Negotiating Power: Gilan and Its Gradual Incorporation into the Safavid Polity Nazak Birjandifar Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University, Montreal February 2019 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. © Nazak Birjandifar 2019 CONTENTS ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ .....................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ vi A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION ............................................................................ vii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER I. Historical Background: Gilan’s Dynastic Rulers ......................................17 Gilan: Geography and People ........................................................17 Gilan: Early Islamic History ..........................................................19 Early Religious Traditions and Political Resistance to the ‘Abbasid Caliphate (r. 132/750-656/1258 .....................................21 The Rise of The Kiyayis ................................................................31 Eradicating the Competition: the Kiyayis and the Isma‘ilis of Deylam ...........................................................................................40 The Kiyayi Dynasty and Their Sunni Neighbors ...........................45 The Kiyayi Style of Rule: General Observations ..........................47 The Aq Qoyunlu, and the Qara Qoyunlu Challenge ......................54 Conclusion .....................................................................................64 II. The Aq Qoyunlu and the Unfolding of Safavid Rule: Internal and External Political Dynamics in Gilan .................................................................66 The Last Years of the Aq Qoyunlu: Main Developments .............67 Beyond Towns and Cities: The Fortresses of Northern Iran .........69 The Kiyayi Expansion: An Ultimately Failed Attempt .................73 Shah Isma‘il in Gilan .....................................................................81 Advent of the Safavids: Local Politics in the Face of a Rising Empire ............................................................................................85 The Kiyayi Fratricide: A New Chapter ..........................................93 Conclusion ...................................................................................100 III. Sultans, Sayyids, and Khans in the New Empire: Gilan and the Safavids in the 16th Century .............................................................................................102 The Safavid State .........................................................................103 Policies and Styles of Centralization in Gilan .............................108 “Soft Power,” Alliance Building, and Divide and Rule Policies in Center-Periphery Relations ......................................................111 iii Legitimacy, Local Rulers, and the Shah ......................................116 Khan Ahmad I and Local Challenges to His Rule .......................121 Amir Najm al-Din Zargar Rashti: A Local Artisan at the Imperial Court ..............................................................................123 Gilan at the Crossroads of Qizilbash Factionalism and Safavid Relations with Their Neighbors ...................................................131 The Demise of Amireh Dobbaj and the First Phase of Khan Ahmad II’s Rule ...........................................................................141 Conclusion ...................................................................................149 IV. From Khans to Provincial Viziers: Gilan’s Conquest and Local Rebellions ............................................................................................................152 A Temporary Safavid Presence in Gilan .....................................154 Khan Ahmad II’s Fleeting Return: Weakening of the Local Dynastic Households and Shifting Loyalties ...............................160 Failed Negotiations: Khan Ahmad II and Shah ‘Abbas I ............167 Continuity and Change: Safavid Intervention and Provincial Governance ..................................................................................176 Land Management .......................................................................179 Silk and Trade ..............................................................................185 Local Resistance and Uprisings ...................................................193 Gharib Shah’s Rebellion ..............................................................204 Conclusion ...................................................................................208 V. Religion and Conversion in Gilan ...........................................................211 The Safavids and the Other Shi‘as ...............................................217 The Religious Composition of Gilan ...........................................218 The Production of Zaydi Religious Knowledge in the Caspian Region ..........................................................................................221 The Emergence of the Safavid Order in Gilan and its Relations to the Zahediyyeh .........................................................................227 On the Path to Twelver Shi‘ism ...................................................239 Conclusion ...................................................................................248 CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................................250 WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................257 iv ABSTRACT The term Gilan historically refers to a geographically isolated but economically valuable mountainous region south of the Caspian Sea, most of which is located in present-day Iran. In the era when the Safavid dynasty conquered and ruled Iran, Gilan went from being a semi- independent region ruled by two competing local dynasties, the Kiyayis and the Eshaqiyyeh, to being a fully-incorporated province of the Safavid polity. This thesis is a study of historical, political, and religious developments in Gilan from the late fourteenth to the early seventeenth century. It focuses on Gilan’s relationship to the greater powers in the region like the Aq Qoyunlu, the Qara Qoyunlu, and finally the Safavids. This study shifts our focus from the Safavid center to the periphery by emphasizing Gilan’s own historically particular periodization in the larger context of Iranian history, before examining the processes and policies through which this politically and religiously diverse region was incorporated into the Safavid polity. RÉSUMÉ Sur le plan historique, le terme Gilan fait référence à une région montagneuse géographiquement isolée mais économiquement de grande valeur située au sud de la mer Caspienne. Cette région appartient en grande majorité à l’Iran d’aujourd’hui. A l’époque où la dynastie des Safavides a conquis et régné en Iran, Gilan passa d’une région semi-indépendante dirigée par deux dynasties rivales les Kiyayis et les Eshaqiyyeh, à une province entièrement intégrée au système politique des Safavides. Cette thèse est une étude des développements historiques, politiques et religieuses dans Gilan de la fin du quatorzième siècle au début du dix-septième siècle. En particulier, elle met l’accent sur le lien de Gilan avec les plus grands pouvoirs dans la région comme les Aq Qoyunlus, les Qara Qoyunlus, et enfin les Safavides. Dans un premier temps, cette étude met l’accent sur les époques historiques propres à Gilan dans un contexte plus général lié à l’histoire de l’Iran. Dans un second temps, elle examine les processus et politiques qui ont permis à cette région diversifiée sur le plan politique et religieuse d’être intégrée au régime politique des Safavides. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Professor Rula Abisaab, for her years of invaluable guidance, support, patience, and encouragement through the writing of this dissertation. I could not have asked for a better mentor and advisor to see me through this long process. I would also like to thank Professors Wael Hallaq, A. Üner Turgay, Setrag Manoukian, and Malek Abisaab for shaping much of my academic approach in general and guiding me through my years of studies at McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies. I am grateful to McGill University for rewarding me with a McGill Major Grant which helped me with the much-needed funding to continue with my Ph.D. program. I would also like to thank Professors Joan Hermsen and Monika Fischer of the University of Missouri for helping me secure continuous teaching opportunities and office space while I completed this dissertation. My sincere thanks go to Lila Taghizadeh and Dr. Kazem Rahmati for facilitating much of the research and securing some of the needed sources for the writing of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Katayoun Darabnia for her much-appreciated help. Faika Çelik, Afrashteh Khademnia, Joobin Tahuri, Claire Schmidt, and Amelia Wexler, I am always grateful for your support and friendship. Unlimited gratitude to all of the Darabnia sisters, and especially my dearest aunt Farzaneh, who has generously opened her home and her heart to me on