Suleiman I of Persia
Encyclopedia
Suleiman I was a Safavid shah
of Persia
who reigned between 1666 and 1694. He was the elder son of the previous shah Abbas II
and a Circassian slave, Nakihat Khanum.
He was crowned on November 1, 1666 with the title Shah Safi II. The young ruler had been brought up in the harem
and had no experience of the world outside. He was also addicted to alcohol and suffered from poor health. The first year of his reign was markedly unsuccessful. A series of natural disasters, combined with devastating raids by the Cossack
Stenka Razin
on the coast of the Caspian Sea
, convinced court astrologers
that the coronation had taken place at the wrong time, and the ceremony was repeated on March 20, 1667. The shah took the new name Suleiman I. He had little interest in the business of government, preferring retreat to the harem. He left political decision-making to his grand vizier
s or to a council of harem eunuch
s, whose power increased during the shah's reign. Corruption became widespread in Persia and discipline in the army was dangerously lax. Suleiman made no attempt to exploit the weakness of Safavid Persia's traditional rival, the Ottoman Empire
, after the Ottomans suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Vienna
in 1683. Persia also suffered raids by the Uzbeks
and Kalmyk
s. Suleiman died on July 29, 1694, either as a result of heavy drinking or gout
. The court eunuchs chose his elder son, Sultan Husayn, as successor.
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
of Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
who reigned between 1666 and 1694. He was the elder son of the previous shah Abbas II
Abbas II of Persia
Shah Abbas II was Shah of Iran from 1642 to 1666. He was the seventh Shah of the Safavid Dynasty. He was the son of Shah Safi I and a Circassian, Anna Khanum, and originally bore the name Sultan Muhammed Mirza before his coronation on May 15, 1642...
and a Circassian slave, Nakihat Khanum.
He was crowned on November 1, 1666 with the title Shah Safi II. The young ruler had been brought up in the harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
and had no experience of the world outside. He was also addicted to alcohol and suffered from poor health. The first year of his reign was markedly unsuccessful. A series of natural disasters, combined with devastating raids by the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
Stenka Razin
Stenka Razin
Stepan Timofeyevich Razin Тимофеевич Разин, ; 1630 – ) was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and Tsar's bureaucracy in South Russia.-Early life:...
on the coast of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, convinced court astrologers
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
that the coronation had taken place at the wrong time, and the ceremony was repeated on March 20, 1667. The shah took the new name Suleiman I. He had little interest in the business of government, preferring retreat to the harem. He left political decision-making to his grand vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
s or to a council of harem eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
s, whose power increased during the shah's reign. Corruption became widespread in Persia and discipline in the army was dangerously lax. Suleiman made no attempt to exploit the weakness of Safavid Persia's traditional rival, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, after the Ottomans suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
in 1683. Persia also suffered raids by the Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
and Kalmyk
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
s. Suleiman died on July 29, 1694, either as a result of heavy drinking or gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
. The court eunuchs chose his elder son, Sultan Husayn, as successor.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Iran Volume 6, edited by William Bayne Fisher (1968) pp. 304–310