Shah Abbas II's Religious Reforms and the Decline of Safavid Tolerance

The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History · Jul 13, 2026 · 6m

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the reign of Shah Abbas II (1642–1666), a period often seen as the last golden age of the Safavid Empire. After his father Shah Safi's brutal reign, Abbas II restored stability and patronized the arts, but his religious policies marked a sharp turn away from the relative tolerance of earlier Safavid shahs. Under the influence of the Shi‘a cleric Muhammad Baqir Majlisi — who had already begun rising under Abbas II but would become dominant under later shahs — the state intensified the persecution of Sufis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians. Lucas…