Bbas was the third son and heir of Sultan Muhammad Shah. He ascended the throne in May 1587, accepting the crown from the hands of his old and sick father.
At that time of troubles, Iran did not have sufficient forces to fight the Ottomans, so Shah Abbas was forced to agree in March 1590 to the difficult terms of a peace treaty. He ceded Eastern Armenia, Eastern Georgia, Kurdistan and almost all of Azerbaijan in order to concentrate all his forces on expelling the nomadic Uzbeks from Northeastern Iran. He also needed to gain time in order to implement reforms in the country and in the army, which was justified not only by the external threat from Turkey, but also by separatist tendencies among provincial feudal lords.
For starters, Abbas consolidated his power. He displaced the Qizilbash aristocracy and put forward the so-called “new aristocracy,” which included Georgians, Armenians and Circassians serving the Iranians.
Next, the Shah carried out a military reform of the country, which was directly carried out by Alaverdi Khan. The military reform was also facilitated by the fact that in 1598 several Englishmen arrived in Persia, seeking to negotiate an alliance between Persia and Christian Europe against the Ottoman Empire. The head of the English mission, Sir Robert Shirley, turned out to be a capable soldier. He remained in the Shah's service and helped, along with his brother Anthony, to build Iran's new army.
Previously, the Persian army included only the cavalry of the Turkic Qizilbash nobility, feudal militias from peasants and the personal cavalry detachment of the Shah. Abbas created a regular army consisting of 120 thousand soldiers, staffed mainly by Georgians and Armenians raised in Iran and Muslims, which included 20 thousand riflemen with muskets, 12 thousand cavalry ghouls from the Caucasians, 12 thousand artillerymen and 500 cannons. The army was regularly replenished with recruits. The Qizilbash cavalry was reduced from 60,000 to 30,000 warriors.
Abbas became the most successful Safavid ruler. He was distinguished by his energetic activity and political insight, built roads and bridges, took care of decorating cities, especially Isfahan, where he moved his residence from Qazvin in 1592, and tried to revive trade with India and Europe.
The Shah promoted the development of trade and crafts. Viticulture, winemaking and sericulture were widely developed, which were mainly practiced by Georgians who were expelled from their homes and resettled in Iran. During the reign of Shah Abbas, Iran became a strong state.
Khorasan, bravely defended by the Uzbek emir, was conquered by Abbas only in 1598, after the fall of Herat. Meanwhile, he managed to annex Gilan and Mazanderan to his possessions, and in the south the region of Lurestan and, having conquered Kandahar, extended his rule over most of Afghanistan. However, in an attempt to annex the territories south of the Amu Darya, Abbas failed, which befell him in the Battle of Balkh, which ended in the complete defeat of the Persian army by Uzbek troops. There is no doubt that victory in this battle played the most important role in preserving the independence of Transoxiana. However, it did not particularly affect the general political situation in the region, since after heavy fighting, the Uzbek army did not have the necessary resources for further campaigns, as a result of which most of Khorasan remained under the control of Abbas the Great. The situation changed radically only in 1613, when, under the leadership of the Emir of Samarkand Yalangtush-Bahadur Biya, the Uzbeks managed to recapture key outposts and cities, which included Mashhad, Nishapur, Herat and some others.
Under Abbas I, Georgians came to the fore at the Shah's court (the Shah himself knew the Georgian language well). First of all, Alaverdi Khan, a Muslim Georgian named Undiladze, who was kidnapped as a child to Iran. In addition to military reform, his name is also associated with great activity in the field of construction: he built bazaars and caravanserais in Isfahan. He was the first guards commander in Iran and beglarbeg of the Pars province. Alaverdi Khan died unexpectedly before Shah Abbas's campaign in Georgia. It is believed that he was killed on the orders of the Shah. Alaverdi Khan was buried with great honors. The sons of Alaverdi Khan also advanced to the civil service of Iran: the eldest son - Imamkuli Khan (beglarbeg of Pars province) and the youngest son - Daud Khan (beglarbeg of Ganji-Karabakh). Other Georgians also served at the Shah's court: commander Rostom Saakadze, Khosro-Mirza (Rostom Khan). Khosro Mirza was the governor of the city of Isfahan. It is noteworthy that for one century the Mouravis of Isfahan were only Georgians.
In addition to military reform, Abbas attempted to carry out a monetary reform (1598), since during the 11 years of anarchy in Iran, a huge amount of currency began to circulate throughout the country, which did not have a fixed exchange rate. Abbas introduced the “abbasi” coin, the denomination of which was equal to one mithqal [4, 67 gr.] of silver.
The wars with the Turks, which did not stop during almost the entire reign of Abbas, were difficult. After part of Armenia and Georgia, as well as Shirvan, came under the rule of the Shah in 1601, he successfully repelled the almost annually repeated attacks of the Turks on the cities of Erivan and Tabriz, sometimes invading the very depths of Turkish possessions in Asia Minor.
Meanwhile, the peace treaty between Iran and Turkey was violated. In 1603, Abbas I resumed the war with the Ottomans. In the first battle the Turks were defeated. The Iranians surrounded the Yerevan fortress. Shah Abbas summoned the Georgian kings. The King of Kartli soon came to Shah Abbas at his call. The king of Kakheti hesitated and appeared at the Shah's court after much hesitation. The troops of Kartli and Kakheti took an active part in the siege of the Yerevan fortress. For this, the Shah “rewarded” and gave them villages in Iran and assigned them a salary (George - 300 tomans, and Alexander - 700). In return, he “asked” for the Lore region from the Debeda River, and from Alexander for Kakh-Eniseli (a province in Saingilo). The kings were forced to agree. These territories were populated by Shah Abbas with the Turkmen Borchalu tribes.
The Shah released him to Kartli, and took Alexander with him to Iran, thereby not giving him the opportunity to meet with the Russian embassy located in Kakheti. In the absence of Tsar Alexander, Tsarevich George ruled the kingdom. In 1605, the Shah nevertheless released Alexander to Kakheti, but accompanied by his son, the prince, who grew up at the Shah’s court and became a Muslim. Constantine had a secret order from the Shah at the slightest suspicion of treason or disobedience to kill the Shah and take his throne.
In 1613, Abbas I forced most of Georgia and the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartalinia to recognize the supreme power of the Safavids. He showed more religious tolerance towards Christians than towards Parsis and Jews, and persecuted Sunnis with fire and sword. At his brilliant court, envoys of the Great Mogul and other eastern sovereigns met with envoys of Russia, France, England, Spain and the Netherlands.
In 1614-1617 the Turks renewed their invasions of Iran, but without success. Having suffered a particularly strong defeat in 1618, they concluded the Marand peace between the Sultan and Shah Abbas, which, however, did not last long. The war resumed in 1622, but the Turks conducted it so unhappily that in 1623 even Baghdad was conquered by Abbas.
A year earlier (1622), with the help of the British, Abbas took the island of Hormuz from the Portuguese.
Abbas was the first to recognize the new Romanov dynasty in Russia and allocated a loan of 7 thousand rubles. In 1625 he sent as a gift a relic, the Robe of the Lord, and a luxurious throne.
During his reign, Shah Abbas built the Juma Mosque and the Armenian Church of the All-Savior in Ganja (it was destroyed during Soviet times). After the conquest of Tiflis, on his instructions, a mosque for Muslims and a church for Christians were built in the city, opposite each other. To provide material support for these temples, he assigned forty shops to them, and above the entrance to the mosque the Shah ordered an inscription: “I ask those Mohammedan kings who will rule in this city after me to protect the rights of the neighboring church.” At his command, an inscription was engraved above the church: “I ask the Christian kings who will rule here to protect the rights of the neighboring mosque out of respect for me.”
The possessions of the Safavid dynasty already extended from the Tigris to the Indus when Abbas died on January 19, 1629 in Qazvin. Having killed his son, he appointed his grandson Sefi Mirza as heir to the throne.
Although Abbas was a despotic, cruel sovereign, often obeying only his own whims, the Iranians consider him their greatest sovereign.
II. The era of Persian rule in Georgia (Shah Abbas)
The greatest of the Shahs of Persia, the Lion of Iran, as history and people call him, Shah Abbas occupied the Persian throne at the very turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. This was one of those historical figures marked by fate, who were destined to change the face of the earth, destroy and found kingdoms. His significance for Georgia itself was so enormous that the Georgian people associated his name with a number of grandiose legends. According to popular ideas, his very birth was a sign of future troubles, marked by a prophetic catastrophe.
On that very evening and at that very minute when Shah Abbas was born, a great earthquake, as a sign of God’s wrath, destroyed the most ancient shrine of Georgia - the monastery of St. George, located in the vicinity of the city of Telavi.
This earthquake, which is also evidenced by the chronicles of the late 16th century, was so local that it was not heard even in Telavi, which is located no more than twenty miles from the monastery. The king was hunting at that time. On a quiet and clear evening, surrounded by courtiers, hunters and bodyguards, he drove past the monastery; The zurna resounded through the forests and mountains, the azarpesha passed from hand to hand, and no one wanted to look at the elders who came out beyond the monastery fence with a bow. Suddenly an underground rumble swept through, the earth shook, and the centuries-old buildings of the patron saint of Iberia swayed, tilted down and collapsed with a terrifying crash. What happened then on the royal train is difficult to depict. Most of the riders flew out of their saddles, many fell along with their horses; the king was among the last and was seriously injured when he fell. Meanwhile, twilight came, a terrible storm came from the mountains, a cloud hung over Telavi, and the confused people who had gathered to meet the king went home. Then the menacing accusatory voice of some holy fool rose from the crowd.
– Tavads, nationals and people! - he cried. – In your eyes, the greatest of the churches of the Orthodox land drooped to the ground. His high brow reflected the storms of centuries, and now drooped - in the quiet hour of the evening, in the gentle radiance of a dying day. Truly, this is a great sign of troubles coming upon us, for our iniquities have surpassed the height of our temples. At this very moment a priest was born in Iran who would come to sacrifice our freedom, and his path would be stained with our blood. Cry, Georgians! Shah Abbas is born!
Decades have passed, and Shah Abbas is the ruler of Iran (1585-1628). A brilliant politician and a great commander, he correctly assesses the importance of Georgia for his state in its struggle with Turkey and directs all his efforts to not only not losing his influence on the country, but to completely merge it with Persia, consistently spreading religion in it, language and customs of Persian Mohammedanism. Meeting resistance in the spirit of the people and once led on the path of a bloody invasion, he does not settle the Mohammedans at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, as Tamerlane did, but, on the contrary, ravaging cities, takes Christians by force to Persia. To this day, there are many Georgian and Armenian villages near Ispagan, the inhabitants of which, having lost their faith, retained the language of their ancestors. The Shah tried to bring the kings of the Georgian lands closer to his court; the princes were often brought up in the capital of the Shah, learning there the morals, concepts, and sometimes even the faith of the Persians.
The Tsar of Kakhetia, Alexander III, with his inclination towards the Turks and relations with the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov, is a direct and immediate opponent of the policy of Shah Abbas, and its first blows fall on him. Shah Abbas's peaceful means, as always, consisted primarily in the consistent implementation of the principle of divide et impera - divide and conquer. And after the Shah had the opportunity to become convinced of Alexander’s unreliability in the war with Turkey, he arranged to arm his own children against him.
From this example one can see what corruption of power Shah Abbas brought to Georgia, what complete moral decay he threatened it with, how he would undoubtedly have achieved all his political goals if his extreme direction had not caused another extreme - the extreme of despair. And we will see in the further history of Shah Abbas a number of generous citizens in whom the remnants of ancient valor and ability of self-sacrifice, which saved Georgia from the consequences of the all-corrupting influence of the Persian politician, have not yet died out.
The spirit of treason and discord caused by the Shah in Alexander's family received its first expression in the fact that his eldest son, Prince David, with the permission of the Persian court, imprisoned his brother George in a fortress, his father in prison, and took possession of the throne himself (1605). When Alexander's other son died in the same year, Constantine, who converted to Mohammedanism under Shah Abbas, came to Kakheti with a Persian army and took possession of the throne, killing his father and brother. But at the cost of not only crimes, he bought the throne, but also with the obligation given to the Shah to stop all relations with Russia and make Kakheti a vassal dependent on Persia. Georgia was saved this time by Queen Ketevan, the widow of David II. She defeated Constantine's followers, killed him and began to rule in the name of her son, Teimuraz. The cunning Shah outwardly reconciled himself with the death of the king devoted to him and, as they say, saying: “A parricide deserves death,” he established Teimuraz, who was at the Persian court at that time, on the throne. “Go to Kakheti and try to prevent unrest in this country,” he told Teimuraz.
At the same time, the Kartlian king George X, who did not agree to accept Mohammedanism, was poisoned, and his throne was given by Shah Abbas to his son, Laursab II (1605). But in the very first years of Laursab’s reign, a circumstance occurred that took on a fatal meaning. Even during the reign of George X's father, Simon I, when military storms thundered over Kartli and the country was torn apart by civil strife, a certain George Saakadze emerged from a poor noble family, who was destined to have a remarkable role in the history of the Georgian people. Distinguished by his outward beauty, gift of speech and power of persuasion, courage and determination, he attracted attention at his first appearance in the military field. Simon elevated him to the dignity of Tarkhan; Simon's successor, George X, granted him the title of sovereign prince with the title of mourava, and young Saakadze was not yet twenty-seven when he already became the closest person to King Laursab. The proud Georgian aristocracy could not bear the rapid rise of a man of a humble noble family, intrigues began, and even death, Mourav, was demanded from King Laursab. Saakadze would probably have fallen victim to the aristocracy, but at that very time it happened that the formidable Turkish forces returning from Persia were approaching Georgia from the direction of the Trioleti Mountains. The advanced Georgian detachment, sent under the leadership of the two best Georgian commanders, Zacharias and Yarali, was exterminated along with their leaders in the mountain gorges, and the enemy occupied Manglis and Kvelta. In Quelt, the Turks seized the priest Feodor, known at that time for his learned works, and, under threat of death, demanded that he lead a flying detachment to the king’s residence, intending to capture Laursab. “I will not sacrifice eternal life to temporary, I will not be a traitor to the king,” this Georgian Susanin said to himself. He led his enemies into impenetrable mountain wilds and, while saving the king, he himself died a painful death. But the danger for the country did not pass, and the king from the Tskhiret castle looked with despair in his heart at the countless enemy troops covering the picturesque valleys. And so, in these difficult circumstances, when the proud aristocracy has lost its head, Saakadze takes upon himself the salvation of his homeland, demanding only the right to completely control the battle.
The next day, the battle began in the Skheret Hollow, on the banks of the Kura. Weak in numbers, but driven by hatred of the aliens and inspired by their leader, the Georgians rushed into hand-to-hand battle, and Saakadze himself fought in the front ranks. The Turks did not yield. But then it happened that the brave prince Zaza Tsitsianov, having made his way all the way to Pasha Delhi-Mamad Khan, knocked him off his horse and, jumping from the saddle, managed to cut off his head before the Turkish horsemen arrived to the rescue. Holding the pasha's head in his teeth by his long beard, Tsitsianov desperately made his way through the ranks of the enemies surrounding him and, covered in blood, threw his terrible victory trophy at the king's feet. And this circumstance decided the victory. Shouts of delight greeted the hero in the ranks of the Georgian troops. The Turks, amazed by what they saw, fled, and the formidable hordes were exterminated by a handful of Georgians.
The king and court visited Saakadze on the third day. There Laursab saw his sister, who was distinguished by her remarkable beauty, became passionately interested in her and decided to marry her. The advice of the Mourav, who foresaw the sad consequences of an unequal marriage, was in vain; the convictions of the queen mother and the insistence of the court were in vain - the king did not give up his intention, and the marriage took place. Strong princes and vassals, offended by the tsar’s act, rebelled against him without exception, and in the name of maintaining the throne, which allegedly lost respect in the eyes of the people since the sister of a simple nobleman ascended to it as queen, they demanded not only the dissolution of the marriage, but also the extermination of everything hated named after the Saakadze family. A secret conspiracy was formed.
One day, Mourav received an invitation to a royal hunt, but as soon as he arrived at the country palace, one of the loyal people warned him of a bloody plan. Wasting no time, Saakadze jumped on a bareback horse and galloped to his castle to save himself and his family. They immediately set out to chase him, but they no longer found Saakadze in the castle. Having galloped a huge distance in a hasty flight in one short night, he managed to take refuge with his wife and children with his father-in-law, the Aragvi eristat. His castle was plundered and turned into heaps of ruins and ashes.
Georgia lost for a long time one of its best sons, who could have been infinitely useful to it.
The offended hero, not knowing refuge in his own homeland, betrayed her: he retired to Persia to the Shah and invited him to conquer Kartli. And what could he offer him other than treason? They say that once, in a moment of anger, he exclaimed: “Woe to Kartli! There is no rest for her as long as King Laursab lives!” The Shah well understood the benefit of depriving Kartli of its only support and hope and received Saakadze with honors. But he did not consider it necessary yet to use mourava against Kartli, completely understanding the possibility of turning him to his homeland: he sends him to India and to the war with the Turks - and soon the glory of Saakadze’s Indian and Turkish victories spread his name throughout Iran; Poets kept up with his exploits, and these songs, reaching Tiflis, the mountains and valleys of Kartli, were sung by the Persians to the fear of the court and the inhabitants of the country.
Thus, both Kartli and Kakheti, the most influential of the Georgian states, lay prostrate at the feet of Persia, in the power of weak kings and without the support of strong ones, removed from the country by treason and civil strife. Shah Abbas understood that he would no longer encounter much resistance in the weakened kingdoms, and on the other hand, knowing the stability of religious beliefs among the people, he was content with converting only kings and princes to Mohammedanism, and the people decided to punish with the sword and deportation to Persia and only looking for a decent reason for war. In 1615, he appears in Ganja, sends from there a notice to the Kakheti king of his intention to start a war with the Turks and, guided by the advice of Saakadze, demands that his son be handed over as a hostage as a guarantee that Teimuraz will not bow to the side of the Turks. The king, who understood the treacherous policy of the Shah and knew that no war was expected at all, at first refused, but then, at the insistence of the Kakhetians who feared revenge, he sent his youngest son to the Shah under the supervision of his mother Ketevan.
“I am not a wet nurse to raise young children,” the Shah answered him and demanded his eldest son.
Teimuraz gave in. Then the Shah demanded him too. Counting, among other things, on the assistance of Laursab of Kartlin, Teimuraz refused to go to the Shah, but he took his own measures. To incite his subjects against Teimuraz, he ordered the Persians to treat the population kindly and did not spare gifts and honors. And soon Teimuraz and Laursab, abandoned as subjects who had gone over to the side of Shah Abbas, had to flee to Imereti. Having sent Teimuraz's mother and children to Shiraz, the Shah passed through Kakheti and Kartli and from Gori, which lies about forty miles from Tiflis on the road to Imereti, began negotiations with the kings. He took the opportunity to inform Laursab that he loved him and would generously reward him if he came to him, and that Teimuraz was his eternal enemy. The Shah did not miss the opportunity to caress the Imeretians, through whom he negotiated with the kings, and on this occasion he presented the Imeretian nobles with his rich, bound golden saber, asking them to hang it as a gift on the wall of their beloved church of St. George in the town of Mravalzale. Of course, Shah Abbas did not do this out of love for the Christian religion. This saber, as one traveler testifies, was on the wall of the temple back in 1745, but where it went afterwards is unknown.
Laursab succumbed to the deception and secretly left Imereti from Teimuraz. The Shah received him kindly and left him in Tiflis, while he himself retired. They say that, leaving the capital of Kartli, the Shah stopped at a bridge from which the mineral baths were visible, and, pointing out to the king the beauty of the area, he said: “I would take these views from here if it were possible; the best wealth of your kingdom and the city of baths mineral waters" Laursab replied: “The Great Shah, and I, and my kingdom, and these views - everything belongs to you.” But the king did not remain free for long. Soon we see him hunting with the Shah in the forests of Karabakh; from Karabakh, under the guise of hunting, he is transported to Mazanderan, and when neither threats nor promises here persuade him to Islam, the Shah sends him to Shiraz, where, after a long term in prison, he was strangled with a bowstring (1622).
With Laursab, the direct line of kings of Kartli ended, and its rulers even ceased to be Christians. The Shah appoints the Mohammedan Bagrat V (1616-1619) as the king of Kartli.
While Laursab became a victim of the Shah's policies, Teimuraz was actually deposed from the throne, and a Persian garrison was left in Kakheti under the command of the apostate prince Jesse, in Mohammedanism Isakhan, Teimuraz's cousin. But three months after the removal of the Shah, Isakhan returned to the kingdom. The Shah decided to cruelly punish those who disobeyed his will - and the time came for the bloody Persian invasion of Georgia.
The Shah sent ahead part of the troops to block Teimuraz's retreat to Imereti, but Teimuraz was the first to attack the Persian detachment and put it to flight. The approach of the main forces of Shah Abbas, however, changed the whole matter; the vanguard of the Persian army was commanded by Saakadze, and the appearance of a national hero at the head of the enemy regiments immediately undermined the spirit of the people: everyone abandoned useless weapons and fled to the mountains. Teimuraz again left for Imereti.
In 1617, the troops of Shah Abbas entered Kakheti, trampling everything along the way, covering everything with blood, turning cities to ashes, plundering monasteries, smashing icons and crosses and turning sacred decorations onto the toilets of their harem. Instead of protecting themselves, Christians gathered in churches, repented and prayed, preparing for death, and together with the churches they were burned in the thousands. The Lezgins, for their part, at the request of the Shah, killed and captured those who fled to them in the mountains. Tradition has preserved the story of the bloody massacre of the Shah, committed in one of the monasteries of the Gareji desert, rocky, waterless, dug with gorges. Under the ruins of the monastery church, inside the altar there is still a throne, and on it, instead of sacred utensils, there are human bones connected in a cross. It was these bones that gave the name to the whole monastery, called Motsameti - the Lavra of the Martyrs. Here six thousand monks were beaten on the holy Easter night by order of Shah Abbas. There was a custom according to which the brothers of all twelve monasteries of the Gareji desert gathered for Easter matins in this monastery, as the largest of all; Moreover, the great day was also the temple holiday of this monastery. And so six thousand monks with candles in their hands walked around the church built on the top of the mountain, and joyfully sang “Christ is Risen,” not imagining how close they themselves were to crossing into eternity. Far beyond the Kura River, on the edge of the vast Karayskaya steppe, Shah Abbas saw extraordinary lighting at night - some lights were moving and flickering on the top of the mountain, where he assumed there was a complete desert. “What are these lights?” - asked the amazed Shah. “These are the Gareji hermits celebrating their Easter,” they answered him. “Exterminate them!” It was in vain that the Shah’s entourage represented to him that the hermits do not carry weapons, do no harm to anyone, but on the contrary, they pray to God for everyone, and that the prophet himself commands to spare such prayer books. The Shah did not listen to anything. By dawn, a detachment of cavalry galloped into the monastery. The liturgy was going on, and the monks had just received the Holy Mysteries when the Persians broke in and a few moments later six thousand corpses lay on the church platform, covered in blood. Since then, most of the desert abodes have been deserted. The Church canonized the dead as martyrs and established the celebration of the massacre of six thousand on the second day of Easter, and the pious Tsar Archil collected the holy bones and built a small church over them.
At the same time, having captured Mtskheta, the Shah took into his hands the greatest shrine of the Christian world - the Robe of the Lord. Later, as we will see, he sent him to the Moscow Tsar. And now the robe of the Lord, divided into parts, is the property of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, the large court church and the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
Having brought the entire country into involuntary obedience through the fear of death, Shah Abbas appointed Kakheti as his ruler with a Persian army and led the masses of people into captivity to settle them in the Persian provinces. The Leo of Iran concluded a peace treaty with the kings of Georgia, pledging not to burden Georgia with tribute, not to change its religion, to leave churches intact and not to build mosques, however, stipulating the condition that the Georgian bets must be Mohammedans, albeit of Georgian origin. With this treaty, which preserved only the appearance of independence and freedom of the Georgian kingdoms, which lost many representatives of their religion during the invasion, but retained the Mohammedan-inclined aristocracy and Mohammedan kings, Shah Abbas finally strengthened Persian influence in Georgia. And only to his people, devotion, faith and original spirit, Georgia owes the preservation of its spiritual independence and the possibility of revival in the future. From the depths of the people a strong clergy again emerged, which had an irresistible influence on the king and on the Mohammedan aristocracy, and the head of the clergy, the Catholicos, was more than once in the subsequent history of Georgia the source of liberation movements. And the grateful people reflected this role of the clergy in their legends.
This ever-active spirit of the people was reflected during the time of the Shah not only by the resistance of the masses who went to the mountains, but also by exploits in which an irresistible and boundless devotion to the faith of their ancestors and the fatherland shines. There is a legendary story (it is told by I.D. Popka), created by the people themselves and showing that they did not want to recognize the Shah’s victory, as if realizing that he could not defeat the people’s power. It portrays the Shah not as a winner, but as a defeated one, and defeated precisely by love for the fatherland.
This is the legend.
Having taken possession of all of Kakhstia and most of Kargli, one day Shah Abbas was sitting at the door of his tent; the chief Mirza reported that an ambassador had been sent from the Georgian king with gifts. A Kartlian tavad appeared, tall and slender, “like a poplar on the banks of the Kura River.” He threw a basket of fresh fruits at the Shah’s feet, and the Shah praised the fruits. “Chokh-Gyuzel!” (“Very wonderful!”) he repeated; He chose the largest apple, ate it, spat out the seeds into his palm and ordered a spear to be brought. He butted the ground with a flexible spear, threw seeds into it and, turning to the Kartlian, said: “Bow to the king and say that until a garden grows from these seeds and I eat the fruits from it, until then I will not leave your land, where I sleep better than at home.” - “Beli!” (“Good!”) replied the tawad. And, getting out of the Shah’s court, struck by the humiliation of his king and homeland, he thought with determination: “I will sacrifice my dear, my beloved Khoroshana - the fatherland is more valuable than my wife!”
His name was Shio; his house stood on the very border of Kakheti and Kartli. He himself was a Kartlian, and his wife was Kakhetian, and then their honeymoon had not yet ended.
It must be said that Shah Abbas gave a monstrous order to recruit fifty beauties from cities and villages with each new moon and bring them to the Persian camp. The Shah himself distributed them to his commanders. But there was one khan, named Alla-Verdy, who was not content with the gifts of the “brother of the Moon” and himself robbed the same tribute. This was the most powerful khan, the leader of the Tatar cavalry, which made up the best army of the Kizilbash. Khan Alla-Verda stood in a separate camp near Telavi, and since there was no one to beat, every day he went hunting with falcons, and in the evening he was presented with tribute in the form of a beautiful Georgian woman.
Meanwhile, the Georgian king with the tavads and the remnants of the defeated army stood near Mtskheta in a strong position formed by the confluence of the Kura and Aragva. When the military force was crushed, another force rose up, not falling under the blows of weapons. The clergy left their cells and took the salvation of the fatherland into their own hands. As in the old appanage Rus', it reconciled the strong, united the weak, encouraged the cowardly crowd and created strength where there was no longer any. The princes, who had never thought of getting together, met under the royal banner, embraced and swore over the tunic of the Lord to die for each other. Meanwhile, they asked for help from the half-blooded Imeretin and asked for it from the same-faith Moscow. The king's army grew stronger every day. Everyone wanted to go on the offensive. They expected only Russian help from the Terek and the Dnieper.
Things were in such a situation when Tawad Shio galloped up to his Khoroshana and told her: “Save the fatherland!”
- Ra-ari! (What speeches!) Is it possible for a weak woman to save the fatherland when even the bravest tavads are inactive, huddled in a safe corner between the Kura and Aragva!
– Where the sisters embraced, where Kura and Aragva merged into an eternal union, like you and me, there the scattered forces of Iberia united. This is the last of my strength - no more! And all this is a handful, but there are countless numbers of kizilbash. What can we do? To die honestly – and that’s all! But this will not save the fatherland, which will perish with the death of the last tawad. But where the bravest people can no longer do anything, there a woman can do everything... Not by the strength of her hand, no, but by the immeasurable greatness of a loving heart... Sacrifice yourself!.. Give your love, give it for a short time - from the evening star to the morning star - Khan of Alla Verda.
Khoroshana died.
“It is not the main camp of the khan with the countless strength of the kizilbash that is terrible for the Georgians,” Shio continued enthusiastically. – Their heroic confidence wavers only in front of the Lion of Azerbaijan, in front of the Khan of Alla Verda. If he had abandoned the Shah, Georgia would have been saved! But she must be saved, saved at all costs, and you alone can do this - not by force, but by sacrifice! The hour has come for immeasurable, unheard-of sacrifices, to which only love for the fatherland gives the right.
And the noble Kartlian spoke for a long time, and his speeches were marvelous, such as the world had never heard before. Khoroshana finally comprehended the greatness of sacrifice, found an unknown strength in the immeasurable depths of her loving heart - and made up her mind.
Soon Khoroshana appears in the Persian camp, trembling and embarrassed. Embarrassment only increased her beauty, and the Khan of Alla Verda swore by the beard of the prophet that he had never seen such a beauty. A dark night fell. A thunderstorm broke out in the mountains, rain flooded the valleys, and the storm tore down the tents in the Tatar camp. A fierce argument was going on under the khan's silk tent. Alla-Verdy did not agree to the price that the Georgian woman demanded. He offered her all his treasures, everything except betrayal of the Shah. Khoroshana rejected everything and demanded only betrayal. More than once the mighty khan flew into fits of frantic rage, more than once he raised a kanjar over her. Khoroshana endured everything - and did not lower her price.
The next day the khan sat in the tent, thoughtful and ferocious, without touching the pilaf. The entire camp fell silent, and no one dared to speak loudly. At midnight, the khan agreed to the price demanded by Khoroshana and swore by the beard of the prophet.
In the morning the whole camp was noisy and feasting, the khan's associates received large gifts. But then a messenger from the Shah gallops with the news that archers from the Terek and Cossacks from the Dnieper have come to the Georgians and that the infidels are coming from Mtskheta. The Shah demanded that Alla-Verdy join him in three days. “Beli,” Alla-Verdy said to the messenger and gave the order to shoe horses and prepare for a trip to the large Ajam camp. The oath was forgotten, and revenge and the determination to cut off the head of the oathbreaker was brewing in Khoroshana’s soul that same night. But when she only had to fulfill her intention, she fell asleep herself, and a wondrous vision visited her: an old man, white with gray hair, appeared in the old rags of a hermit, but with a bright and meek face. The elder raised his hand and began to bless Khoroshana.
- Unworthy, father! - she cried. “She is unworthy of blessing who has defiled herself on the bed of an infidel and prepared her hands for treacherous murder!”
The elder said:
- Postpone your intention, O best of the daughters of Iberia! Do not raise your hand against the Khan of Alla-Verda, for he is called to a great cause: his life will complete the salvation of his fatherland, his death will erect a monastery from the ruins over which they have been crying for many years. Your difficult sacrifice will be illuminated by the blessing of the church and a long monastic feat. In the morning, tell the khan your desire to taste the food from his own prayer...
The elder once again blessed the kneeling Khoroshana and became invisible.
In the morning Khoroshana told the khan that she would like kebab from jairan (roast wild goat), killed by his own hand. The order was immediately given, and a noisy train with zurna and tambourines moved into the forest along the road to the ruins of the monastery of St. George. The hunt for the beast was extremely successful. Finally the falcons were lowered. “We have devastated the earth, and we will devastate the air!” - the khan shouted in delight. And so, his first and favorite falcon flew at the partridges, but, to everyone’s amazement, he flew stupidly and sluggishly, and the partridges left him. Alla-Verdy was furious. He raced on his horse, encouraging the falcon with frantic cries. And in the distance, on the rocky shore of Alazani, a hermit was kneeling and praying under the scorching sun for the deliverance of his homeland from the heavy invasion of foreigners.
Meanwhile, the falcon recovered and was already overtaking its prey. He had already straightened his claws, and his beak slid along the wing of the partridge, when suddenly it reversed its flight, rushed to the ground and disappeared under the hollow of the praying hermit. The falcon slowly circled over the old man's head. The Khan saw where the prey of his falcon had taken refuge, and, galloping on the hermit, shouted loudly:
- Scare away the bird from under the floor!
The hermit prayed.
“I’m telling you: scare away the bird!”
The hermit deeply and fervently prayed for the salvation of his distressed homeland; his heart flew into the sky, and the entire earthly world with its beauties and horrors did not exist for him.
- So you don’t listen to me, impudent giaur! - cried the Khan.
Kanjar flashed above the hermit’s head, but, touching the old man’s gray hair, he shattered into pieces. Khan fell from his horse, and his hand, which was gripping the handle, withered.
And the hermit prayed “for those who do not see and offend us.”
Struck by the miracle and the all-forgiving word of Christian prayer, the proud khan humbled himself.
“Forgive my sin,” he said to the elder, “return my hand, I will give it to serve the Christian people.”
The elder’s blessing revived Alla Verda’s hand, and the first ray of faith penetrated this dark, sensual heart.
The legend further tells that the Shah and the Tsar agreed to battle, each expecting Alla-Verda to come to their aid. And so, when the victory was still wavering, on the nearby heights the Tatar cavalry suddenly turned black like a cloud. Alla-Verdy walked sideways to both sides and suddenly turned left - towards the Kizilbashi. Then the entire Persian army, gripped by panic, began to flee.
Shio was found among those killed in this battle. A young tavad in Tatar armor stood above him and cried - it was Khoroshana. With a spear in her hand, with chain mail on her tender shoulders, she led the khan and supported him in moments of hesitation - and there were such moments. Khan Alla Verda himself received a mortal wound, but he lived for a few more days, was enlightened by holy baptism and died not only a Christian, but also the second husband of Khoroshany. Dying, he bequeathed his countless treasures to the restoration of the monastery of St. George, the patron saint of Iberia, and soon it rose from the ruins to its former greatness. Khoroshana withdrew from the world and atoned for her lofty but sinful feat with a long monastic feat.
The Georgian chronicler, conveying this legend, says: “There was and never will be such a loving son of the fatherland as the Kartlian Shio; there was not and will not be like this loving wife, like the Kakhetian Khoroshana.”
This is the legend in which the imagination of the people created victory for the Georgians and defeat for the Persians. But reality was far from consistent with this direction. The Lezgins descended from the mountains into the devastated country and almost unhindered occupied the richest and most fertile part of Kakheti between the Caucasus ridge and Alazan, where their fortresses of Jary and Belokany subsequently arose, which cost the Russians so much blood; there were Mohammedan kings in Kartli; Kakheti was completely without a king - and Teimuraz lived as an exile in Imereti. But neither the people nor Teimuraz put up with foreign rule. The deposed king of Kakheti sought the help of the Sultan and the protection of Russia. In 1619, he sent ambassadors to the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, depicting his plight this way:
“And to you, the great sovereign, we declare our tears and poverty that our lordship has turned into darkness, and the sun no longer warms us, and the month does not illuminate us, and our bright day has become night, and I am now in such a position that it would be better was not born, rather than see that the Orthodox Christian faith and the land of Iveron were ruined before my eyes, the name of God is not glorified in the churches, and they are all empty...”
Teimuraz asked Mikhail Fedorovich to petition the Shah for the return of his mother and sons. Mikhail Fedorovich really asked the Shah not to oppress the Georgian land. The Shah reassured the king with a friendly letter and the sending of the Lord's tunic, but already at a time when he managed to make arrangements with Teimuraz's family (1625). That was the end of Russia’s defense.
Meanwhile, unrest also arose in Kartli. When Bagrat V died (1619), his widow proclaimed Simon Khan II king, but the princes and people refused to obey the son of a Mohammedan. The irritated Abbas gave him the commander Karchikhan with a strong detachment to help him, and with him he sent George Saakadze with a secret order to exterminate the Kakhetians and resettle the Kartlians in Persia. Saakadze elevated Simon to the kingdom and went to Kakheti. But here a moral revolution triumphed in him, leaving deep marks on the history of Georgia.
Long ago, while living in Persia, Saakadze was secretly tormented by his conscience at the sight of the violence committed by the Shah over his homeland. And now, in Kakheti, he had to learn about the treasonous murder of the long-captured king Laursab (1622). This was the last straw that overwhelmed his indignant conscience. Perhaps he remembered all the evil that he did to Laursab, and, forgetting the insults inflicted on him by his homeland, Saakadze draws up a plan for the complete liberation of all Georgia from the Persian yoke. It happened that several Kakheti princes, summoned by him, under the pretext of distributing the Shah's gifts, were treasonably and secretly killed in Karchikhan's tent. Saakadze took advantage of this circumstance to arouse indignation and open rebellion among the people, and he himself was the first to exclaim: “To arms, Kakhetians!” The Persian army was immediately cut off, and the Mourav cut off Karchikhan's head with his own hand. Following this, with the help of Eristav of Aragv, he expelled the Persian governor from Kakheti and took Tiflis, except for the citadel, in which King Simon Khan locked himself and sat as if in prison. Kakheti and Kartli were free, and Kartli was ruled by the young Koikhosro, appointed hero from the family of the ruling princes of Mukhrani. But Saakadze took care of the rulers, in his energetic head a bold and expedient extensive plan for unifying the Georgian kingdoms appeared, and for this purpose he first of all summoned the legitimate king of Kakheti Teimuraz, who lived as an exile on the shores of the Black Sea (1623).
The exploits of George Saakadze had only just begun, but they were so extraordinarily brilliant, his homeland had not triumphed in such obvious and constant victories for so long that Saakadze, this traitor and scourge of her until recently, became a folk hero and the unlimited ruler of the entire country. He is called the savior of the people, the father of the fatherland and the son of the church; in churches they pray for his long life; the aristocracy, humbled by the majestic and rapid successes of the Mourav, seeks his friendship and stands under his banners, which fluttered proudly and victoriously everywhere; poets and singers glorify his name, formidable to enemies. The Fatherland forgave him everything, forgot everything. According to his almost contemporary, King Archil, Saakadze’s power was so great in the country that none of the nobles and ruling princes dared to sit in his presence without permission. But Mourav, according to history, was not carried away by passions, did not boast of primacy among the people, whose soul was devoted to him. In his great heart, which knew no middle and which had once led him to boundless hatred, now lived great love and a passionate desire to forever and completely free the homeland from the evils and disasters of foreign rule.
And Saakadze had no time to boast about his victories - he had to wait for the revenge of the formidable Shah, and there was already a warning from Persia. Having learned about Saakadze’s betrayal of him and Teimuraz’s new accession to Kakheti, the Shah executed Saakadze’s son and Eristav Zubar’s wife, who remained in Persia, and subjected Teimuraz’s mother, the generous Ketevan, to terrible torture. The queen was asked to choose between Mohammedanism and cruel execution, and she chose torment and death at the hands of the executioner (1624). In the middle of a vast square, with a huge crowd of people, Queen Ketevan was naked, and her body was torn with red-hot tongs, but she, like a giant, endured torture, and exhortations to renounce Christ were in vain. Then hot coals were placed on her terrible burns and wounds - she remained unshaken. Finally, a red-hot cast-iron cauldron was placed on her head, and she died, crowned with this terrible martyr's crown. The king learned with horror about the terrible death of his mother, about this last disaster in his family; His two sons, who were in Persia, had long since fallen victim to the cruelty of the Shah: back in 1620, he ordered them to be turned into eunuchs, and one of them died from a cruel operation, and the other went mad in his mind to drag out another three years of miserable life. And what is surprising if in the heart of Teimuraz an old hatred arose for the culprit in the death of his family, Saakadze, a hatred that later responded to new disastrous civil strife in the country. Ketevan's death made a terrible impression on the people; The memory also arose in him that Saakadze was the culprit of this death and all the unrest that caused the formidable Shah Abbas to attack Georgia, and this reminder of the Mouravi’s past was the first pitfall on his victorious path, instilling distrust in him. The Church canonized Ketevan as a martyr, and now her relics rest partly in her homeland in the Allaverdi Cathedral, partly in distant Belgium, in the cathedral of the city of Nemours; Catholic missionaries, who witnessed Ketevan's execution and were amazed by her holy courage, took part of her body and transported it to Europe.
Meanwhile, the anger of the Shah was not extinguished by the blood of Ketevan and young Saakadze, and the Persian army marched on Georgia, led by Isakhan. Saakadze, having united under his leadership the troops of King Teimuraz, the eristav of Aragv Zurab and other princes, on June 12, 1624, on the Algeta River, he scattered Isakhan’s troops, and after that, with a small detachment, he defeated the Erivan bek, who was going to help Isakhan. But the victory was unexpectedly snatched from the hands of the Mourav by the spirit of unrest and mistrust that reigned in the country - a legacy of the recent past. Among those killed on the battlefield was a certain Teimuraz, Prince of Mukhrani; Based on this fact, a dark rumor arose about the death of Tsar Teimuraz, allegedly killed treacherously, and the troops rebelled and went to Tiflis in disorderly crowds. The Persians took advantage of this opportunity in the best possible way: they rushed after the crowds of Georgians, mercilessly exterminating them, and over the corpses they reached Tiflis itself, where King Simon Khan still continued to sit in the citadel.
The Georgian army no longer existed, and the country was defenseless. But Mourav Saakadze remained cheerful and strong in spirit and began a brilliant project that most demonstrated his talents. guerrilla warfare. Once, with sixty horsemen, he rushed at a large detachment of the Persian army descending from the mountains, and seven hundred Persian corpses remained in place. A whole series of such exploits made his very name, as the historian puts it, as terrible for the Persians as the forces of the Persians were for Georgia. Isakhan was afraid to scatter small parties, which were always exterminated by the Morav, and planned a campaign with a strong army in Kartli. Having learned about this, Saakadze began extensive preparations for the meeting, arranging strong blockages in the Gartiskar gorges, and probably would have managed to stop the enemy, but the betrayal of Eristav of Aragva, who let a Persian detachment led by Khosro-Mirza pass through his possessions, made the fortifications erected by Mouravo useless and changed the chances of war and victory.
The past, apparently, weighed heavily on Saakadze, destroying all the fruits of his personal valor and military talent. The memory of the evil he once did to the kings of the Georgian land undermined confidence in him during failures; and now, in the person of Khosro-Mirza, who has now arrived, he himself once prepared a happy enemy for himself. There was a time when the side son of the Georgian Mohammedan king, this Khosro, unknown and poor, sought the protection of the powerful Mourav Saakadze at the Persian court. The latter came up with the idea of preparing in him a rival and heir to the hated Laursab, who was already in the hands of the Shah, in prison. And then the following happened. One day Mourav was having a feast, and he was sitting surrounded by Persians. Seeing Khosro-Mirza entering, he hastily gets up, respectfully walks towards him, asks him to take the first place, and sits down at a respectful distance from him. The amazed Persians learn that he is a Georgian prince and heir to the throne. Shah Abbas demanded a prince of the blood, unknown to him, and honored him with the dignity of governor of the city of Ispagan. This Khosro-Mirza is now the rival and enemy of Mourav himself.
Khosro-Mirza with a strong detachment moved towards Saakadze and defeated him with a huge advantage in the number of warriors. Mourav had to give in to force, and again with a small army loyal to him, he begins his guerrilla war. A series of victories accompanied him everywhere, but they could no longer change the main course of the war. In the battle in the Ksan gorges, the Mourav brought such terrible destruction into the ranks of the Persians that the Ksan River was covered with the corpses of the dead, and blood stained the water, but the masses of enemies nevertheless passed the gorges, and soon Khosro-Mirza entered Tiflis. Kartli has come to terms.
But Saakadze did not yet consider his case lost. No longer a commander, but “a knight wandering through the ruins of his beloved fatherland,” he, with a handful of Gverelyas, continues a stubborn, desperate struggle against the hated Persians. Today he defeats their detachment, tomorrow he takes the fortress and slaughters the garrison. At the same time, he communicates with the Turks, asking them for help, makes peace with Eristav of Aragva and, plotting an extensive plan for the liberation of the fatherland, tries to involve Imereti, Mengrelia and other principalities in the war.
Once again Saakadze’s star shone brightly in his campaign against the Ossetians, who took advantage of the troubled and disastrous state of Georgia to break away from it. Saakadze quickly crossed the high mountains, captured several castles and spread terror throughout the country, which completely submitted to him. The historian of this campaign conveys, among other things, the following fact, which depicts the magnanimous character of the Mourav. In one of the skirmishes, when the Ossetians mortally wounded Saakadze’s friend and comrade, Prince Mochabeli, and wanted to cut off his head, Mourav selflessly rushed at the enemies and carried the bleeding hero out of the dump on his shoulders.
But neither the power of Saakadze nor the peace of the kingdom was strengthened by the personal valor of the Mourava. The country wavered between the liberation cause of its leader and the Persian yoke and, unfortunately, the further it went, the more convinced it became that the Mourava could not defeat Persia. This is a difficult time for Saakadze. Many of the aristocrats had already abandoned their alliance with him, and every day his strength weakened. The people, tired of continuous war, were inclined towards peace. Eristav Aragva Zurab betrayed the Mourava for the second time, and when the indignant Saakadze went to war against him, Zurab united with Teimuraz, and in the battle on the fields of Bozaleti the Mourava’s troops were completely defeated. Then powerless, deprived of all hopes, he another time loses his fatherland and retires to Constantinople. There the name of Saakadze once again flashed throughout the East. But this same glory also served as the reason for his death. The wife of the Turkish commander-in-chief (Vizir Azam, and according to others - Vizier Khosrev Pasha), informing her husband of the Constantinople rumors, wrote among other things: “What does this famous Mourava mean who has hidden your name? What kind of life is there that is not announced by glory? The upset vizier demanded Saakadze and ordered his head to be cut off (1629).
Thus died the commander and hero, rightly called in his own fatherland the Georgian Alcibiades.
And a year before that, Shah Abbas went to his grave...
With the death of Shah Abbas (1628), Georgia did not end, however, his era was the era of unconditional Persian rule. This dominion left such deep bloody traces across the Georgian land that a whole century has not washed away or erased it. The time comes, called in history the time of the Mohammedan kings, that is, kings devoted to Persia, brought up in it and going there for eternal peace - the dead Mohammedan kings were usually taken to Persia.
This small and insignificant time begins with a complete breakdown of the country’s strength, physical fatigue and moral compliance. Kakheti and Kartli lay devastated; other kingdoms and principalities, which during the struggle almost always leaned towards the side of the triumphant force, also did not escape ruin. Meanwhile, at the other end of Georgia, the Turks established themselves: they seized the Samkheta atabekdom into their own hands, and Islam soon began to establish itself in it, along with Turkish fortresses (Akhaltsikhe and others). Inside, old dynastic scores and discords are rising, but only the center of their gravity is transferred to Tehran, where Georgian intrigues are flourishing. And since power depended on the shahs, who were not without benefit from dismembering and weakening Georgia, soon a different kind of unrest settled in it - this is the desire of every petty prince and feudal lord for independence. Arbitrariness and lawlessness are natural consequences of the impotence of power.
The extent to which the power of the kings was undermined and depersonalized is evidenced by King Vakhtang VI himself, who in his “Code”, published at the beginning of the 18th century, says, among other things, the following: “If the king can reign, let him reign; if he cannot, then let him prefer a good name and eternal life, for it is better to renounce the throne than to be weak, except in the case when this cannot be done without the permission of the great sovereign Shah!” In reality, of course, there was much more desire to gain the throne than to give it up; both gaining and losing a kingdom through intrigue at the Persian court became commonplace. Thus, King Teimuraz of Kakheti, who after the death of Shah Abbas managed to unite Kakheti and Kartli under his scepter (1629), soon loses both, again returns the hereditary throne and is again expelled by Mohammedan pretenders, who manage to beg the Shah for approval to reign in Kakheti . It is not superfluous to add that in difficult times of exile, Teimuraz repeatedly turned to Russia for help, even went to Moscow, but Russia itself waged wars with Sweden and Poland and could not help distant Iberia.
Meanwhile, the very appeals to the Moscow Tsar take on a special character during this period. Previously, kings asked for help against infidels, now - against each other. History has preserved the memory of the next bloody episode, in which hopes for Moscow were involved. The Imeretian Tsar Alexander III, not having the strength to fight off the ruler of Mengrelia that had recently been subordinate to him, Levan Dadian, asked for protection from the Moscow Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and protection was promised. Then Alexander’s younger brother, Mamuka, hoping for Russian help, himself undertook a campaign against Mengrelia, but in the end he was captured by Levan, was blinded and died from this terrible operation. How cruel and unbridled Levan was can be judged by the following fact: suspecting his wife of passion for one vizier, he shot at these unfortunates from a cannon, mutilated his wife and poisoned her two sons.
This era of powerlessness in the face of external enemies and, at the same time, brutal internal strife, interrupted only by the wars of the Persians with the Turks, which took place on Georgian territory, and the bloody raids of the Lezgins, were gloomy. The mental and moral direction has changed. Literature took on a Persian character, Persian became the dominant language; in peacetime, Georgians studied Persian literature; The rich and curious had Persian libraries; the remnants of ancient Georgian writing were hidden within the monastery walls, and only there they learned to read church books and write, which limited the education of Georgians at that time. Out of fear, Muslims did not dare even think about establishing public schools and spreading science. Seeing the death of the originality of the fatherland, mental and religious, many Georgian families are looking for a new fatherland and are being evicted to Russia.
Of the kings of this era, Vakhtang VI deserves attention, famous as a chronicler and as a legislator who published the Code. At first a Christian, Vakhtang, yielding to extreme circumstances, outwardly converted to Islam, but throughout his reign (1711-1724) he cared about bringing victory to Christianity and did a lot in this direction. Among other things, his name is associated with the beginning of events that changed the history of Georgia and created favorable conditions for its revival. That was the invasion and conquest of all Georgia by the Turks. Defeated by them, Vakhtang had to leave his fatherland and in 1724 retired to St. Petersburg, and meanwhile the Turks took possession of Georgia and declared it a Turkish province.
No matter how difficult the Turkish invasion was for Georgia, it also had invaluable consequences for it. The Persians, having temporarily lost power in the country, lost their moral influence forever, and 1729 - the year Georgia was declared the possession of the Turks - puts an end to the Mohammedan kings. Several decades passed after that, and the time came for the revival of sciences and literature. Persia had to finally understand that in order to maintain its influence in Georgia it had to reduce its claims, and when Nadir Shah took away all their conquests from the Turks in a series of brilliant victories, in 1744 he appointed Christian kings to Georgia: Teimuraz II - in Kartli , and his son, Irakli II, to Kakheti. Teimuraz, who had a residence in Tiflis, was the first to restore the ancient rite of anointing and was crowned in the capital city of Mtskheta.
With the death of Nadir Shah in the middle of the last century, a series of internecine wars for inheritance began in Persia, weakening its power and allowing Georgia to breathe freely. Thanks to the happy union in the hands of father and son of the two strongest Georgian kingdoms, the country could victoriously repel constant enemies - the Lezgins, and at the same time internal strife became less possible.
However, disagreements soon arose between Teimuraz and Irakli, forcing the first of them to retire to St. Petersburg. There he died in 1762 at the age of seventy. His body was transported to Astrakhan and buried there in the city cathedral. The tombstone inscription still preserved in Georgian reads: “Temuraz Nikolaevich, crown king of Georgia, Kartli and Kakheti, who arrived in St. Petersburg in 1761 to worship Her Imperial Majesty, the All-Russian monarch.” It is remarkable that ninety years later, in 1853, between copper boards stored in the bookstore of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, they found a portrait of the Georgian Tsar Teimuraz, excellently executed from life by the artist Antropov. The portrait has the same inscription as on the tombstone.
After the death of his father, Heraclius united Kakheti and Kartli under his scepter (1762). Then a new rival from Russia appeared to him - Bakar, the son of Vakhtang VI, who found followers in Tiflis, where the memory of the elder Kartli dynasty was still fresh, but he was soon forced to flee back to Russia. A cruel execution awaited his like-minded people, and to this day in the suburb of Avlabar they show the sandy shore where their bonfires burned.
One day, Shah Abbas, disguised as a warden, went for a walk into the city, accompanied by his vizier. Talking among themselves about government affairs, they found themselves on the outskirts of the city and saw: in a small field, a plowman was driving two buffaloes and plowing the rocky ground. But before making a furrow, he claps his hands loudly and begins to dance. The poor plowman does the same thing when he reaches the end of the field.
Shah Abbas followed the plowman's tricks for a long time and with curiosity and was surprised to the depths of his soul.
-What kind of performance is this? - he asked the vizier, pointing his hand towards the plowman. “Do you understand anything, dear vizier?”
The vizier thought about the master’s question and answered:
“The most respectable Shah Abbas, apparently this plowman has no household chores.” Looking at his work and dancing, I can conclude that the plowman is happy with his wife.
“We need to figure this out somehow,” said Shah Abbas. - Go and tell him that I am inviting him and my wife to visit.
- I listen and obey! - said the vizier, went up to the plowman and conveyed to him the order of Shah Abbas.
When the ruler and the vizier left towards the city, the plowman thought: “I am a poor plowman. From morning to night I drag myself behind a dirty plow and know only the land and poor people like myself. And what kind of relationship could there be between me and Shah Abbas so that he would invite such a beggar like me to visit him? Oh Almighty, well, the times have come!”
“If it’s calling, we have to go,” he decided and grabbed the plow tighter.
In the evening, when the plowman entered the yard, his wife ran out to meet him, took the khurjun from his hands, pressed herself close to him and walked next to him all the way to the house. In the room, she took off his dirty charms, washed his feet and affectionately invited him to the table, where the prepared treat was already lying. After dinner, the plowman kissed his wife and said:
– My soul, our ruler, the great Shah Abbas, invited us to visit him. Go get dressed.
“Okay, honey,” said the wife and immediately began to dress up.
And now the poor plowman and his beautiful wife are already walking along the streets of the big city. Near the palace, their path was blocked by a river. The plowman picked up his wife and carried her with great care to the other bank.
They were met by guards at the wide palace gates. They greeted the plowman and his wife and led them to the Shah’s chambers, where the ruler was surrounded by his three wives.
Seeing the guests, Shah Abbas greeted them with a kind smile, called them to him and seated them next to them on soft pillows. When the plowman and his wife were seated, he asked:
- Dear plowman, tell me, why do you clap your hands cheerfully and loudly and dance while working in your field?
“Oh, venerable Shah Abbas,” answered the plowman, “the fact is that I am at peace in my soul for my beautiful wife and the order in the house.” When I am in the field, I know for sure that my wife is always busy: mending clothes, washing clothes, preparing dinner, and in the evenings she sits at home and patiently waits for me to return from work. So why shouldn’t I clap my hands merrily and dance, having such a smart and hardworking wife?
“Very good, dear plowman,” said Shah Abbas. “In that case, leave your wife in the palace, and in return take my three careless wives with you.” With them, dear plowman, you will have no time to clap your hands merrily and dance at the beginning and end of the furrow.
The poor plowman became sad and thought: “Why do I need three wives at once? How can I feed these women alone? Why is the great Shah separating me from my kind and hardworking wife? But no matter how much the poor plowman grieved, he did not dare to express his contradictory thoughts to the ruler. And so the plowman took three of the shah’s wives with him and went home. At the river itself, he shouldered the first wife of Shah Abbas and entered the water. When he reached the middle of the river with a heavy burden, he stopped abruptly and sternly asked the woman:
- Oh, first wife of Shah Abbas, why did the ruler part with you so easily? If you tell the truth, you will live; if you lie, you will go to the bottom!
The first wife of Shah Abbas was frightened and replied:
- The whole problem is because of my tongue. I just can't cope with him. All day long I walk around the palace and don’t let anyone utter even one word, and I chatter without rest. At times like these, more evil words come out of my mouth than good ones.
- Oh, villainess! - exclaimed the plowman. “It’s hard to get along with a tongue like yours.” Go, you unfortunate thing, to the bottom of the river! Let the fish educate you!
And before the first wife of Shah Abbas had time to gasp, she found herself in a stormy river whirlpool. And a strong current picked her up and carried her away to God knows where.
The other wives of Shah Abbas saw such a picture and huddled together out of fear.
And the plowman climbed ashore, put Shah Abbas’s second wife on his shoulders and carried her to the river. Having reached the middle of the river, he stopped and sternly asked the woman:
- Oh, second wife of Shah Abbas, why did the ruler part with you so easily? If you tell the truth, you will live; if you lie, you will go to the river fish!
The second wife of Shah Abbas was frightened and replied:
“The trouble is that I lived with my lover secretly from the master.”
- Oh, villainess! - exclaimed the plowman. “You acted meanly, but your action can be corrected.” Long live and hello!
He and the woman got out to the opposite bank, lowered her onto the sand and went after the third wife of Shah Abbas. And she stood in the sun and trembled all over. The plowman approached her, lifted her onto his shoulders and entered the water. Having reached the middle of the river, he stopped and sternly asked the woman:
- Oh, third wife of Shah Abbas, why did the ruler part with you so easily? If you tell the truth, you will live; if you lie, you will go to the river kingdom!
The third wife of Shah Abbas was frightened and replied:
“The trouble is that I’m dishonest: I often stole money from the master and hid it for a rainy day.”
- Oh, villainess! - exclaimed the plowman. “You acted meanly, but your action is not difficult to correct.” Long live and hello!
Finally the plowman brought two women home and said:
– By the will of the Almighty and Shah Abbas himself, I am your lawful husband. This house and everything in it belongs to both me and you. If you, the second wife of Shah Abbas, continue to have a lover, expect death by my hand! And you, third wife of Shah Abbas, if you cannot live without theft, blame yourself. The money is in this iron box in the closet, and in the future it will always be there. You can use them as you wish, but keep in mind: from now on, all expenses will be on your shoulders. Do you understand, my dear wives?
The former wives of Shah Abbas responded together:
- I see, dear plowman! We will do as you tell us.
The next morning the plowman got up, had breakfast and went to work. And in the evening, when he returned home, the women washed his feet one by one, dried them with a clean towel and sat him down at the table, on which lay a hot, tasty treat.
So days after days passed, weeks after weeks. The third wife of Shah Abbas, who used to steal money from her master, once thought: “If the poor plowman completely entrusted me with all the household expenses, why should I steal?” And the second wife of Shah Abbas, who secretly lived with her lover, also thought: “Why should I have a lover if my plowman is a real man?”
Both women, without agreeing with each other, fell deeply in love with the plowman, and he became their husband, sent by the Almighty himself.
Let's leave the plowman and these women alone for a while, because I want to tell you about Shah Abbas.
At the same hour, when the poor plowman left the palace and took his three wives with him, Shah Abbas called the vizier into the throne room and said:
“Choose an elderly woman servant for the plowman’s wife, and let her permanently live in the same room with the plowman’s wife.” Just don’t forget to warn her that she doesn’t dare leave her mistress alone day or night, even when the plowman’s wife eats, drinks and goes out into the yard. In addition, the maid is obliged to immediately inform me if anyone tries to offend her mistress.
Seven months have passed. And once Shah Abbas said to the vizier:
- Let's go to the outskirts of the city and visit the plowman.
“I listen and obey,” said the vizier and followed the master.
Soon they passed the outskirts of the city, approached that very field and saw: the plowman was already clapping his hands and dancing in three places - at the beginning, middle and end of the furrow.
Shah Abbas was more surprised than ever and asked the vizier:
- Why does the plowman now dance and clap his hands at the beginning, middle and end of the furrow?
“Reverend Shah, it seems that the plowman’s life has improved many times over compared to the day when you left his beautiful wife in the palace and in return gave him your three careless wives.”
“If so, dear vizier,” said Shah Abbas, “then go to the plowman and invite him and his three wives to visit me.”
The vizier approached the poor plowman and conveyed to him the master’s invitation. This time the plowman did not wait for the evening and immediately went to his home. On the threshold he said to the women:
- Come on, my dears, quickly change into all your festive clothes. We are invited to visit Shah Abbas.
All three dressed up in new festive clothes and headed to the Shah's palace. And as soon as they arrived, Shah Abbas invited them to the throne room, where the vizier and the plowman’s former wife and maid were already present. Shah Abbas, seeing that only two wives came with the plowman, asked him politely:
– Dear plowman, with you I see two of my ex-wives. Where is the third wife?
“Your first wife, O most honorable Shah Abbas, I immediately drowned in the river, having learned that she had a poisonous tongue.” Even the Lord will not correct such a woman, because evil words released from her mouth are worse than a bullet and a dagger.
Then Shah Abbas thought about it and asked:
- Why are you now cheerfully clapping your hands and dancing in three places: at the beginning, middle and end of the furrow? After all, before you had fun and danced only in two places: at the beginning and at the end of the furrow.
- Why shouldn’t I have fun and dance three times on the same furrow if I’m happy? – the plowman was surprised. – When I return from the field tired after plowing, your ex-wives they look after me like a small child: they wash my feet, wash my clothes, prepare delicious food... Now my life has become much better than it was before...
- How so? – Shah Abbas shrugged. - After all, one of them is a thief, and the other is a libertine! Do they understand the essence of life?
After a pause, the plowman answered:
“Ask your wives about this, most honorable Shah.” They themselves will tell you whether they understand the essence of life or not.
Shah Abbas turned to the wife who was secretly stealing money and asked:
-Are you stealing now?
“No, dear Shah Abbas,” said the woman. “I’m ashamed to even remember this.” The one who steals is the one from whom the money is hidden. And the poor plowman completely entrusted them to me. I won’t steal from myself!
Then Shah Abbas turned to the wife who had a lover:
– Do you have a lover now, woman?
“Why do I need a lover, dear Shah Abbas,” she answered, “if my husband is always next to me?” He doesn’t leave me alone, like you did, lord!..
Shah Abbas liked the instructive lesson of the plowman and the answers of his ex-wives. He came down from his throne, hugged the plowman and said:
– Dear plowman, thank you for your good example. From now on, I am bringing back your lawful wife. No one harmed her in my palace. She is pure and beautiful, just as before when you brought her to visit me. Take care of your wife and go home.
And leave my reformed wives with me. I will treat them the same way you treated them. Your instructive lesson with my wives will be a good example for me throughout my life.
This is how a simple plowman showed the wisdom and essence of life to Shah Abbas himself by personal example.
Shah Abbas the Great (27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629) was the fifth Shah of the Safavid dynasty and is considered the greatest ruler of Persia.
He came to power in the Time of Troubles (just as Russia had its own Time of Troubles, and at about the same time): the country was split and torn apart by invaders - the Qizilbash (a group of Turkic peoples, they spoke Azerbaijani, now live in Afghanistan), Ottomans and Uzbeks. The father is weak-willed, the ruler is weak, the mother and elder brother are killed. The boy was 17 years old when one of the Qizilbash leaders overthrew his father and placed Abbas on the throne as a puppet. But the boy turned out to be not as simple as the Turks thought. He quietly began to acquire power, ruled cunningly and wisely, and completely unnoticed overcame his offenders. He did this in an unusual way: he began to import Circassians, Georgians, and Armenians, giving them all sorts of privileges, and they ousted the Qizilbash from all places and strengthened the power of Abbas himself. Every year the scale of resettlement of Caucasians grew; according to some data, over several decades, about 200 thousand Georgians and 300 thousand Armenians were resettled in Persia, many received greater rights, high positions and the opportunity to earn money. May the peoples forgive me, but this cunning policy is reminiscent of the way of replacing black ants with red ones. Do you know what some gardeners do? Black ants cause quite a lot of damage to garden crops, and if red forest ants are moved to the site, they will drive away the black ones. At the same time, redheads will guard and protect garden plants from other insects. The Armenians were excellent at crafts and business, strengthening the country's economy. Circassians, Georgians, Dagestanis, as good and devoted warriors, strengthened the power of Abbas. The Georgian even became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
The young Shah also acted very wisely with the Ottoman Empire: he did not pump up people’s patriotism and get into a fight, but, realizing that he could not defeat a stronger enemy, he signed a shameful treaty, giving vast lands to the Ottomans. For many years he quietly, quietly strengthened the army and his personal power and, when he gained strength, began to push the Ottomans in all directions. By the age of 47, he returned everything back: he restored rule over Transcaucasia, Dagestan, drove the Portuguese out of Bahrain, captured the Mughal lands in western India, eastern Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Those. returned what was given to the Ottomans, Uzbeks and Afghans during the period of unrest and acquired even more.
An extremely simple solution: boost your economy, attract foreign specialists to those areas where they are needed, strengthen your power, strengthen your army and victory will be yours.
Shah Abbas was 28 years old, great conquests were still ahead, but he already believed in his victory and therefore decides for his future empire to build a new great and beautiful capital, Isfahan, filled with the wonders of engineering and architecture, the beauty of gardens and canals, the multinational world of traders and scientists , artisans, artists and poets. In addition to the Caucasians mentioned above, Abbas called 300 Chinese potters to Iran to teach them how to make porcelain and quality ceramics. Under him, porcelain became an export item like carpet weaving and silk products.
Isfahan is becoming one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Face of Peace Square, the Imam and Lotfulla Mosque, and the beautiful six-story Ali Kapu Palace are under construction. The small city of 600,000 (by today's standards) has 163 mosques, 48 madrassas, 1,800 shops and 263 public baths. As I already wrote, many Europeans dreamed of visiting the next reincarnation of the wonderful Gardens of Babylon. The Persians called the city Nisf-e-Jahan, which means "half the world."
1. Musical living room in Ali Kapu’s palace, located on Shah’s Square. The walls are decorated with holes not only for beauty. They are made for impeccable acoustics and sound amplification.
2. Reverse side of the room. 
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4. Ceiling. 
5. The ceiling of another room. In general the rooms are quite small. Just like the palace itself. Especially when compared with the scale of mosques. Figuratively speaking, the Shah poured mountains of precious stones - diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and took only one small diamond for himself - Ali Kapu's palace. 
6. Wall painting. 
7. The other side of the room. 
Shah Abbas was very religious, like all Shiites, he especially revered Imam Hussein. At the age of 30, he even made a great pilgrimage - he walked from Isfahan to Mashhad, where Imam Reza is buried, which is 830 km. In general, he was tolerant of Christianity, although he tried in every possible way to convert Georgians, Circassians, and Dagestanis to Islam (he did not touch the Armenians).
In general, he was a rather tough ruler and punished his opponents mercilessly. During the suppression of the Georgian uprising, he completely devastated Tbilisi, killed from 30 to 70 thousand Georgians, and it was then that up to 200 thousand were forcibly sent to Persia. Here you definitely need to remember the story of Queen Ketevan, canonized in Georgia with the title Great Martyr. During one of the campaigns against Georgia, the queen was captured and lived at the shah's palace for several years. Having failed to convert to Islam, the Shah released her to her homeland, but as soon as it became known that she was going to rebel against him, he threatened the complete ruin of Georgia. Perhaps the rumors were spread by the Chechens or Dagestanis surrounding the Shah, for the sake of some of their political games, who knows, but they caused anger. The queen went to Isfahan as a dove of peace, with rich gifts and assurances that she did not want any war. The conversation did not work out, the Shah ordered the queen to be thrown into prison, where she was kept for 10 years and then tortured to death. It is curious that the remains of the queen were stolen by Portuguese Augustinian monks, who then lived in Isfahan, and secretly transported the relics to Goa (now a semi-famous Indian resort), where they were buried in one of the Catholic churches. This is such an unusual story.
And he also behaved differently with the Armenians. Loyalty to the Shah was the main factor for survival in Isfahan. Outraged by the cruelty, I would like to remind you that in Russia and Western Europe at that time approximately the same laws reigned, but it is difficult to imagine any European medieval state where a large group of Muslims would be settled in the capital, allowed to build mosques for them, and given all sorts of benefits and privileges and even allowed them to choose a Muslim mayor, i.e. complete autonomy within their city in the capital city. Now such neighborhoods and areas have appeared in Europe, but I have not heard about Muslim mayors. So Abbas was still a great revolutionary in matters of interethnic conflicts and tolerance. The Italian traveler Pietro della Valle was amazed by the Shah's knowledge of Christian history and theology. Agree that this is a rare occurrence among the rulers of large Islamic states.
And the Shah’s very appearance was extremely unusual: from the age of 19, he wore only a mustache and did not grow/shave his beard. And not at all because the beard was thin and scanty. Judging by the huge lush mustache, the beard must be respectable.
The common people loved him. The Shah often walked around the city with one guard, was interested in the life of ordinary people, tried to help as much as possible, to ease their lot. He even built his palace not on a separate vacant lot and did not surround it with a fence, but built it into the ensemble of the square. Crowds of thousands of traders, artisans and buyers rustled under his windows from morning to night.
I slept little, traveled a lot around the country, delved into everything, tried to establish and correct everything.
8. Ali Kapu Palace on Shah Square. Around the shops of artisans and merchants. 
When the Shah conquered all his old enemies, the search for new ones began. The greatest threat to him continued to be the Ottoman Empire. As Abbas said: “he would prefer the ashes from the feet of the last Christian to the highest dignitary of the Ottomans.” In search of allies, Abbas sent envoys to Russia and Europe. Everyone received the ambassadors well (in the Doge's Court in Venice there is a fresco depicting Shah Abbas receiving the ambassadors), but no one wanted to get involved in the war. It was not possible to reach an agreement even with the Spaniards, although Abbas promised to allow Spanish missionaries to preach Christ.
The only ones who managed to seriously gain a foothold in Persia were the British. They even took an active part in the reorganization of Abbas's army, and interfered quite a lot in the internal and foreign policy Shah and reliably registered their East India Company in Persia.
9. Chehel Sotun Palace was built in 1647, almost 20 years after the death of Shah Abbas by his great-grandson Abbas II. As part of the Persian Garden, it is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Let's admire the reception hall. The walls are decorated with real gold, and the paintings feature scenes from the life of the Safavid dynasty. There are several scenes involving Abbas the Great. 
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It was a sad end to the reign of Abbas the Great. Relying on the military and spies all his life, towards the end of his life he became very suspicious and saw conspiracies everywhere. Unfortunately, old Abbas was unable to weaken the “red ants” and by the end of his life the Caucasians began to play too large a role in Persia, weaving intrigues, conspiracies, and inciting them to search for enemies.
The Shah had five sons, two of whom died in childhood. He loved his eldest son-heir very much, but someone began to whisper that his son had contacted his enemies and was preparing a coup. Once while hunting, my son killed a wild boar and shot it in front of his father, which was prohibited by etiquette. Abbas did not like this very much; he considered this evidence of impending treason and ordered his Circassian guard to kill his son. Although immediately after the murder the Shah deeply regretted what he had done, it was impossible to return everything back.
At the age of 50, Abbas fell seriously ill. The second son decided that his father would no longer be able to recover and made a false start - he began to celebrate his accession to the throne ahead of time with his friends. The father recovered and blinded his son so that he could never become Shah. The prince was imprisoned, where years later Abbas's grandson and nephew of the prince killed him, just in case.
For some unknown reason, the third son was also blinded. Abbas handed over power in the empire to his grandson, the son of one of his unfortunate sons. Shah Safi turned out to be the complete opposite of his grandfather, he drank a lot, and did not become famous for anything outstanding. He lived only 31 years and drank himself to death. Buried in . Power passed to Safi's 10-year-old son Abbas II. He, in the same way, became famous for nothing other than drunkenness and debauchery, except for the fact that under him the influence of England, Holland and France greatly increased. It was Abbas II who owned the Chehel Sotun palace (or as it is otherwise called “40 columns”), the paintings of which you admire. Not only children, but grandchildren and great-grandchildren were unable to even remotely repeat the glory of their ancestor. Not with anything.
Abbas the Great showed his greatness even in death - he ordered himself to be buried in the desert, in the small town of Kashan, in the modest mausoleum of one of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, whose distant relative he was on his mother’s side...
Two months later, the future Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the Quiet was born in Russia. There are still 43 years before the birth of Peter I the Great, who can be put on a par with Abbas I the Great.
30. Chehel Sotun Palace is called the palace of 40 columns. To be precise, there are only twenty tall cedar columns. Twenty more are reflected in the water.
(from May 1587) of the dynasty Safavids, major military leader. Relying on the preem. to that part of Iran. The feudal lords of the region were interested in supporting a strong center, power, as well as large merchants. He successfully fought the centrifugal aspirations of the feudal lords from the Turkic nomadic nobility, which occupied a dominant position in Iran before Abbas I. Abbas I partly replaced their support - the feudal militia - with regular troops, recruited through special recruitment, and also strengthened the state. apparatus from sedentary Persian elements. Abbas I strengthened the economy of the interior regions of Iran by plundering the conquered regions and forcibly relocating Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis and other peoples from them. He brutally suppressed popular uprisings (in 1592 in Gilan, in 1623-1624 in Georgia, etc.). Encouraged the development of internal and ext. trade. For this purpose, he built roads, bridges, and caravanserais. In 1597-1598 he moved the capital to Isfahan. Abbas I successfully completed the wars with Bukhara and Turkey, restoring Iranian dominance in the Transcaucasus (including Azerbaijan) and Khorasan. Conquered the Bahrain Islands (1601-1602), Kandahar (1621), and conquered the island from the Portuguese with the help of the English fleet. Hormuz (1622), temporarily conquered Iraq (1623-38). Established bargaining, and politics. relations with Europe countries. Under Abbas I, Iran achieved its greatest political power.
I.P. Petrushevsky
Materials from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia were used. In 30 t. Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. Ed. 3rd. T. 1. A – Engob. – M., Soviet Encyclopedia. – 1969.
Abbas I (1571 - January 1629) - Shah Iran(from 1587) from the Safavid dynasty. The main attention was paid to strengthening the central government and carrying out internal reforms. Relying primarily on that part of the Iranian feudal lords who were interested in supporting a strong central government, as well as on the large merchant class, Abbas I fought against the centrifugal aspirations of the feudal lords from the Turkic nomadic nobility. He tried to develop the forces of the internal regions of Iran by plundering the outlying and newly conquered regions, from which he carried out the forcible resettlement of Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Kurds to internal Iran. Abbas I brutally suppressed popular uprisings and uprisings of conquered peoples (uprisings in Gilan in 1592, in Georgia in 1623-1624, and others). Under Abbas I, the capital of Iran was moved from Qazvin to Isfahan; new cities, roads, bridges, caravanserais, palaces, canals, etc. were built. In contrast to the feudal militia, which was often rebellious, Abbas I created a regular army, recruited through special conscription. He pursued a policy of conquest: in 1601-1602 he conquered Bahrain Islands, as a result of wars with Turkey (1603-1613, 1616-1618, 1623) restored Iranian dominance in Transcaucasia and Iraq, conquered Khorasan from the Uzbeks (1597), from the Portuguese with the help of the fleet English East India Company- important harbor of Hormuz (1622). Abbas I more than once exchanged embassies with Russia, England, Austria, Spain, Holland and other European countries. He patronized European merchants and missionaries and encouraged the development of foreign trade. He was interested in European culture and technology, and for the first time in the history of Iran he began to send young painters to Italy to study “Frankish” art. Under Abbas I, the Safavid state achieved its greatest political power, and therefore Abbas I is called great in Iran.
I. P. Petrushevsky. Leningrad.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 1. AALTONEN – AYANY. 1961.
Sources: Iskender-bek Torkeman, Tarihe alam araye Abbasi (The World-Beautifying History of Abbasov), (book) 1-2, Tehran, 1956-57.
Literature: Bellan L.-L., Chah "Abbas I..., P., 1932; Falsufi Nasrolla, Zendeganiye Shah Abbas awwal (Life of Shah Abbas I), vol. 1-2, 2nd ed., Tehran, 1956.
Abbas I the Great - Shah of Persia from the dynasty Safavids, son of Shah Mohammed. Born on January 27, 1557. He sat on the throne after the death of his father (1587). Expanded his possessions at the expense of the territories of neighboring states ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and etc.). Thanks to the support of some feudal lords interested in a strong central government, as well as large merchants, the Turkic people successfully dealt with the separatist aspirations. nomadic nobility, who dominated Persia before him. position, replacing their support - the feudal lord - with a regular army. militia. Abbas I the Great strengthened the state apparatus with settled Persians. elements. He strengthened the economy of his state due to the unheard-of robbery of the regions he conquered and the forced resettlement of Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Arabs, and Northern peoples from there. Caucasus, etc. In order to develop domestic and foreign trade, the Shah built bridges, roads and caravanserais. In 1597-1598 he moved the capital to Isfahan. Successfully completed the wars with the Ottoman Empire and Bukhara, restored Persian rule in Transcaucasia and Khorasan. The Russian government maintained lively ambassadorial relations with him. and especially bargaining. relations, since Persia was a supplier of such an important product as silk. Thus, in October 1593, the Shah's ambassador of Asia-Khosrow, who had been in the Russian capital since the summer, was released from Moscow, and in January 1594, a new messenger arrived with a letter from Abbas I the Great - the merchant Kh. Iskander. As a result of trade relations, the beginning of duty-free trade between the Shah's court and Russia was laid. When Boris Godunov ascended the throne, the Shah sent him a skillfully crafted throne as a gift. In the documents of the Ambassadorial Prikaz of the late 16th - early 17th centuries, there are often reports from the North Caucasus of Russian ambassadors and governors, as well as the Kakhetian Tsar Alexander about attacks on his possessions by the troops of Abbas I the Great. Thus, in the reply (report) of the Terek governors of the princes A.D. Khilkov and V. G. Shchetinin to the Ambassadorial Prikaz and the Tsar Boris Godunov dated June 5, 1601 it is reported that “... the Tsar of Iveron Alexander wrote to us, your servant, about the Kizilbash [Persian] Shah Bas, that Shah Bas is wintering in the city of Kazmin [city. Kazvin in Persia], and in the spring dei Shah Basu would be with his army under the Tursky [Turkish Sultan] cities, under Tevriz, under Shamakhi, under Derben, under Baku... And the merchants, sir, the Teziki people [merchants] of the Kizilbash lands, who this winter came to the Terek city with goods, inquiring about us, your servants, said the same thing about the Kizilbash Shah Bas, that he, Shah Bas, spends the winter in Kazmin and ordered the cry to be called throughout his city, so that the service people would be ready for spring and dressed up for the cities of Tours, Tevriz, and Shamakhi. And the Shah of Bas on the Kur River [r. Kura] to pave the bridge. And the Kizilbash military people in Kazmin are recruited from 50,000.” Abbas I the Great brutally suppressed uprisings in Gilan (1592) and Georgia (1623-1624); conquered the Bahrain Islands (1601-1602), Kandahar (1621), and with the help of the English fleet took the island from the Portuguese (1622). Hormuz, captured Iraq (1623). Established political relations with European countries. Died January 19, 1629.
Vladimir Boguslavsky
Material from the book: "Slavic Encyclopedia. XVII century". M., OLMA-PRESS. 2004.
Abbas I Safavid (1571-19.01. 1629) - Shah of Iran from 1587, son of Shah Mohammed Khudabende (1578-1587) from the Safavid dynasty and Shahini Mahdi Uliyya (Heirannisa Begim). After the death of his father in 1587, Abbas Mirza was declared Shah. Murshid Quli Khan became his regent. In order to free his hands in strengthening the country's internal political position and carrying out reforms, Abbas I decided to streamline relations with Iran's longtime enemy - Ottoman Turkey. In 1590, the Shah sent a diplomatic mission to Istanbul to Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), which accepted the difficult conditions of peace. According to the Treaty of Istanbul, Eastern Georgia, Eastern Armenia, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, and part of Luristan were ceded to Turkey. Murad III also demanded that in Iran, during sermons (khutba) in mosques, the first 3 “righteous” (rashidun) caliphs, Abu Bakr, Omar ibn al-Khattab and Osman ibn al-Affan, revered by Sunni Turks, should not be cursed. An important step towards carrying out the reforms planned by Shah Abbas I Safavid was the transfer of the capital from Qazvin to Isfahan (1598), which contributed to the strengthening of the economic and political influence of the Iranian-speaking region of the state. The civil and military bureaucracy, the bulk of which was formed from among the educated and loyal to the throne of Persians, was now gaining more and more weight, and the rights of the Qizilbash nobility and the leaders of nomadic tribes were severely limited. The Shah's “vertical of power” was strengthened, under which the hereditary rulers (wali) of the border regions - Khuzistan, Luristan, Kartli, Kakheti and Kurdistan - acquired new political weight. In 1599, Abbas I Safavid accepted the English mission, the result of this meeting was military reform, which led to the formation of a professional army in Iran. Abbas contributed to the development and strengthening of economic and diplomatic ties with European states. Political rapprochement with European countries was facilitated by Abbas's tolerant attitude towards other religions, primarily Christianity and Judaism. Having strengthened his state, Abbas I began a war with the Ottoman Empire (1603). Within 5 years, the Iranian army recaptured all the territories captured by the Turks between 1578 and 1590. In 1612, the Iranian-Turkish peace agreement was concluded in Istanbul, according to which Iran retained all the conquered territories. In 1616, hostilities between the countries resumed after the Gurks attacked Azerbaijan. Two years later, a battle took place near Serab in which Abbas I defeated the Ottoman troops. In 1618, the Serabian Agreement was signed, confirming the provisions of the Istanbul Treaty of 1612. Less than 5 years later the war resumed. Abbas I took advantage of the rebellion in Baghdad, raised against the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa I (1616-1617, 1622-1623), went on a campaign and besieged the former capital of the Arab Caliphate. The fall of Baghdad (1623) led to the whole of Arab Iraq coming under Safavid control.
In 1620, the English East India Company, interested in purchasing Iranian silk, provided Abbas I with its fleet to conquer the island. Hormuz, captured by the Portuguese after the expedition Vasco da Gama(1515). On April 22, 1622, through the joint efforts of English and Iranian troops, the Portuguese were expelled. Unable to reliably protect the island, the Shah decided to move the port to the mainland, where the Bandar Abbas harbor was built. Even earlier (1614), Iran captured Fr. Qeshm, securing free access from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Having reigned for nearly 42 years, 60-year-old Abbas I died of dysentery in Mazandaran.
A. A-G. Aliev.
Russian historical encyclopedia. T. 1. M., 2015, p. 15-16.
Abbas the Great
“Shah Abbas created a new regular army with special discipline based on a core of “shahsevens” (“supporters of the Shah”), representing various national minorities countries. With the help of the Shirley brothers, the Shah received valuable military knowledge that met the requirements of that era and the level of military affairs.”
Ali Akbar Velayati
One of the most prominent rulers of Persia, Shah Abbas I the Great, was the grandson of Shah Tahmasp. His father Mohammad I Khudabende was enthroned by the Kyzyl Bashs, and in 1582 they proclaimed his youngest son Shah. But the young ruler Abbas was endowed with considerable powers of power, so it was he who managed to reform the army and lead the country to prosperity. “With his skillful rule, he managed to overcome the turmoil and signs of weakness that appeared in Iran,” Ali Akbar Velayati writes about him. “Under this monarch, the power of Iran was recognized throughout the world to such an extent that European monarchs and the Pope began to send their ambassadors to his court.”
Seeing how the Qizilbash turned out to be a force that, like the ancient Roman praetorians, decided which ruler would ascend to the throne, Abbas quickly realized the danger both for himself and that at the whim of these warlike clans the country could be plunged into complete chaos.
“Before the reign of Shah Abbas and the creation of a modern army, the basis of the Iranian army was the Qizilbash units,” Ali Akbar Velayati emphasizes in his book. “It was a formidable military force that commanded respect even from the Ottoman rulers. But after the Battle of Chaldaran, it became quite obvious that the entire structure of the army should be changed. Shah Tahmasp recruited young people into a regiment of five thousand, called “kurchi”, which formed the core of a small army, which was subsequently developed through the efforts of Shah Abbas the Great. Thus the necessary work was done for the subsequent military reforms of this monarch."
He began to change the structure of the armed forces, systematically replacing the Qizilbash with mercenary troops from neighboring lands. In addition, he attracted military specialists from Europe to reform the Persian army, since it was clear that the old-style troops were collapsing when faced with European-style units. The Shirley brothers played a special role in the renewal of the Persian army under Abbas.
The Englishmen Anthony and Robert Shirley arrived in Persia in 1598 - according to different versions, either as envoys of the queen Elizabeth I, who intended to conclude an alliance with Abbas against the Ottoman Turks, or purposefully as military advisers. Abbas I did not give an answer regarding the alliance then, but offered the brothers service at his court. They agreed, but a year later the Shah sent the eldest of them, Anthony, on a diplomatic mission to Europe, and he never returned.
And Robert remained to serve the Shah, and he was entrusted with leading the military reform. L. S. Vasiliev in the book “History of the East” indicates that as a result of the reform, “a 12,000-strong corps of musketeer riflemen and a 12,000-strong corps of artillerymen was created, which, together with the corps of ghulam guards, mainly from Caucasians, formed the core regular army... All this strengthened the position of the Shah.” Now Abbas I could rely on a disciplined and well-equipped army loyal to him personally. “Shah Abbas created a new regular army with special discipline based on a core of “shahsevens” (“supporters of the Shah”), representing the various national minorities of the country, writes Ali Akbar Velayati. “With the help of the Shirley brothers, the Shah received valuable military knowledge that met the requirements of that era and the level of military affairs.”
Infantry, cavalry and artillery in the newest sense appeared for the first time in Persia. The production of guns and ammunition was organized. “With this well-armed and modernized army, he attacked the Kyzyl-Bash,” writes Ali Akbar Velayati. At the same time, he ensured the security of the country and streamlined its economic system. Shah Abbas attached great importance to trade, especially foreign trade. He actively developed relations with European countries. The large number of his ambassadors at European courts testified to how actively work was being done to establish Iran's foreign relations at that time. One of the evidences of the success of Shah Abbas’s activities was that Chardin, having visited Iran, noted that the country would no longer be able to achieve such greatness after the death of this great Shah.”
In addition to the army reform, Shah Abbas also needed to implement a monetary reform, since over 11 years of constant changes of power in Persia, the financial system had become completely disorganized. Abbas introduced the “abbasi” coin, the denomination of which was equal to one mithqal of silver.
Shah Abbas I carried out a series of successful campaigns of conquest, annexing Khorasan, Gilan and Mazanderan, as well as Lurestan and Kandahar to his possessions. He successfully fought the Turks, regaining the territories lost after the Battle of Chaldaran - parts of Armenia and Georgia, as well as Shirvan - and reoccupied Baghdad in 1623.
It should be noted that Shah Abbas was the first foreign sovereign who recognized the new Romanov dynasty that had reigned in Rus'. He provided the Russian government with a loan of 7 thousand rubles. In 1625, Shah Abbas sent Tsar Michael a magnificent throne as a gift.
Quoted from: Gromov A.B., Taban S.N. Persia: the history of an undiscovered country / ed. O. Shatokhina. – 2nd ed., additional. – S., 2017, p. 320-323.
Sources:
Iskenderbek Torkeman, Tarihe alam araye Abbasi (The World Decorating Story of Abbasov), [book. ] 1-2, Tehran, 1956 - 57.
Literature:
Falsufi N., Zendeganin Shah Abbas awwal (Life of Shah Abbas I), vol. 1 - 4, Tehran, 1956 - 62; Be 11 an L., Chah Abbas I, P., 1932.
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