Latest / The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History
The Fall of Herat 1588: Shah Abbas' Pivot to Greatness
In 1588, a 17-year-old Shah Abbas I faced the collapse of his empire. Herat, the jewel of Khurasan, had fallen to the Uzbek khan Abdullah II, and Qizilbash warlords were tearing Persia apart from within. This episode follows Abbas's daring gamble: rather than retaliate against the Uzbeks, he signed a humiliating peace — ceding Herat and Khurasan — to buy time to crush the rebel Qizilbash factions. We explore the backroom politics at the Safavid court, the role of Abbas's mentor Murshid-e-Kamil, and the brutal execution of the powerful Qizilbash chief Murshid Quli Khan. The peace of 1588 was…
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