Persian Work on the History of the Safavids in the British Museum (Based on the works of V.F. Minorsky)

Research of well-known scholar-orientalist Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky (1877-1966) is based on a large and often new factual material. Since 1937, he has investigated some of the important issues of political and social organization of the Safavid state. Eminent scholar emphasizes that the Safavid state was a typical feudal monarchy. Being the head of the Safavid state shahs had not only unlimited power as secular rulers, but, most importantly incarnated the highest spiritual authority as hereditary head of Ardebil dervish order. According to V.Minorsky's research, when the Safavids came to power, the rulers headed double administration “like kings, they inherited a control system of their predecessors (mainly Ak-Koyunlu ); as the supreme head of the initial orders they demanded blind obedience to their Sufi.” Besides with the description of the organization of power of various state institutions, the author in “ Tadhkirat al- Muluk ” examines the financial and economic structure of the state, including highlights of a number of issues of coinage and economy of the Safavid state. And more detailed described the duties of the bureaucracy, the payment system of the officials characterized the military units, the tax system, etc., which allows to trace better the evolution of social institutions on the example of the Safavid state.