Abbas I, also known as Abbas I, was the fifth Shah of the Safavid dynasty of Persia from October 16, 1587 to January 19, 1629.
Abbas guarded Herat as a prince in his early years. In 1587, he ascended to the throne as emperor with the support of the Turkman nobles. Abbas I attached great importance to consolidating centralization and developing economic power. After ascending to the throne, he first established a ceasefire with the Ottoman Empire and the Bukhara Khanate, focused on quelling internal turmoil, and implemented the famous Abbas I reforms, which enabled Safavid Persia to initially complete its military "modernization". In 1597, Abbas I recaptured Khorasan from the Bukhara Khanate; Starting from 1603, he fought against the Ottoman Empire three times and gained control over the entire Transcaucasian region. In 1602 and 1622, Bahrain and Hormuz were successively recaptured from the Portuguese. By 1623, Abbas I had ruled a vast empire stretching from the Tigris River in the west to the Indus River in the east, bringing the power of Safavid Persia to its peak. In 1629, Abbas I passed away due to illness.
Abbas I was an emperor who made many achievements and had a broad vision. In the history of Islamic development, he is on par with Suleiman the Magnificent and Akbar the Magnificent. He not only influenced Iranian history, but also played a significant role in East West exchanges during the Age of Discovery, earning him the title of Abbas the Great.

Early succession to the throne
Abbas Mirza was born on January 27, 1571, in Herat City, the capital of Khorasan Province. At that time, his father, Mohammad Kodabanda, was appointed as the Governor General of Herat by the second Shah (Emperor) of the Safavid dynasty, Tahmasp I. At the age of 2, he was appointed as the governor of the Khorasan region by Tahmasp I and received teachings from Ali Kurihan, a prominent Turkman nobleman and Shamru tribe. [2]
In 1578, after the death of Ismail II, Muhammad Kodabanda was elected as the Shah. [1]
In 1581, due to his defeat in political struggles, Ali Kurihan declared independence in anger and supported Abbas as the Shah. In 1583, Muhammad Kodabanda reached a ceasefire agreement with Ali Kurihan. Afterwards, Murshid Kurihan of the Ustajiru tribe turned against Ali Kurihan and kidnapped Abbas, taking him to Mashhad.
In September 1587, at the age of 18, Abbas, with the support of Murshid Kurikhan, went to Gazwen to depose Mohammad Kodabanda, who was suppressing rebellion in the south. On October 1st, Mohammad Kodabanda returned to Gazwen and agreed to abdicate. On October 16th, Abbas officially ascended to the throne as the fifth Shah of the Safavid dynasty, known as Abbas I.

Quell the turmoil
When Abbas ascended to the throne, it was a time of internal turmoil and external invasion, with the leaders of various Turkmen tribes acting arrogantly and arrogantly, leading to continuous uprisings in the east and west; Externally, there are two powerful neighbors, the Ottoman Empire and the Bukhara Khanate, constantly encroaching on their territories, as well as the Portuguese who monopolize trade in the Persian Gulf and the Tsarist Russia who destroyed the Astrakhan Khanate, eyeing them closely. In order to consolidate his rule, Abbas first relied on the power of Kuri Khan to eradicate some unruly Turkman nobles under the pretext of investigating the murder of his mother and brother. After suppressing a rebellion conspiracy, he also reclaimed a large number of fiefs. Then, he designed to eliminate the powerful minister Murshid Kurihan and truly achieve full control of power. [7-8]
After Abbas left Herat, Abd al Arah II of the Bukhara Khanate sent his son Abd al Mumin to attack the area. Abbas did not want to make enemies on both sides, so he signed the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590, ceding large territories in northwestern and western Iran, including Tabriz, to the Ottoman Empire to focus on dealing with Uzbek and internal rebellions. But afterwards, he was bedridden due to illness for fifty days. After recovering, he mainly focused on quelling the rebellions in various provinces within the country. [1]
Promote reform
Main entry: Abbas I Reforms
After Abbas ascended the throne, he focused on strengthening imperial power, rebuilt the ruling structure of the Safavid dynasty, and engaged in long-term struggles with separatist Turkmen nomadic tribes. He established an advisory body called the Supreme Council in the central government, convened by the emperor, with representatives designated by the emperor; In terms of administration, remove the positions of Regent and Commander in Chief of the Red Riding Hood Army, and strengthen the position of the Prime Minister; Improve the provincial system, with princes or trusted governors; Gradually placing some private territories of Turkmen nobles under the control of the emperor himself. To guard against the "disloyalty" of ethnic minorities, Abbas also forced some ethnic groups, such as Kurds, to leave their homeland and flee to other places. [7]

Abbas' most notable reform is in the military aspect. His military reform was divided into two major parts. One was "modernization". With the help of British adventurer Robert Shirley (1581-1628) and minister Alwaleed Khan, the Safavid army developed from a tribal army to a new type of army equipped with firearms, copper cannons, and other equipment; On the other hand, it was the "imperialization" that changed the dominant position of the Turkmenkizilbash Army (also known as the "Red Hat Army") and recruited prisoners of war and their descendants who converted to Islam from Georgia, Armenia, and other places, with all officers and soldiers under the full control of the emperor. Like other West Asian countries, Abbas developed a close guard army directly under the emperor himself. The establishment of a professional new army receiving salaries aims to balance the Kizilbash warriors, overcome local centrifugal tendencies, and strengthen centralization. During Abbas' reign, the new army reached 37000 people, while the Kizilbash fighters were reduced from 60000 to 80000 to 30000. Preliminarily modernizing the military of Safavid Persia. [3] [10-11]
Another significant influence of Abbas is in the field of religion. The founding monarch of the Safavid dynasty, Ismail I, once vigorously promoted Shia Islam and persecuted Sunni Islam, giving Shia Islam the upper hand in Persia. Abbas, on the other hand, supported the Shia community in a relatively moderate manner. He donated all of his personal property to the Shia community and also walked for nearly a month to visit the tombs of Shia elders. Through his long-term rule and subtle influence, Persia finally became a thoroughly Shia Muslim country.
In 1598, Abbas announced the relocation of the capital to Isfahan and carried out large-scale construction. This city is located in the hinterland of Persia, far from the attack range of the Ottoman Empire. The relocation of the capital to Isfahan marked the replacement of Azerbaijan by the Iranian hinterland as the political center of the Safavid dynasty, and the Persian color of political life became increasingly strong, further weakening the political influence of Turkmen people. [8] After several generations of operation, Isfahan has gained the reputation of "half of the world, Isfahan".

During the reign of Abbas, he successively cooperated with the Portuguese and British to develop trade. We also sent delegations to visit Russia and Western European countries, establish diplomatic relations, and seek allies to flank the Ottoman Empire. The growth of foreign trade has driven the development of domestic handicrafts, and the emergence of capitalism in Persia. Abbas I brought important handicraft sectors under state control, strengthening the country's strength, but also hindering the principle of free competition of capital. [3] [10]
Conquering the East and the West
At the same time as Abbas' reform achievements gradually emerged, it coincided with a favorable international situation. In mid-1597, Abbas went to Mashhad and defeated the nephew of Abd al Arah II in Herat in August, relieving the Uzbek invasion of the Safavid dynasty. By 1602, he had successively recovered the land from Khorasan to Herat, making the area south of the Amu Darya River the Safavid dynasty's sphere of influence, and the Afghan people also submitted to him. Due to internal turmoil within the Bukhara Khanate, the eastern front of Safavid came to an end. [1] [10]
Then, in the face of the declining Ottoman Empire, Abbas wiped out the century old humiliation of the Persians. From 1603 to 1604, he sent troops to sweep the Caucasus. In 1605, he won the first big victory over the Turks in the Battle of Urmye Lake. In 1613, he forced the Turks to sign the Istanbul Treaty, and took back the old capital, Tabriz, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, and other places. From 1623 to 1625, Abbas I again marched westward, recovering the entire two river basin region, including Baghdad and Basra. [1] [8] This was the pinnacle of the Safavid dynasty's territory, and in the confrontation with its archenemy, the Ottoman Empire, the balance completely tilted towards Persia.

From 1609 to 1610, a bloody war broke out between the Safavid Empire and the Kurdish people. The reason for this war is a castle located near Lake Umiyah in northwest Iran. The local Kurdish chief attempted to maintain independence between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire, and his reconstruction of the castle was seen by the Safavid Empire as an independent gesture, thus threatening the Safavid Empire's rule over its northwest region. Many other Kurdish leaders, including the chief of Mahabad, also began to gain independence from Persia. From November 1609 to the summer of 1610, the Safavid army launched a long and bloody siege on this castle, and it fell after the war. Abbas ordered the bloodbath of the entire province and the relocation of many Kurdish tribes to Khorasan. [7]
When facing the Portuguese who had long monopolized trade in the Persian Gulf, Abbas also adopted a flexible approach. He reclaimed Bahrain in 1602 and politely declined the request of King Philip III of Spain to reclaim Bahrain in a vague manner (at that time Portugal was annexed by Spain). After believing that Spain was no longer able to provide aid to the Ottoman Empire's war effort and began negotiations with the British East India Company, Abbas severed ties with Spain. In 1621, the British navy defeated the Portuguese fleet at the port of Jask, greatly weakening Portugal's influence in the Persian Gulf. On February 9, 1622, the Safavid and British coalition surrounded Hormuz Castle and captured it on April 23. [1] From then on, the Safavid dynasty regained control over the Persian Gulf.
In 1622, Abbas seized Kandahar from the Mughal Empire.

Suspicion in old age
Abbas has four sons, three of whom have grown up. His eldest son Safi Mirza became the Crown Prince. Later, because of rumors, Abbas decided that his eldest son was ready to replace him, and in 1615, he ordered someone to kill the crown prince in the Türkiye bath in Lasht. Abbas immediately felt regretful, but he remained suspicious. In 1621 and 1627, he killed and stabbed his second and youngest sons, respectively. [1] [14]
On January 19, 1629, also known as December 19, 1628, Abbas died of illness in Mazandaran. Before his death, he appointed his grandson Safi as his heir.