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Husayn (Safavid)
Encyclopedia
Sultan Husayn (born ?1668; died 1726; reigned 1694–1722) was a Safavid
king of Iran
(Persia). He ruled from 1694 until he was overthrown in 1722 by Shah
Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan warrior of Pashtun
ethnic background. His reign saw the downfall of the Safavid dynasty
, which had ruled Persia since the beginning of the 16th century.
was on his deathbed he asked his court eunuch
s to choose between his two sons, saying that if they wanted peace and quiet they should pick the elder, Sultan Husayn, but if they wanted to make the empire more powerful then they should opt for the younger, Abbas. They decided to make Sultan Husayn shah
. He had a reputation for being easy-going and had little interest in political affairs, his nickname being Yakhshidir ("Very well!"), the response he was said to give when asked to decide on matters of state. The young king was a devout Muslim
and one of his first acts was to give power to the leading cleric Mohammed Baqer Majlesi
. A series of measures against the Sufi order
were introduced as well as legislation prohibiting the consumption of alcohol
and opium
and restrictions on the behaviour of women in public. Provincial governors were ordered to enforce Sharia
law.
However, power soon shifted away from Mohammed Baqer Majlesi to Sultan Husayn's great aunt, Maryam Begum
(the daughter of Shah Safi
). Under her influence, Hosein became an alcoholic and paid less and less attention to political affairs, devoting his time to his harem
and his pleasure gardens.
Sultan Husayn's rule was relatively tranquil until he faced a major revolt
in Afghanistan
, in the eastern part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes: the Ghilzai
s and the Abdalis
. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar
, under their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule. In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat
followed their example and Safavid expeditions to bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' son.
In the meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Mohammed Baqer Majlesi and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah
Mohammed Hosein, had led to increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims
, Jews
and Christians
(particularly Georgians
and Armenians
). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717-20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and Shirvan
revolted. In Shirvan the rebels called on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks
and Lezgin tribesmen, to aid them. When the Lezgins took Shamakhi
, the main town of Shirvan, in 1721 they massacred the Shia population including the governor. Soltan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm - Arab pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf
and there were plagues in the north-western provinces - but he and his court failed to take decisive action.
itself. Rather than biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small Afghan army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet Mahmud's force at Golnabad. Here, on March 8, the royal army was thoroughly routed and fled back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to escape to the provinces to raise more troops but he decided to remain in the capital which was now encircled by the Afghans. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan lasted from March to October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a long blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of decisiveness and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of such incompetence. Protests against his rule also broke out within Isfahan and the shah's son, Tahmasp
, was eventually elevated to the role of co-ruler. In June, Tahmasp managed to escape from the city in a bid to raise a relief force in the provinces, but little came of this plan. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission (it is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants died during the siege). On October 23, Soltan Hossein abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.
Mahmud's successor Ashraf
at first treated the deposed shah with sympathy. In return, Sultan Husayn gave him the hand of one of his daughters in marriage, a move which would have increased Ashraf's legitimacy in the eyes of his Persian subjects. However, Ashraf was involved in a war with the Ottoman Empire
, which contested his claim to the Persian throne. In the autumn of 1726, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad
, Ahmad Pasha, advanced with his army on Isfahan, sending a message to Ashraf saying that he was coming to reinstate the rightful shah of Persia. In response, Ashraf had Sultan Husayn's head cut off and sent it to the Ottoman with the message that "he expected to give Ahmad Pasha a fuller reply with the points of his sword and his lance". As Michael Axworthy comments, "In this way Shah Soltan Hossein gave in death a sharper answer than he ever gave in life".
daughters
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
king of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(Persia). He ruled from 1694 until he was overthrown in 1722 by Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan warrior of Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
ethnic background. His reign saw the downfall of the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
, which had ruled Persia since the beginning of the 16th century.
Early rule
When his father Shah SuleimanSuleiman I of Persia
Suleiman I was a Safavid shah of Persia who reigned between 1666 and 1694. He was the elder son of the previous shah Abbas II and a Circassian slave, Nakihat Khanum....
was on his deathbed he asked his court eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
s to choose between his two sons, saying that if they wanted peace and quiet they should pick the elder, Sultan Husayn, but if they wanted to make the empire more powerful then they should opt for the younger, Abbas. They decided to make Sultan Husayn shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
. He had a reputation for being easy-going and had little interest in political affairs, his nickname being Yakhshidir ("Very well!"), the response he was said to give when asked to decide on matters of state. The young king was a devout Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and one of his first acts was to give power to the leading cleric Mohammed Baqer Majlesi
Allamah al-Majlisi
Muhammad Baqir Majlesi, known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi-ye Thani , was a renowned and very powerful Iranian Twelver Shi'a cleric, during the Safavid era...
. A series of measures against the Sufi order
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
were introduced as well as legislation prohibiting the consumption of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
and restrictions on the behaviour of women in public. Provincial governors were ordered to enforce Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law.
However, power soon shifted away from Mohammed Baqer Majlesi to Sultan Husayn's great aunt, Maryam Begum
Begum
Begum, Begam or Baigum is a Turkic title given to female family members of a Baig or 'Beg', a higher official. The term Begum is derived from the word Beg, and means a female member of the Beg's family.Also used Begzadi, for Ex...
(the daughter of Shah Safi
Safi of Persia
Shah Safi was Shah of Iran from 1629 to 1642. He was the sixth ruler of the Safavid dynasty.Safi was given the name Sam Mirza when he was born. He was the son of Mohammed Baqir Mirza, the eldest son of Shah Abbas I, and Dilaram Khanum, a Georgian wife. In 1615, Abbas had Mohammed Baqir killed,...
). Under her influence, Hosein became an alcoholic and paid less and less attention to political affairs, devoting his time to his harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
and his pleasure gardens.
Revolts against Sultan Husayn
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, in the eastern part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes: the Ghilzai
Ghilzai
Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...
s and the Abdalis
Durrani
Durrani or Abdali is the name of a chief Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Abdali later as Durrani they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The number of Durranis are estimated to be roughly 16%...
. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, under their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule. In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
followed their example and Safavid expeditions to bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' son.
In the meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Mohammed Baqer Majlesi and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
Mohammed Hosein, had led to increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
(particularly Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717-20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
revolted. In Shirvan the rebels called on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Lezgin tribesmen, to aid them. When the Lezgins took Shamakhi
Shamakhi
Shamakhi or Shamakhy is a rayon of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a town in the rayon. It is the historical center of the region of Shirvan.The town is west of Baku. It has more than 20,000 inhabitants, among them Azerbaijanis and Russians...
, the main town of Shirvan, in 1721 they massacred the Shia population including the governor. Soltan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm - Arab pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and there were plagues in the north-western provinces - but he and his court failed to take decisive action.
The siege of Isfahan
However, the main threat came from the Ghilzai Afghans. In 1722, Mahmud and his army swept westward aiming at the shah's capital IsfahanIsfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
itself. Rather than biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small Afghan army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet Mahmud's force at Golnabad. Here, on March 8, the royal army was thoroughly routed and fled back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to escape to the provinces to raise more troops but he decided to remain in the capital which was now encircled by the Afghans. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan lasted from March to October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a long blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of decisiveness and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of such incompetence. Protests against his rule also broke out within Isfahan and the shah's son, Tahmasp
Tahmasp II
Tahmasp II was one of the last Safavid rulers of Persia . Tahmasp was the son of Husayn , the Shah of Iran at that time. When Husayn was forced to abdicate by the Afghans in 1722, Prince Tahmasp wished to claim the throne. He fled to Tabriz where he established a government...
, was eventually elevated to the role of co-ruler. In June, Tahmasp managed to escape from the city in a bid to raise a relief force in the provinces, but little came of this plan. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission (it is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants died during the siege). On October 23, Soltan Hossein abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.
Captivity and death
To begin with, Mahmud treated Sultan Husayn considerately, but as he gradually became mentally unbalanced he began to view the former shah with suspicion. In February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons, Safi Mirza, had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid princes who were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself. When Sultan Husayn tried to stop the massacre, he was wounded, but his action saved the lives of two of his young children. Mahmud succumbed to insanity and died on April 25 of the same year.Mahmud's successor Ashraf
Ashraf Khan
Shah Ashraf Hotaki, , also known as Ashraf Ghilzai , son of Abdul Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of the Hotaki dynasty. An Afghan from the Ghilzai Pashtuns, he served as a commander in the army of Shah Mahmud during their conquest of the Persia Empire...
at first treated the deposed shah with sympathy. In return, Sultan Husayn gave him the hand of one of his daughters in marriage, a move which would have increased Ashraf's legitimacy in the eyes of his Persian subjects. However, Ashraf was involved in a war with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, which contested his claim to the Persian throne. In the autumn of 1726, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Ahmad Pasha, advanced with his army on Isfahan, sending a message to Ashraf saying that he was coming to reinstate the rightful shah of Persia. In response, Ashraf had Sultan Husayn's head cut off and sent it to the Ottoman with the message that "he expected to give Ahmad Pasha a fuller reply with the points of his sword and his lance". As Michael Axworthy comments, "In this way Shah Soltan Hossein gave in death a sharper answer than he ever gave in life".
Offspring
sons- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mahmud Mirza (b.1697-k. 8 February 1725), Vali Ahad
- Prince Shahzadeh Safi Mirza (b.1699-k. 8 February 1725)
- Tahmasp IITahmasp IITahmasp II was one of the last Safavid rulers of Persia . Tahmasp was the son of Husayn , the Shah of Iran at that time. When Husayn was forced to abdicate by the Afghans in 1722, Prince Tahmasp wished to claim the throne. He fled to Tabriz where he established a government...
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mehr Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Heydar Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Salim Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Soleyman Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Ismail Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mohammad Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Khalil Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Mohammad Baqer Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
- Prince Shahzadeh Mohammad Ja'afar Mirza (k. 8 February 1725)
daughters
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mirza Muqim Khalifa Sultani.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mirza Muhammad Ibrahim.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan ... Begum, married Mir Mahmud Hotaki.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Soltan Begum, married Amanu’llah Sultan, a close adherent of Mir Mahmud Hotaki.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Nawabeh Begum, married Mir Miangi, religious adviser to Mir Mahmud Hotaki.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Shahzadeh Begum, married Ashraf Khan Hotaki .
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Razia Begum (d. 1776, KarbalaKarbalaKarbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
), married 1st a Georgian Prince and 2nd Nader ShahNader ShahNāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander... - Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Fatemeh Begum (d. 1736, MashhadMashhadMashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
), married Ibrahim Khan Afshar. - Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Fatemeh Soltan (d. 5 February 1740, MashhadMashhadMashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
), married Prince Reza Qoli Mirza eldest son of Nader ShahNader ShahNāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
. - Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Khan Ahga Begum, married Suleyman II.
- Princess Shahzadi ‘Alamiyan Maryam Begum, married Sayyid Murtaza Khalifa Sultani.
See also
- Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism
Sources
- Michael Axworthy, The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant Hardcover 348 pages (26 July 2006) Publisher: I.B. Tauris Language: English ISBN 1-85043-706-8