Robert de Vaugondy. Vaugondies were prominent cartographers in the 17th and 18th centuries whose scientific activities were largely acknowledged in the French court and across Europe, and European rulers tended to acquire maps and geographical globes developed by the Vaugondies. Now the question is, how did a European cartographer describe the geographical area of Iran in the early 18th century? Did he look at the territory of Iran from a dynastic lens or did he consider it as a whole unit? Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and qualitative methodology, the present study strives to outline the domain of Iran in the late Safavid period based on the information provided on the map drawn by Gilles Robert de Vaugondy and Didier de Vaugondy. Analysis of obtained data unveils that Vaugondy, alike his contemporaries, regarded Iran as a unit and distinct geography. The image that he provided of the boundary of Iran also aligns with Persian texts of the given era.

Iconology is a type of scientific study in which the worldview of the creation era of visual works is determined. This type of cultural studies includes the description of the visual patterns of the work (pre-iconography), the introduction of the narrative or narratives that are observed in the work (iconography analysis) and finally the interpretation of iconology. The purpose of this study is to examine the written content engraved on Safavid coins using the iconographic analysis method. To fulfill this purpose, all the texts engraved on Safavid coins are described, and then, using the method of iconography or iconography analysis, the narratives about these texts are stated. Moreover, the iconographic analysis of the written content engraved on Safavid coins shows some of the political, cultural and religious developments of this era, such as the position of Hamza Mirza, the son of Shah Muhammad, in the developments of Safavid era, the religious approach of Ismail II, the continuity of Safavid position in Iran's internal developments after Afghan invasion, and the high position of Shiite religion and the Persian language during Safavid era.

Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad Ibn ‘Alī Ibn Bābawayh al-Qumī (381 CE) is a prominent Shī‘ah scholar of the fourth century AH. Al-I‘tiqādāt, one of his prominent works, comprises of forty-five chapters. He has compiled the most important Shī‘ah beliefs evidenced with Qurānic verses and ḥadīths. The present study investigates the status of Shaykh Ṣaddūq and his Al-I‘tiqādāt in the Safavid era. The crux of this study is the analysis of impactful societal components which led to the circulation of Al-I'tiqādāt during the Safavid era. Adopting a descriptive-analytical method, the study seeks to answer the above question based on the available sources in the given era. Findings show that the cultural-religious policies determined by Shāh Ṭahmāsb, religious and educational institutions, as well as religious texts and teachings, were used to stabilize, institutionalize, and spread Shiism in Iranian society during the Safavid era, which resulted in a number of noble Shī‘ah Arabic works being rendered into Persian.

Several books and articles have been written about the different aspects of Safavid dynasty; however, less effort has been made to explore the relationship between the kings of this dynasty and the popular heroes of literary works. One of the important and influential works that was narrated by Qizilbashan and was able to establish the position of the first Safavid Shah was Ṭāhir Ṭarsūsī's narration about Abu Muslim Khorasani. The amazing similarities of these two characters indicate the influence of Tarsusi's narration at the beginning of Safavid rule. The present article seeks to investigate the benefit of Qizilbashan and the young king from Abū Muslimʹnāmah to indicate how they defeat their religious and political opponents by following the example of a popular hero and benefiting from other fields, while establishing the position of Ismail Mirza as the perfect master. Discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe is suitable for the analysis of literary and fictional works, which by taking the advantage of this discourse theory as well as the knowledge of semiotics, the hidden layers of politics, religion and the relationship between them while analyzing classical literary texts can be represent. Moreover, by presenting a suitable model, it is possible to illustrate how and to what extent the exchange of political power and literary narratives was. In this article, the historical character of Shah Ismail I (perfect master) and the character of Abū Muslim in the story of Abū Muslimʹnāmah (epic hero) are analyzed and examined by the library sources, to explain how one of the most powerful governments of Iran was indebted to one of the heroes of classic stories.

In the art of goldsmiths during Safavid era, some developments in terms of the two levels of techniques and products are witnessed. The mentioned developments, considering the influence of factors affecting the government structure and society, as well as foreign relations, took a coherent and distinct form. This research aims to determine the elements of developments in the structure of the form and techniques of the art of goldsmiths in the context of two important approaches of Safavid period, which are the artistic relations with east and west and the government's support from art. The questions that this research seeks to answer are: What are the developments in the form and technique of the art of goldsmiths in Safavid period? What was the effect of cultural and artistic exchanges with India and Europe on the evolution of goldsmiths' works and techniques of this period? Therefore, the research type is qualitative and historical, with analytical-descriptive methods considering the study of evidence and resources. Moreover, the findings of the research illustrated that the art of goldsmiths in Safavid era had many developments in terms of techniques and methods in the face of European art, and with the arrival of European goldsmiths and jewelers to Iran, significant innovations occurred in the special techniques of this art, including diamond cutting, filigree art, making fine and wide gold strings, and gold-gluing technique in wall painting. However, at the level of political influence during Safavid era, especially during the era of Shah Abbas I, goldsmiths had played crucial role due to their professional qualifications and prestige.

Administrative system is one of the deep-rooted and ancient institutions of Iran. Administrative system or in other words court-administrative organization in any government is considered as one of the structures of a political system, which is very important and plays a significant role in the consistency of a government. The court-administrative organization of Safavid, which went through the three stages of formation, stabilization and peak along with the two elements of continuity and development, was one of the powerful administrative systems of post-Islamic Iran, which its examples became as a model for Iranian governments after Safavid. The fundamental desire of the present research is to examine the role and position of the court organization considering the foreign relations of Safavid. The research method in this study is based on the descriptive-analytical method and the method of collecting information is library. The results and achievements of the present research illustrated that that positions such as Monshi ol-Mamalek, Majless Nevis (events writer), Īshīk Āghāsī Bāshī, Mehmandar Bashi, Yesavol Sohbat, Pishkesh Nevis and Nazer each played a role in issues related to Safavid foreign relations.