Safi of Persia

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Safi
Safi on horseback carrying a mace
Shah of Iran
Reign	28 January 1629 – 12 May 1642
Coronation	29 January 1629
Predecessor	Abbas I
Successor	Abbas II
Born	1611
Died	12 May 1642 (aged 30/31) Kashan, Iran
Burial	Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran
Spouse	Anna Khanum Princess Tinatin
House	Safavi
Father	Mohammad Baqer Mirza
Mother	Dilaram Khanum

Sam Mirza (Persian: سام میرزا) (1611 – 12 May 1642), known by his dynastic name of Shah Safi (Persian: شاه صفی), was the sixth shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1629 to 1642. Abbas the Great was succeeded by his grandson, Safi.^[1] A reclusive and passive character, Safi was unable to fill the power vacuum which his grandfather had left behind. His officials undermined his authority and revolts constantly broke out across the realm. The continuing war with the Ottoman Empire, started with initial success during Abbas the Great's reign, but ended with the defeat of Iran and the Treaty of Zuhab, which returned much of Iran's conquests in Mesopotamia to the Ottomans.^[2]

In order to assert his authority, Safi purged every potential claimant to his throne, including the sons of the Safavid princesses, and the sons of Abbas the Great, who were blinded and thus were unqualified to rule. The purge also saw the deaths of the leading figures of the realm.^[3] An example of Safi's cruelty occurred on the night of 20 February 1632, also known as the bloody Ma'bas, in which he had forty females of the harem put to death. The last act of his bloodshed was the killing of his grand vizier, Mirza Taleb Khan, who was replaced with a ghulam (military slave) named Mirza Mohammad Taqi Khan, more famously known as Saru Taqi.^[4]

As a eunuch, Saru Taqi had access to the royal harem, and used this ability to forge relations with the shah's concubines. He influenced Safi, persuading him to increase the royal domains by passing the Fars province to the crown demesne.^[5] He imposed heavy taxes throughout the realm, especially on Isfahan's Armenian population, and investigated the revenue flows of the previous governor of Gilan.^[6] He was described as greedy and was accused by Western observers of accepting bribes.^[5] In 1634, Saru Taqi appointed his brother, Mohammad Saleh Beg, as the governor of Mazandaran to counteract the Mar'ashi Sayyid line. Saru Taqi's family held the province's governorship until the end of Safi's reign.^[7]

Safi died from excessive drinking on 12 May 1642, leaving behind a country smaller than it was when he inherited it. A weak-minded man lacking charisma, Safi manifested many problems that later plagued the Safavid empire during its decline, one of them being not preparing the crown prince for rule. He excluded the Qizilbash influence in Safavid bureaucracy,^[8] and instead allowed a coalition of concubines, eunuchs and ghulams to hold power during the last decade of his reign.^[9]