POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE EARLY SAFAVID PERIOD THROUGH THE SOURCE «FUTŪḤĀT-I SHĀHĪ»

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Abstract

This article examines the historical work Futūḥāt-i shāhī (1519–1520), written by Sultan Sadriddin Ibrahim al-Amini Heravi, and evaluates its importance as a primary source for understanding the political transformations of the early Safavid period. The study analyzes the author’s intellectual formation in the Timurid cultural environment of Herat and his later service at the Safavid court under Shah Ismail I. Particular attention is devoted to the structure of the work, which consists of two main sections: the Muqaddima and the Fath. The Muqaddima establishes a religious and genealogical framework legitimizing Safavid authority through descent from the Shi‘i Imams and ultimately from the Prophet Muhammad. The Fath focuses on the military campaigns, political consolidation, and ideological construction of power under Shah Ismail I. The article also addresses manuscript traditions, debates concerning authorship, and the historiographical significance of the text. Despite its rhetorical and panegyrical style, the work remains a valuable narrative source for reconstructing regional political processes in Iran and Central Asia in the early sixteenth century.