Abbas II of Persia

Abbas II
Shah Abbas II
Shah of Iran
Reign	15 May 1642 – 26 October 1666
Coronation	15 May 1642 in Kashan
Predecessor	Safi I
Successor	Suleiman I
Born	30 August 1632 Qazvin
Died	26 October 1666 (aged 34) Khosrowabad, near Damghan
Burial	Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran
Spouse	Nakihat Khanum Princess Anuka
Issue	Suleiman I Hamza Mirza
House	Safavid dynasty
Father	Safi I
Mother	Anna Khanum
Religion	Twelver Shia Islam
Tughra	Abbas II of Persia's signature

Shah Abbas II (Persian: شاه عباس دوم‎‎) (30 August 1632 – 26 October 1666), was the seventh Safavid king (shah) of Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666. Born Soltan Mohammad Mirza, he was the eldest son of Safi I and his Circassian wife, Anna Khanum.

Abbas II was undoubtedly the most capable and energetic Safavid shah after his great-grandfather Shah Abbas I the Great (r. 1588–1629), to whom he in many aspects bore a resemblance. Despite Abbas II ascending the throne at the age of 9 years, he quickly showed considerable toughness and resolve. In 1645, no more than three years after his succession, the grand vizier Saru Taqi was murdered by a faction of the Qizilbash led by the qurchi-bashi Jani Beg Khan Shamlu, one of the most influential administrators in the country. In the ensuing days, Abbas II had all the perpetrators put to death.

Just like Abbas I, Abbas II possessed a strong dedication to fairness, and objections of misconduct and injustice by civil servants were promptly taken care of, with the responsible individuals being firmly penalised.

Abbas II was also a poet with the pen name Thani, writing in Azerbaijani.

Early life

Abbas II was born as Soltan Mohammad Mirza in Qazvin on 30 August 1632. He was the son of Shah Safi I and a Circassian woman, Anna Khanum. He was the oldest of five brothers. Not much is known about Mohammad Mirza's youth, except that he spent his youth in the Safavid harem, and was tutored by his mentor Rajab Ali Tabrizi. He also learned how to maintain order over a state and other royal matters from the steward (nāẓer) of the royal household, Mohammad-Ali Beg, and the head of the royal bodyguard (qurchi-bashi), Jani Beg Khan Shamlu.

Reign

Accession and early reign

On 15 May 1642, at Kashan, Mohammad Mirza was crowned as shah of Iran and chose "Abbas II" as his dynastic name. Since he was less than ten years old when he became shah, the job of governing Persia was placed in the hands of his mother, Anna Khanum, and the grand vizier, Saru Taqi, while Abbas concentrated on his education at Qazvin. Anna Khanum and Saru Taqi worked closely together, and under them Iran was in secure hands. The French traveller Jean Chardin noted their close working relationship, saying:

The power of mothers of Persian kings looms large when they [shahs] are at a young age. Abbas II's mother had much influence, which was absolute. She [the queen mother] was in close contact with the prime minister and they would help each other. Saru Taqi was the agent and confidant of the queen mother; he would gather immense fortunes for her. She governed Persia at her will through her minister.

Artwork of Abbas II and his court

After one year had passed, Abbas II moved to the Safavid capital of Isfahan. During the same year, the powerful general Rustam Khan, refused to obey Safavid orders, and marched towards Isfahan to depose Abbas II. However, Saru Taqi managed to have him killed at Mashhad.

In 1644, some Bakhtiari tribes rebelled against Abbas II. The rebellion, however, was quickly suppressed by Saru Taqi. Saru Taqi led a drive against corruption and, as a result, made many enemies. On 11 October 1645 he was assassinated by a group of army officers. Abbas II then appointed Khalifa Sultan as his grand vizier on 14 October. Khalifa Sultan had at first declined the offer, but shortly afterwards accepted. His established bureaucratic proficiency and experience were considered the deciding factors in his reappointment, albeit it may be possible that Abbas II recalled him into service in part with the goal of suppressing the discontent about the scarcity of the positions given to men of religion under his predecessor.

War with the Mughal Empire

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Abbas II of Persia and the Mughal ambassador. 17th century Persian painting

Unlike his father, Abbas II took an active interest in government and military matters once he began to rule for himself (probably around age 15). In the summer of 1648, Abbas II sought to recapture Kandahar from the Mughal Empire. He marched from Isfahan with an army of 40,000 men and, after capturing Bost, he moved to Kandahar and captured it after a brief siege on 22 February 1649. Abbas II then appointed the Georgian ghulam ("military slave") Mihrab Khan as the governor of the city. The Mughals attempted to retake the city in 1651 but the arrival of winter forced them to suspend their siege.

The Mughal ruler Shah Jahan then sent his son Aurangzeb with an army of 50,000 soldiers to recapture Kandahar. Although Aurangzeb defeated Abbas II outside the city, he was unable to take it. His artillery proved not up to the task. Aurangzeb attempted to take the fortress city again in 1652. In the meantime, Abdul Aziz, the Uzbek ruler of Bukhara, had entered into an alliance with Abbas II, and in May 1652, he dispatched 10,000 troops to Kabul to harass the Mughal supply lines. Though not strong enough to lift the siege, the Uzbeks threatened a Mughal convoy of 2,000 troops who were escorting one and a half million silver coins to the besieger's army at Kandahar. After two months of fighting Safavid resistance, along with the growing activities of the Uzbeks, Aurangzeb was forced to abandon the campaign. In 1653, the Mughals tried to take Kandahar once again, but failed to do so. The city would subsequently remain in Safavid hands until its fall in 1736.

Events in the Caucasus

In 1651, Safavid troops clashed with those of the Tsardom of Russia in the North Caucasus, in what became known as the Russo-Persian War of 1651-1653. The main issue involved the placement of a Russian garrison on the Koy Su River, as well as the construction of several new fortresses, in particular the one built on the Persian side of the Terek River. The Safavid government sent troops and destroyed the fortress while expelling its Russian garrison. Soon after, another conflict on the war's eastern front started. At the same time, the Russian government sent an embassy, led by courtier Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostovsky and steward Ivan Komynin, to Isfahan to seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Abbas II agreed with the settlement offer as he wanted to settle the issue in the far eastern territories first. The war ended with no further territorial gains, but the Safavids managed to increase their influence in the North Caucasus.

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Silver coin of Abbas II, struck at the Tiflis (Tbilisi) mint, dated 1665/6 (left = obverse; right = reverse)

In 1654, Abbas II appointed the Georgian prince Vakhtang V as the ruler of Georgia. In 1656, the people of Isfahan rebelled against Parsadan Gorgijanidze, who was the prefect of the city. In response, Abbas II quickly had Parsadan removed from the office and appointed him as the Master of Ceremonies of the Safavid court.

In 1659, the Kingdom of Kakheti rose up against the Safavid rule, in what became known as the Bakhtrioni Uprising, due to a change of policy that included the settling of Qizilbash Turkoman tribes in the region. This action was implemented by Abbas II's government for a number of reasons including the need to repopulate the province, as Shah Abbas I' mass deportations of between 130,000 and 200,000 Georgian subjects to Persia's heartlands and massacre of another thousand in 1616 left this part of the province substantially underpopulated. Other reasons were to keep an eye on the restive nobles and that the Safavid possessions in Georgia were geographically close to the Daghestan province. From Daghestan, Lezgian marauders frequently organised raids into parts of the north-western Safavid domains, including Safavid Georgia. Lastly, the settling of Qizilbash Turkoman tribes in the region was seen as a measure against Russia, which had increased its pressure on Daghestan, a province neighbouring the Georgia province. The Bakhtrioni Uprising was put down and Persian authority was restored in Kakheti, and the Qizilbash Turkics were prevented from settling in Kakheti.

Characteristics and appearance

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Portrait pendant depicting Abbas II, likely originally carried by one of Abbas's wives or concubines. Created in Isfahan in the third quarter of the 17th century

Abbas II's reign was relatively peaceful and was significant for being free of any Ottoman attacks. Abbas II, like his great-grandfather Abbas I, was famous for the construction of many buildings, such as the Chehel Sotoun in Isfahan.

European travellers and locals, who were charmed by the hospitality and the welcoming attitude of the Persian court, usually described Abbas II's character and nature in a positive light. The ambassador of the Dutch East India Company, Joan Cuneaus, who met Abbas II in March 1652, where he and the visitors were permitted to drink from the shah's wine chalice, portrayed him as being of medium height, somewhat skinny, agile and beardless.

Death and succession

File:15 Chardin Abbas II tomb.jpg

The tomb of Abbas II.

Abbas II died in Khosrowabad near Damghan on the night of 25–26 October 1666, and was buried alongside his father in Qom. He was succeeded by his son Suleiman I. He also had sons named Hamza Mirza, Ismail Mirza and Mirza Ali Naqi, and two daughters.

Issue

Abbas II married twice;

• Nakihat Khanum, a Circassian woman and mother of Suleiman;
• Princess Anuka, daughter of Vakhtang V, King of Kartli, by his first wife, Queen Rwadam, daughter of Prince Qaphlan Baratashvili-Orbeliani.

Sources

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Abbas II of Persia Safavid Dynasty
Preceded by Shah Safi	Shah of Persia 1642–1666	Succeeded by Suleiman I