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Advanced Persian through Safavid Texts

Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi

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About the course:

This 12-week advanced course develops high-level Persian reading skills through close engagement with original Safavid-era (16th–18th century) texts. Students work directly with unadapted historical, literary, religious, and administrative sources to master complex syntax, Arabic–Persian hybridity, rhetorical devices, and genre-specific vocabulary characteristic of early modern Persian. The course emphasizes contextual reading, stylistic analysis, and historical semantics while training students to navigate manuscript-style prose and verse. It is especially beneficial for advanced Persian learners, graduate students, and researchers in Iranian studies, Islamic history, Shiʿi studies, Ottoman–Safavid relations, and Persianate literature who seek direct access to Safavid primary sources without reliance on translations.

 

Content of the course:

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Phase 1: Foundations and Sacred Lineages

  • Week 1: The Sufi Roots & Hagiography

    • Text: Safwat al-Safa (The Purity of Purity) by Ibn Bazzaz Ardabili.

    • Focus: This is the primary hagiography of Sheikh Safi al-Din. We will examine how the Safavid family’s spiritual legitimacy was constructed before they became kings.

  • Week 2: Early Historiography & Heroic Romances

    • Text: Futūḥāt-e Shāhī (Royal Victories) by Sadr al-Din Ibrahim Amini.

    • Focus: One of the earliest Safavid histories. We will analyze the transition from "Sufi master" to "Sovereign" in the narrative of Shah Ismail I.

  • Week 3: The Female Voice and Royal Life

    • Text: The Memoirs of Gulbadan Begum (Humayun-nama) – Relevant Safavid Sections.

    • Focus: While Gulbadan was Mughal, her account of the Safavid court during Humayun’s exile in Iran (under Shah Tahmasp) provides a rare "outsider-insider" look at Safavid royal women and court etiquette.

Phase 2: Power, Administration, and Bureaucracy

  • Week 4: The Administrative Machine

    • Text: Tadhkirat al-Mulūk (A Manual of Safavid Administration).

    • Focus: An essential "rulebook" of the Safavid state. We will study the titles, duties of ministers, and the intricate bureaucracy of the Isfahan court.

  • Week 5: Regional Perspectives: The Caspian & The North

    • Text: Tārīkh-e Gīlān (History of Gilan) by Abd al-Fattah Fumani.

    • Focus: Moving away from the center, this text shows how the Safavids were viewed from the provinces and the struggles of local dynasties against central Safavid rule.

  • Week 6: Diplomatic Encounters and Global Ambitions

    • Text: Majmūʿa-ye Monshaʾāt (Collection of Diplomatic Letters) of Abol-Qasim Ev-Oghli.

    • Focus: Reading actual letters exchanged between the Safavid Shahs and the Ottoman Sultans, Mughal Emperors, and European monarchs.

 

Phase 3: Culture, Poetry, and Daily Life

  • Week 7: The "Indian Style" (Sabk-e Hindi) in Iran

    • Text: Divan-e Sa'ib Tabrizi.

    • Focus: Exploring "Fresh Speech" (tāza-gū’ī). Sa'ib is the master of the Safavid-Mughal style; we will analyze his use of complex metaphors and "realistic" imagery.

  • Week 8: Art, Aesthetics, and Calligraphy

    • Text: Gulistān-e Honar (The Garden of Art) by Qazi Ahmad Qummi.

    • Focus: A unique treatise on calligraphers and painters. It provides a primary look at how the Safavids valued the "Arts of the Book."

  • Week 9: Travelers and the "Persian Mirror"

    • Text: Safine-ye Solaymani (The Ship of Solayman) by Muhammad Rabi' ibn Muhammad Ibrahim.

    • Focus: An account of a Safavid embassy to the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand). This shows the Safavid world-view and their maritime interests in the 17th century. 

 

Phase 4: Religion, Philosophy, and the End of Empire

  • Week 10: The School of Isfahan: Philosophy & Wisdom

    • Text: Al-Shawāhid al-Rubūbiyya (Divine Witnesses) by Mulla Sadra.

    • Focus: Examining the "Existential" turn in Safavid thought. We will read excerpts (translated or original) to understand the intellectual climate of Isfahan.

  • Week 11: Religious Orthodoxy and Public Piety

    • Text: Hilyat al-Muttaqin (The Adornment of the Pious) by Allamah Majlisi.

    • Focus: A best-seller of the late Safavid era. This text dictated the daily lives, rituals, and morals of the Shi'i populace, showing the "clericalization" of society.

  • Week 12: The Fall and Reflection

    • Text: Tārīkh-e Ḥozīn (The Memoirs of Sheikh Hazin Lahiji).

    • Focus: A poignant first-hand account of the Afghan invasion and the collapse of the Safavid state. Hazin’s memoir serves as an elegy for a lost world.

 

Course Details

Schedule: Mondays, 2 April 2026 – 15 June 2026

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Time: 9:00–10:00 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–1:00 PM (US Eastern), 6:00–7:00 PM (Central European)

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Format: 12 online sessions 

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Tuition: $300 (payable in 3 installments)

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​​Note:

Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.

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Registration link: https://forms.gle/qb8HgweQcqGEuPRD9 

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