درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The emergence of the Safavids initiated considerable cultural and religious phenomena in Iran. The establishment of 12 Imam Shiism influenced all aspects of the Safavid society. One of the affected fields was historiography, which completely changed the previous Safavid approaches in historiography. This change was not evident in the writing style of the works but in the dominance of historians' religious interests leading to new features emerging in the historiography of this period. It seeks to introduce these features, which are often unique to the historiography of the Safavid era analytically, by counting the most important content features of the historical sources. This article is extracted from the main features of Safavid historiography through library data and descriptive-analytical methods.

Research and Translation by: The Research Institute of Howzah and University Publishers with the cooperation of the Center for Shi’ite Civilization and Cultural Studies during Safavid Dynasty, 2018.

To achieve a scientific result in the historical research realm, it is necessary to recognize the correct sources. The study and research about the territory of Iran, especially the eastern borders, as one of the research aspects in the field of Safavid studies, is not exempt from this rule. The efforts of the Safavids to maintain control of the Kandahar state and the Jihun River region, and the confrontation with their north-eastern neighbors, the Uzbeks across the river and the Gurkans in India, initiated the transformation in the eastern borders of Iran's territory in the context of political and military relations. Considering the importance of the eastern borders of Iran as to the relations of the Safavids with the Uzbek Khanate and the Gurkans of India, the question here is: What range of sources can be applied to understand the course of transformation and the changes? The method adopted here is descriptive-analytic, to identify the typology of the subject sources, and introduce for assessing the issue at hand.

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.

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.