Latest / The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History
The Safavid Empire's Silent Crisis – The Great Famine of 1668
Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most devastating yet overlooked events in Safavid history: the great famine of 1668-1669. Triggered by consecutive harvest failures, harsh winters, and compounded by administrative neglect under Shah Soleyman, the famine killed hundreds of thousands across Persia. Lucas draws on accounts by travelers like Jean Chardin and the Safavid chronicler Iskandar Beg Munshi to describe how grain prices soared, villages emptied, and the capital Isfahan itself saw streets lined with the starving. The conversation explores how the famine weakened the empire's rural…
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