Safavid Palaces in Isfahan, the Appearance of Political Authority

Goudarzi, Mostafa; Mohebbi, Behzad

doi:10.22103/jic.2023.3691

Safavid Palaces in Isfahan, the Appearance of Political Authority

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mostafa Goudarzi ¹
Behzad Mohebbi ²

¹ Professor of Advanced Studies of Art, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

² Ph.D. Student in Art Research, Department of Advanced Studies in Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22103/jic.2023.3691

Abstract

The main policy of Safavid’s dynasty was based on creating an interior sustainable space and showing the authority of governance in different social and political fields. Safavid kings formed one of the main signs of this saber rattling in the field of the construction and decoration of glorious buildings. Acquiring authority through the architecture of royal buildings leads in expanding numerous buildings in Isfahan and decorating them by different kinds of decorations and beautiful and expensive objects. Despite the palaces of Ottoman kings, Isfahan palaces were constructed in the main area of the city and in public vision and showed their beauty and magnificence to their audiences in their two interior and exterior parts. The current article has been conducted aiming the study and analysis of the role of creating authority of Isfahan palaces in two exterior and interior area and by descriptive-analytical method, as a documentary based study and by using library resources, which seeks the response of this question that what was the role of creating power and political authority in Safavid palaces in Isfahan? The findings of the research shows that the exterior parts which were observed by the public every day was in the line with stabilizing the public position and according to this issue that it was not possible for all people to visit the interior parts of royal buildings and only close people to royals and and foreign ambassadors and tourists could enter and observe these parts, so the parts related to the interior spaces and paying much attention to their decorations have been done in order to show this authority to foreign ambassadors and tourists; And the Safavid showed a part of their royal power in this manner. This influence mostly led to the Safavid intentions, the result of which can be observed in the writings of these visitors.

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