Safavid Essay

Superior Work From A Superior Empire

The Safavids were an extraordinary empire because of their beautiful tile work. The Safavid Empire lasted from the early 1500’s to 1722 and took up most of present day Iran and Iraq. They went through years of fighting to gain and lose territory against the Ottomans and Moguls. Under their ruler Shah Abbas, they reached their glory. They regained lost territory, strengthened their army using the latest weapons, and trained administrators to run the kingdom. Intellectual freedom marked the height of the empire, but pressures to conform to traditional religious beliefs called religious orthodoxy increased. With too much land to control, they went back to Azerbaijan as their capital. Some of the most
The design in the corner is a piece of the full design that includes many small floral designs and geometric patterns throughout. There are also floral designs included throughout. The signature Safavid blue on the tile is used throughout the piece. The Safavid style for tile making was developed in Iran from the 1500’s. It depicted human being and floral scrollwork, but human figures only became important after the empire was established. When the court moved from Isfahan, style changed because of Riza-i-Abbasi. Slim, standing figures were replaced with short, sitting figures. Floral work was most common in their time though because of the simplicity and beauty it could bring. I also included some red, yellow, and green in the art in the corner because throughout the empire, they added other colors that were influenced by their neighboring empires. Some of the flowers have actual petals and others are outlines of flowers because they weren’t as important in the design. Although the Safavids evolved their tile making, tiles in Persian architecture remained closer to traditional designs of flowers and floral patterns with geometric shapes. The persians had an infinite pattern which was a major element in tile making. It is thought to give an expression of profound belief in the eternity of all true being. They then used whole tiles as a faster method of decorating large public and religious buildings. Tile making was a very important art in Safavid culture and provided much