I, Abbas << ab BAHS >> (1571-1629), was the shah (king) of the Safavid dynasty in Southwest Asia from 1587 until his death in 1629. Under Abbas, the Safavids reached the height of their power, ruling all or parts of present-day Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. See Safavid dynasty .
Abbas brought peace and stability to an empire that had been weakened by internal conflict since the 1570’s. Before Abbas’s reign, the Safavids relied on Turkic warriors called Qizilbash (Red Heads) for military and administrative support. But Qizilbash tribes constantly fought with one another for power. As shah, Abbas reduced Qizilbash influence by creating an army of Georgian, Armenian, and Circassian slaves who were loyal only to him. He also seized land that had been under Qizilbash control. Under Abbas, the Safavids regained territory that had been lost to the Ottoman Empire in the west and to the Uzbek and Mughal empires in the east.
Abbas relocated the Safavid capital to the Persian city of Isfahan in 1598. He turned Isfahan into a splendid capital with a magnificent public square and beautiful mosques, palaces, and gardens. See Isfahan .
Abbas was born on Jan. 27, 1571, in Herat, a city in what is now Afghanistan. He died on Jan. 19, 1629, in Ashraf (now Behshahr).
