Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend
A ruthless autocrat who blinded and killed his own sons, but was revered as a hero by his own people. A brilliant warrior who restored his nation’s pride and territorial integrity by waging war on the foreign occupying forces, but chose an English knight to be his ambassador in the West. An aesthete whose artistic patronage made his country a centre of art and culture, but whose religious devotion turned Shi’ism into a global phenomenon. Arguably Iran’s greatest ruler since the Arab invasion...
Search in google:
A ruthless autocrat who blinded and killed his own sons, but was revered as a hero by his own people. A brilliant warrior who restored his nation’s pride and territorial integrity by waging war on the foreign occupying forces, but chose an English knight to be his ambassador in the West. An aesthete whose artistic patronage made his country a centre of art and culture, but whose religious devotion turned Shi’ism into a global phenomenon. Arguably Iran’s greatest ruler since the Arab invasion in the 7th century AD, Shah Abbas was an immensely complex and much misunderstood character who, despite often contradictory behavior, changed the face of the Middle East forever.When Shah Abbas assumed power in 1588 at the age of seventeen, Persia was on the verge of disintegration and foreign partition. By the time of his death in 1629 the country had been transformed into a thriving state ready to face the emerging modern world. In Shah Abbas, the first biography in English of the Persian king, David Blow explores this extraordinary transition and the remarkable man who made it happen. David Blow draws on a wide range of sources, including contemporary European accounts as well as the Persian chronicles, to present a colorful and compelling account of the life and times of one of history’s most extraordinary rulers. His vivid portrait of this seminal figure in Iran’s national narrative offers the definitive account of Shah Abbas’s dramatic career as a statesman as well as an intimate view of the man behind the myth.
List of Illustration viiPreface ixIntroduction xi1 Shah Abbas's Inheritance: The Birth of a Shi'i State 12 A Turbulent Childhood and the Seizure of Power 153 Abbas Takes Control 314 The Recovery of Khurasan from the Uzbeks 475 English Adventurers at the Service of Shah Abbas 536 Maintaining the Offensive: Khurasan, the Persian Gulf and a Challenge to the Ottomans 657 Abbas Expels the Ottomans 758 The Search for European Allies 859 Pressure on the Gulf, Mass Deportations and the Murder of a Son 9910 An Anglo-Iranian Victory: the Capture of Hormuz 11311 Final Triumphs: the Capture of Qandahar and Baghdad 13112 A Conflict of Envoys 13713 The English Embassy and the Death of Abbas 14314 Abbas, the Man and the King 15515 The Court of Shah Abbas 16516 The Throne and Mosque Alliance 18117 The City that was Half the World 19318 The Merchant King 20919 Shah Abbas and the Arts 21720 The Later Safavids 227Conclusion 239Notes 243Select Bibliography 259Index 269
