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Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire, was originally a subject of the Ottoman Empire. He was a Shiite and lived on the west coast of the Caspian Sea.
Because of different beliefs, the area west of the Caspian Sea has always been a place of intense sectarian conflict. The Ottoman Empire wanted to stabilize the region by persecuting Shiites, so it announced a ban on Shiite belief.
In 1501, Azerbaijani and East Turkish militias (called "Red Heads" because of their use of red turbans) who were dissatisfied with the Ottoman Empire joined forces with the Shiite Safavid sect succeeded by Ismail I, captured Tabriz, and overthrew the local Turkmen Sunni monarch of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty.
Ismail I then proclaimed himself emperor, founded the Safavid state, and made Tabriz its capital.
Tabriz is located south of the Caucasus and west of the Caspian Sea, not far from Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. How could the Ottoman Empire allow others to sleep soundly next to its bed? The Ottoman Empire tried its best to put down this new regime.
Under the heavy attack of the Ottoman Empire, Ismail I had to retreat southwards and make Qazvin his capital before he could gain a foothold.
During the reign of Abbas I, in order to get rid of his dependence on the Red Head, he moved the capital to Isfahan again. In this way, the Safavid Empire moved its capital twice since its establishment, and finally settled its capital in Isfahan.
Isfahan is located in the valley between the Zagros Mountains and the Kuhru Mountains, on the banks of the Zainde River. During the reign of Abbas I, the Safavid Empire was at its peak, and the Forty Columns Palace and other palaces in Isfahan were built magnificently.
The city's cotton and wool textile, silk weaving, silver, bronze, pottery, carpet and other handicraft industries are very developed. Guests from all over the world gather here, and merchants gather here. There is a local proverb that "Isfahan accounts for half of the world". From this sentence, it is not difficult to see the prosperity and far-reaching influence of Isfahan.
The Safavids were surrounded by the Ottoman Empire to the north and west, their old enemy, the Transoxiana region to the east became the territory of the Qin Empire, and the Indus River basin to the south was also in constant war. The developed commerce was maintained entirely by the lifeline of the Strait of Hormuz.
Well, now, the Strait of Hormuz has also been blocked by the Qin Empire’s navy. As soon as the news reached Isfahan, the whole country was shocked.
King Abbas II was 19 years old, at the age of full vigor and vitality. When he heard the news, he flew into a rage and immediately summoned all his ministers to discuss the matter.
In the magnificent palace with high arches, Abbas II said loudly to the ministers he had summoned: "Hormuz is the throat of our country. If we lose this throat, we will lose all maritime trade, which will be an unbearable disaster for our country."
General Ibn Talib said fiercely: "Your Majesty, I suggest that we attack the Central Asian region immediately while the army is attacking, to teach the Qin people a lesson, otherwise they will think that our country is easy to bully."
Ibn Talib had the confidence to say this.
The Safavid Empire's main enemies have always been the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks. And the Mughal Empire in India. And these threats all come from land. This has led to an imbalance in the development of the navy and army. Their navy is very weak, but the army is very strong.
During the reign of Abbas I, the most eye-catching reform was in the military. His military reforms were divided into two parts. The first was "modernization". With the help of the British adventurers, the Shirley brothers, the Safavid army developed from a tribal army to a new army equipped with muskets and other equipment, with more than 10,000 artillerymen. It became the main force of the Persian army;
On the other hand, the "imperialization" changed the situation where the "Red Hat Army" dominated the army and absorbed a large number of Muslims from the Caucasus into the army. The Turkmen nobles no longer had privileges, and all officers and soldiers were under the full control of the emperor. Like other West Asian countries, Abbas I developed an elite guard army that was directly under the emperor himself.
Abbas II inherited such a powerful army, which enabled him to recapture Kandahar from the Mughal Empire at the age of 16 three years ago, making him famous and making him very confident and ambitious.
However, although Abbas II was young, he was a relatively wise monarch. He was not carried away by the victory in Kandahar, nor did he immediately launch an attack in anger because of the clamor of General Ibn Talib.
He looked at Prime Minister Keira St and said, "Prime Minister, what do you think?"
Prime Minister Keira Ster was over fifty years old, with a long face, a high nose bridge, slightly curly hair, and a gentle look in his eyes. He said worriedly, "Your Majesty, we must think carefully before going to war with Qin. The Qin people have a strong military force. Of course, if we concentrate all our efforts on attacking the Central Asian region, we may still win.
However, in addition to considering that Qin will subsequently send more troops to retake the area, the most worrying thing is the threat from the sea. Our navy is relatively weak, while Qin's navy can easily defeat the Dutch and Mughal navies. Now the British are also very wary of the Qin and will no longer help us.
If we go to war, once our navy is defeated, not only will the maritime trade routes be cut off, but the coast of the Persian Gulf will also be under the threat of the Qin army. There is no doubt that our country will suffer huge losses, and over time, even the finances will be exhausted. Therefore, before your majesty starts a war, please think carefully. "
One of the most important factors that enabled Abbas I to bring the Safavid Empire to prosperity was the recapture of Hormuz and the development of political, military and trade relations with various countries through sea routes.
Abbas I once sent an envoy to visit Western European countries to establish diplomatic relations. Among them, the German emperor was very interested in an alliance between the two countries to deal with Turkey.
Abbas I actively developed relations with Western Christian countries, with the main purpose of finding allies to attack Turkey.
Because of the common enemy, the Safavid Empire had very good relations with some Western countries, and also gave foreigners many preferential treatment and rights, and even allowed them to open factories in Persia. The growth of foreign trade also led to the development of domestic handicrafts, and the sprouts of capitalism appeared in the country.
And all of this is maintained by the narrow Strait of Hormuz.
If a war breaks out with Qin, Qin can easily block this lifeline with its powerful navy. Moreover, if such a powerful enemy is established, the land will also fall into a dilemma of being surrounded by enemies, which is really not in the interests of the Safavid Empire.
Abbas II and his ministers had a heated discussion on whether to go to war. Roughly half of the ministers supported and half opposed the war, and Abbas II could not make up his mind for a while.
On the third day, news came that Qin and Haiguo were looting coastal villages and towns. Many ministers were outraged, and more and more ministers supported going to war. Abbas II was also very angry and was about to order a war and fight first to talk later.
At this time, a shocking news suddenly came from the north: Qin general Li Ding led an army of 50,000 and wiped out the Ottoman Empire's Caucasus Governor Arterius and the 80,000-strong Kazakh army at the foot of the Mugojar Mountains north of the Caspian Sea.
Upon hearing the news, Abbas II's men dropped their wine glasses with a snap, and their faces were filled with shock.
Even ordinary Safavid people were very familiar with Arteris, because during the reign of Abbas I, the Safavid Empire once occupied the Caucasus region, but later lost the Caucasus region because of its defeat by Arteris.
Even as an enemy, Abbas II had to admit that Arteris was a remarkable man. However, now his 80,000-strong army had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Qin people.
This incident caused a huge shock to the Safavid monarch and his ministers. Those who had originally thought that they could defeat Qin on land suddenly lost their confidence.
Suddenly, more and more people opposed the war. Prime Minister Kaira-St said to Abbas II: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Why don't we give up the idea of seizing Transoxiana and unite with the Qin people to attack the Ottoman Empire together
It now seems that establishing friendly relations with the State of Qin will do our country a hundred good things and no harm. In this way, we can not only preserve our current maritime trade, but also develop trade with the State of Qin.
You know, Qin is the richest country in the world. Even Western countries are willing to travel thousands of miles to trade with Qin. If our country can establish friendly relations with Qin, we can trade with Qin both at sea and on land, which will have an immeasurable effect on promoting the development of our country's industry and commerce.
In addition, Qin and the Ottoman Empire have become enemies now. If we make friends with Qin and the two countries join forces to attack the Ottoman Empire, it will no longer be difficult to recover the Mesopotamian region.
Your Majesty, if we go to war with Qin, it is hard to say whether we can seize the Transoxiana region. Even if we can, our country will pay a huge price for it. If we make peace with Qin, our country will have a 90% chance of taking back Baghdad. "
Although Abbas II was young, he had a strategic vision. After listening to Prime Minister Kaira Sit's words, he could not help but nod frequently.
If you take a step back, the world will be vast! For the Safavids, going to war with such a powerful empire as Qin for a moment of anger would not be worth the loss.
If they could make peace with the Qin State, they would have one less powerful enemy and one more ally. At the same time, they would open up a sea trade route with unlimited business opportunities to the East, which would bring countless wealth to the Safavids.
After thinking this through, Abbas II made a decisive decision. He agreed to the Qin's conditions, withdrew his troops from the eastern border, sent envoys to Qin to seek the establishment of diplomatic relations, and agreed to marry his sister Isman to the Qin emperor in order to establish friendly relations between Qin and Jin.
In short, the young Safavid emperor showed his utmost sincerity in wanting to make friends with the Qin State.
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Due to health reasons, I can't update twice today. I forced myself to write this chapter only now. I'm really sorry!
.(To be continued..)
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