შაჰ თამაზ I-ის სამეფო ტახტის მემკვიდრეები სპარსულ წერილობით წყაროთა შუქზე

Abstract

Among the monarchs of the Safavid Dynasty, Shah Tahmasp I was on the throne for the longest period - half a century (1524-1576). He spent most of his rule in wars with Uzbeks and the Ottoman Empire. However, during the last years of his reign, he did not leave his palace and led a passive life. The amirs of the Qizilbash tribes were skillfully using these circumstances, struggling against each other to open the way towards the royal thrown for their candidates. The mentioned processes were accompanied by many casualties, bloody tragedies of the opposing forces, as well as other dramatic events. In the presented work the attention is focused exactly on the most significant historical events of this period and their results, which are examined based on the data of XVI-XVII centuries historical sources (Persian, Georgian, European). On the basis of their comparison and critical analysis, appropriate conclusions are drawn. In spite of the fact that in the last years of his rule old Shah Tahmasp I was often ill, he was not declaring the name of the successor to the royal throne. Among surviving princes, there were three possible candidates, who could occupy the Shah’s throne: Mohammad - the eldest son, the following – Ismail and Heidar, the youngest, which Shah had with the Georgian wife Sultan-Zade Khanom. As Mohammad had weak health and was almost blind, nobody considered him as a successor to the throne. Ismail was in prison for a long time (from 1556). Despite this, a group of Qizilbash tribes and Circassian noblemen were going to enthrone Ismail. In the current situation, the most real candidate for the throne seemed to be Heidar. According to the historical sources, among supporters of Heidar’s enthronement, together with some of Qizilbash tribes, were his relatives from his mother’s line – Georgian political elite, elevated in Iran. However, on the night of Shah Tahmasp’s death (May 14, 1576) Heidar was killed treacherously by the opposed grouping. After that, Ismail’s supporter Qizilbashs and Circassians released him from prison and Ismail took over the Shah’s thrown. His short term rule was distinguished by despotism and tyranny. Moreover, he had an anti-Shiitic ideological course - Shah Ismail II fell victim to his religious policies- he was poisoned with drugs. By the irony of fate, the following Shah of Safavid state became Mohammad Khodabandeh. In the hands of the weak-willed Shah, chaos and disorder swept over the State. In the new reality, oppositions between Qizilbash tribes and Iranian aristocracy on the one hand and those between other ethnic and political forces were added to the permanent internal wars.. Among the latter, a Caucasian ethnic element, formed from Georgians and Circassians, the so- called third force was particularly active and promoted in Iran –. The Ottoman empire profited by the hard situation of Iran and in spring of 1578, the Ottoman army started movement towards Georgia, beginning a new Iran-Ottoman war (1578-1590).