The Effects of Shah Tahmasp I's Religious Beliefs on His Political-Cultural Actions

Abstract

The Safavid Dynasty holds a unique position in the history of Iran as it established, for the first time after nine hundred years, a comprehensive government with national borders in Iran. The Safavids founded their rule relying on both material and spiritual bases such as Sufism, Qizilbash, Sayyidism, and Twelver Shi'ism, which later, particularly under the shadow of Shah Tahmasp I's religious policies, Sufism and the Qizilbash lost their primary status. The Shia clergy, with the support of the Safavid kings, became a power equivalent to the monarchy. Iranians adapted their individual and social lives to the teachings of Shi'ism, and the Sayyids gained economic privileges. These are all parts of the impacts of Shah Tahmasp's religious policy, which this article addresses. The current research is among the historical studies whose information has been collected through library methods and written in a descriptive-analytical manner.