Safavid Wine and Rebellion: The Grape Against the Mullah

The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History · Jun 5, 2026 · 8m

In 16th-century Safavid Persia, wine was more than a drink — it was a political statement. This episode explores how Shah Tahmasp's ban on alcohol set off a century of clandestine vineyards, taverne revolts, and a surprising alliance between Armenian Christian vintners and Sufi mystics. We follow the rise of the "wine frontier" in New Julfa, where Armenian merchants used their trade networks to smuggle Shiraz grapes past Qizilbash enforcers. We meet the poet-hatemonger Vahshi Bafqi, who celebrated intoxication in verse while the ulama condemned it. And we uncover how Shah Abbas I — the same…