Decline Of The Safavid Empire Essay

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In his text, Foran explores the decline of the Safavid empire and presents changes in the Empire’s structural- economic conditions as being responsible for decline. (Foran, 1992; 281) Following the death of Abbas, his successor Safi further instituted the policy of converting state provinces which were managed by the local Qizilbash tribes, into crown provinces managed by representatives of the Shah. This was under the guidance of his grand vizier Saru Taqi; the objective being to centralize the Empire’s wealth and weaken tribal opposition. (Foran, 289) While the institution of crown provinces strengthened the place of the Shah there were consequences. The instituted governors were remarked as ‘insatiable bloodsuckers’ and were filling the royal treasury at the expense of public interest. (Chardin, 1811; 252) At the same time it became common place for govenors to be accused of lining their pockets and selling positions of power. This corruption and exploitation, …show more content…

The context of each is significant with religion, leadership and political-economy playing a different role in each. However, we can see the prevalence of some over- arching themes. Each Empire saw a decline in quality of leadership; they each faced economic and military threats of differing significance. It is a combination of these factors that hastened their decline. Overall, the most significant lesson of the rise and decline of the three great Muslim Empires, is that each had unique circumstances and not one factor can be attributed to the decline of the Islamic empire. Effective interpretations of decline require an eclectic approach to the various facets of the three Empires; attributing the decline to one factor obscures the relevance of the others. Highlighting the most important factors would focus the declining leadership quality alongside economic

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