Abstract:
The Safavid era is a turning point in the history of Islamic Iran in terms of recognizing the other. The identity and social personality of Safavid society with components such as national unity and independence, Shiism and the emperor is known as the perfect guide. The combination of these components provided the birth of the cultural and civilizational layer of Safavid Iran, which resulted in a new social identity. This article seeks to answer the question of how the developments of Safavid Iran as “the other” are represented in the travelogues of European orientalists? Orientalists’ views on the representation of this image are very variable. This variability is directly related to the eras and generations of Safavid Kings and rulers, so that at the height and decline of the ruling power, the integrity of Iran are very different, which seems to be due to lack of institutional levels. Also, the society of Safavid Iran in the face of two societies and civilizations –Ottoman and Chrisiian West- created a new image of itself, meaning that it gained a new cognition by another cognition. The other was a mirror in which I saw myself. This happened to two other civilizations as well. Of course, Western civilization at that time was not a “unit against” against Iran, but represented itself as a whole against its enemy –the Ottomans. The result of this other triangle was new knowledge and awareness for all three of these communities.
Machine summary:
Keywords: Representation, transformations, Safavid era Iran, Otherness, travelogue, European Orientalists Date of receipt: 00/07/12 Date of review: 00/11/06 Date of acceptance: 00/11/09 Socio-Cultural Strategy Quarterly, Year 11, Number 2, Continuous Issue 43, Spring 2022, pp.
Following the main objective, efforts have been made to address points such as the reasons for the importance of recognizing Safavid Iranian politics and its generational stages of kings for Orientalists as a recognizable "other," and how the representation of Iran in Safavid-era travelogues followed or did not follow the methods and patterns of Orientalism.
The selection of samples was also based on the criteria of quality, fame, and period of travel in order to cover the beginning to the end of the history of the Safavid dynasty, which includes a total of 18 travelogues, namely: the travelogues of Caterino Zeno, Anghello, Venetian traveler, De Warrma, D'Alessandri, Della Valle, Carre, Tavernier, Chardin, Sanson, Abbé Caron, Figueira, the report of the Portuguese ambassador, Katf, Krosinski, the Ambassador of Ziba, Jesuit priests, and the Shirley brothers.
Among other important events of the founding generation is the Battle of Chaldiran (920 AH / 1514 AD), which was the first war between Safavid Iran and the Ottomans, occurring during the reign of Shah Ismail I and Sultan Selim I.
During the time of Shah Tahmasp, an important political event was his wars with his powerful Sunni neighbors, namely three wars with the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I between the years 1532-1555, and also the Battle of Jam with the Uzbeks in eastern Iran.
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