Questions: The Safavid Empire of Iran

Question 1

What religious policy did Shah Ismail I adopt after founding the Safavid state in 1501?

• A. He made Sunni Islam the state religion
• B. He made Twelver Shi'a Islam the state religion
• C. He declared religious freedom for all faiths
• D. He adopted Zoroastrianism to revive ancient Persia

Answer: (B)

Ismail declared Twelver Shi'ism the official faith. This set the Safavids apart from the Sunni Ottomans and Mughals and gradually made Iran mainly Shi'a.

Question 2

At the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, the Ottoman army, with its artillery and handguns, defeated the Safavid army.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

Selim I's Ottoman army used cannon and musketeers against Safavid cavalry and won decisively. The defeat pushed later Safavid rulers, especially Abbas I, to adopt firearms on a larger scale.

Question 3

Name two reforms or projects of Shah Abbas I.

Model answer: Any two of: building an army of enslaved soldier converts (ghulams) from the Caucasus, loyal to the shah; adding musketeers and artillery; moving the capital to Isfahan and building its great square, mosques and bridges; promoting the silk trade; taking Hormuz from the Portuguese in 1622 with English help.

Abbas reduced the power of the tribal Qizilbash chiefs by creating forces loyal only to him, and used trade revenue and building projects to strengthen the state.

Question 4

Which empire bordered the Safavids to the east?

• A. The Ottoman Empire
• B. The Mughal Empire
• C. The Russian Empire
• D. The Ming Empire

Answer: (B)

The Mughals ruled northern India and Afghanistan, east of Iran. The Ottomans lay to the west. The two sides fought over the city of Kandahar.