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Shah 'Abbas – Ruling an empire
When Shah 'Abbas came to power his country was in chaos. Yet, within 11 years he had regained territory lost to his enemies, moved his capital city, and begun a transformation of Iranian society.
Using an army formed in part of
ghulams – Christian slaves from Armenia and Georgia who
had been converted to Islam – Shah 'Abbas re-established Iran’s
borders, defeating the Uzbeks in the northeast. He would eventually
expand his empire, seizing the Kingdom of Hormuz from the
Portuguese and defeating the Ottomans to take contro
l of Baghdad
(Iraq) in 1623. These conquests allowed Shah 'Abbas and Iranians
access to the sacred Shi'i shrines of Kazimayn, Karbala and Najaf
in Iraq. It also gave the Shah complete control of trade coming
through the Persian Gulf.
But it wasn’t just the territory of Iran that
expanded under Shah 'Abbas. In 1598 the Shah made Isfahan his
capital, and a large-scale building programme transformed it into
Iran’s most beautiful city, home to his court, the royal artist’s
workshop and a centre of luxury 
carpet
production.
Shah 'Abbas’s reign was a golden age for the arts in Iran. Not unlike modern leaders, Shah 'Abbas understood the power of a single message and was keen to imprint a visual style on his empire. He employed calligraphers, painters, bookbinders and illuminators to produce manuscripts and design inscriptions and paintings for buildings. Carpets of silk and gold, the calligraphy of 'Ali Riza 'Abbasi and the portraiture of Riza-yi 'Abbasi embody the period of Shah 'Abbas I.
During this period Isfahan
became a cultural crossroads where European and Indian traders,
travellers and adventurers mixed with many levels of Safavid
society. Shah 'Abbas saw the rulers of Christian Europe as
potential military allies against his enemies, the Ottomans, as
well as commercial partners. Luxury Iranian silk was exchanged for
gold and silver, which was in short supply in Iran but plentiful in
Europe thanks to new supplies from South America. He was tolerant
of Europeans and encouraged them to come to Iran. Catholic priests,
representatives of the Dutch and British East India Companies and
European ambassadors all mixed in the cosmopolitan society of
Isfahan.
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