Studies On Relocations Of The Capital During The Safavid Dynasty In Iran And Its Influence

The capital is the epitome of a certain period of history of a dynasty or country.In modern times,the capital of Iran,as a symbol of dynastic sovereignty,has been both the materialized carrier of dynastic politics and economic development and a bellwether for insight into Iran’s historical development strategy.The Safavid Dynasty(1501-1736)was an important period in the history of Iran,and its establishment heralded the dawn of a new era-the Safavid Dynasty put an end to centuries of political turmoil and foreign invasion that had divided Iran,and established the third unified Persian Empire after the Sassanid Dynasty(224-651),entered the multi-ethnic state in Iran and opened the prelude to the modern history in Iran.It is noteworthy that the Safavid Dynasty had experienced three capital relocations during its more than two hundred years of rule,which were active in Ardabil at the beginning of the Safavid Dynasty,then moved to Tabriz,Qazvin and Isfahan which was the last capital of the Safavid Dynasty.The three moves were necessary for the dynastic regime and laid the foundation for the dynasty’s heyday,which was not only a colorful part of Iran’s modern history but also had a profound impact on Iran’s future generations.This paper examines the main and secondary factors that influenced the Safavid rulers to move the capital from its establishment to its fall in the 16th-18 th centuries,and discusses the impact on the capital city itself,the Safavid Dynasty and Iranian history during the Safavid Dynasty.This paper is divided into five parts.The first part is an introduction,mainly introducing the reasons for the selection of the topic,the current status of domestic and foreign research,and the theoretical and practical significance of the study.The conclusion part mainly summarizes the theme of this study,and further sublimates the history of the capital relocation during the Safavid Dynasty in Iran and the impact of the capital relocation on the development of the Iranian state.The main text mainly elaborates on the history of the three capital relocations during the Safavid Dynasty in Iran,focusing on the political,economic,and cultural development of the capital cities,and gaining an in-depth understanding of the charm of each capital city.The second chapter mainly sorts out the reasons for the successive relocation of the Safavid Dynasty from a micro and macro perspective,involving the context of the dynasty at each stage,the wishes of the rulers,and the superiority of the cities themselves.Compared with the Iranian dynasties,the capital was moved more frequently during the Safavid Dynasty.In terms of the history of capital relocations,Ardabil,Tabriz,Qazvin and Isfahan have successively become the capitals of the dynasty,and the characteristics of the relocation were basically from the western part of the dynasty’s territory to the inland hinterland of the Iranian plateau.From a microscopic point of view,it can be seen that the reasons for each capital move and the establishment of the capital were dynamic and changing.When deciding on the city to move to,the successive shahs had to choose the so-called “superior place” as the capital,taking into account the so-called geographical location,natural environment,human history,political factors,military factors,and strategic conditions of the time.Therefore,it was a historical necessity for the Safavid regime,which was not stable at the beginning,to move its capital frequently.From a macroscopic point of view,the capital of the Safavid Dynasty gradually entered the inland region from the northwestern frontier region where the regime was born,and finally penetrated deeper into the central region,getting rid of the intervention of military tribal forces,stabilizing the nascent regime,stimulating the return of the native Persian civilization and the integration with Islamic civilization,marking that Iran’s multi-ethnic unified state form entered a new period in the Safavid Dynasty.It is worth noting that the determination of the capital city did not mean that the conditions of the city itself were complete,but that a relatively favorable location was chosen by the ruler after taking into account the actual situation and grasping the main contradictions.Therefore,to analyzing the reasons for each move of the Safavid Dynasty,we must first grasp the most critical factors affecting the relocation of the capital.By compiling the history of the Safavid Dynasty,we can understand that “a capital that is ideal in every respect does not exist” and that the ruler chose the capital from the practical point of view,grasped the main contradictions and finally chose the so-called “superior place” as the capital.At the same time,it is possible to fully feel the strong will of the Safavid Dynasty rulers to establish a unified multi-ethnic Iranian state,multiculturalism and multi-ethnic identity expressed through moving the capital.The third chapter is centered on the analysis of the impact of the three capital moves of the Safavid Dynasty on the dynasty itself as well as on the Iranian state and even in the world-the capital moves promoted the strength of the Safavid Dynasty,overcame the plural identity,strengthened the national identity of all ethnic groups,and once again achieved the unification of the Iranian state,leaving a very splendid and glorious History.In a sense,the development strength of the city can be seen as the development strength of a country or dynasty.The rise of the city is also a sign of the prosperity of a country or dynasty.And the capital as a functional city that condenses political authority,economic center and cultural pluralism,its location carries the will of the ruler,can reflect the historical background,political choices,and strategic development of a country or dynasty that has been changing over time.Actually it is the historical epitome of a country or dynasty at a certain stage.The establishment of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran symbolizes that the modern history of Iran has begun.And the location of the capital is the primary problem faced by the new dynasty and rulers.After the history of moving the capital by Isma’il I who was the founder of the empire,Tahmasp I who was the promoter of the empire,and Abbas I who created the heyday of the empire,the Safavid Dynasty finally re-stimulated the ancient Persian Empire civilization with the capital city as the center of the regional and political system,forming a completely unified multi-ethnic,pluralistic development of the Persian Third Empire.Together with the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Mughal Empire,they were known as the three major empires of the modern Muslim world and stood in the forest of the world.At the same time,the relocation and fixation of the capital during the Safavid dynasty had a universal influence on every capital city.Of course,the migration from one city to another will inevitably have a negative impact on the former “capital” that cannot be ignored,but this chapter mainly discusses the positive impact of the Safavid Dynasty on the economic,cultural,and political status development of the capital city based on the criteria of its currency or duration of existence.