The Islamic World to 1600
Chaos in the Empire, 1524-87
Shah Ismail died in 1524, and was succeeded by his son, Tahmasp I, who was only 10 years old. The new shah's youth sparked a struggle between several Qizilbash factions for the advisory positions that would lead to great influence within the empire. For the first ten years of his reign, Tahmasp struggled to keep the Qizilbash from revolting, while at the same time keeping the Uzbeks from taking Khurasan and the Ottomans from taking Tabriz. In 1533 a surprise Ottoman attack, while the Safavid army was in the east fighting the Uzbeks, led to the Ottoman capture of Baghdad, which then remained in Ottoman hands for nearly 100 years. After a number of less successful Ottoman invasions in the next 20 years, the two empires signed the Treaty of Amasya in 1555, which maintained peace between them for the next 25 years.
During Tahmasp's 52-year reign, the Safavid state turned slightly away from the strict theocratic rule imposed by Ismail, towards a more secular administration. The shah was increasingly viewed in political terms, as a monarch, rather than only religious terms, as the head of the Safavid Sufi order. Under Tahmasp, the Safavids also began military operations in a new region - the Caucasus Mountains north of Persia - and conducted several raids against the Christian Armenians and Georgians there. Tens of thousands of prisoners were taken from this region back to Persia, which affected the ethnic mix of an empire populated mostly by Persians and Turks. Women from the Caucasus who were sent to the shah's harem tried to get their sons into positions of power, and men who were converted to Islam and trained for royal service often took up positions in the court.
Tahmasp was succeeded by his son, Ismail II, in 1576, whose brutality has led some historians to assert that he was mad. He attempted to return the Safavid Empire to Sunnism, he executed many members of his family and followers for unclear reasons, and he was murdered a year after taking power. The next ruler, Muhammad I, was nearly blind, and was deposed by his son, the 16-year-old Abbas, in 1587.
| Proceed to Safavid Empire: Abbas I, 1587-1629 |  |