Government

Government

The Safavid government is a theocracy. That means God himself is the head. The belief was that the shah, who was the king, got his powers from God and only had to listen to God! That could cause some problems, if the ruler only had to listen to God. In other words, the church and state were combined, giving the Shahs complete power. This form of government was popular at the time in Europe and Asia. It was a way to gain and keep power. It was also the best way to have complete control over an empire. The government would end up bringing the empire down in the end. Most theocracy governments do. 

 Shahs of the Safavid Dynasty: Ismail I 1501–1524 Tahmasp I 1524–1576 Ismail II 1576–1578 Mohammed Khodabanda 1578–1588 Abbas I 1588–1629 Safi 1629–1642 Abbas II 1642–1666 Suleiman I 1666–1694 Sultan Hoseyn I 1694–1722 Tahmasp II 1722–1732 Abbas III 1732–1736 Nader 1736 – 1747

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Works Cited “Safavid Empire.” //New World Encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/‌entry/‌Info:Main_Page>. “Safavid Empire(1501-1722).” //BBC religous//. N.p., 7 Sept. 2007. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/‌religion/‌religions/‌islam/‌history/‌safavidempire_1.shtml>.