1887.] 
39 
E. E. Oliver— The Safwt Dynasty of Persia. 
Possibly for such the following sketch of the dynasty may, for the 
purposes of comparison, prove useful. 
The collapse of the Timurian Empire in Persia was followed by the 
establishment for a while of the Kurdish Turkmans of the Qara Ku- 
yunli or “ Black sheep , ” and the Aq Kuyunli or “ White sheep,” so called 
from the figures borne on their respective banners. The former had 
been established in A'zarbaijan by Qara Yusuf about 810 H. (1407 A. D.), 
and the two were united by Uzan Hasan the ruler of Diyar Bakr about 
874 H. (1469). The latter who to birth and ambition added excep¬ 
tional valour and much ability, made himself master of Persia, and 
might have gone near to establishing an empire had not his ambition 
led him to quarrel with Turkey, and bring on himself a signal defeat. 
From his death, in 883 H., the country was a prey to constant anarchy, 
sons, grandsons and nephews all struggling for his territories or parts 
of them ; and for a quarter of a century Persia was longing to welcome 
once more any strong ruler. At last the time came, and in the shape 
of Shah Isma’il, the man. 
Isma’il the first, 905—932 H., or to give him his full title, Abu-1- 
Muzaffar Shah Isma’il Bahadur Khan as-Safwi as-Sultan al-’Adil al- 
Kamil al-Hadi al-Wali, the first of the Safwi dynasty, is said by some of 
his more enthusiastic countrymen to have traced his descent from Musa, 
the seventh Imam. He was more probably of Turkish origin, descended 
from one of the seven Turkish hordes living west of the Caspian, who 
assisted his rise to power.* His more immediate ancestors had been 
settled at Ardibil, and were undoubtedly regarded mostly as holy men, 
some even as saints. The first of the family with any considerable 
reputation was Safiu-d-din Ishaq, “ the pure of the faith,” a philoso¬ 
phical devotee from whom the dynasty takes its name. To him suc¬ 
ceeded Sadru-d-din, “ the pre-eminent of the faith ,” who with his descen¬ 
dants acquired the greatest reputation for sanctity. Isma’il himself, if 
on the one side he was the representative of a family of saints, was 
on the other the descendant of a race of warriors, for his grandmother 
was the sister of Uzan Hasanf, the above-mentioned chief of the Aq 
Kuyunli Turkmans, and his mother a daughter of that famous leader. 
# These tribes or Ilyats were named Ust&jalu, Shamlu, Nik&lu, Baharlu, 
?a-l-Qadr, Qajar, and Afshar. They wore a peculiar dress and a red cap, from 
which they were called Qazalbasli, golden-headed. [See Malcolm, vol. I, p. 502, 
Tran&l., vol. I, p. 108. Ed.] 
t Ruled 871 to 883 H. 
