Then you had the Safavids, an Iranian empire from the 16th century. The Safavids LOVED rice, the Safavids spread rice ALL OVER Southwest Asia. At this point rice was mostly a staple dish in places where it made sense to be a staple dish and other places ate bread, but suddenly rice was Fancy.
May 16, 2026 at 3:16 AM
Then you had the Safavids, an Iranian empire from the 16th century. The Safavids LOVED rice, the Safavids spread rice ALL OVER Southwest Asia. At this point rice was mostly a staple dish in places where it made sense to be a staple dish and other places ate bread, but suddenly rice was Fancy.
Trump: "Stop trading with Iran!!!!"
Thailand: "We've been trading with Iran since the Safavids, man"
Thailand: "We've been trading with Iran since the Safavids, man"
January 13, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Trump: "Stop trading with Iran!!!!"
Thailand: "We've been trading with Iran since the Safavids, man"
Thailand: "We've been trading with Iran since the Safavids, man"
Ofc there were short wars too. It wasn't all just grinding wars like under Sassanids and Safavids. But the staying power of the Safavids against Suleiman the Magnificent, and their complete unwillingness to surrender, does look like a model for how this works
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman...
Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 28, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Ofc there were short wars too. It wasn't all just grinding wars like under Sassanids and Safavids. But the staying power of the Safavids against Suleiman the Magnificent, and their complete unwillingness to surrender, does look like a model for how this works
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman...
those perfidious Safavids!
Thanks to NPR for explaining that due to the ancient, mysterious culture of Persia, Iranians "don't like to be attacked" npr.org/2025/06/16/n...
June 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
those perfidious Safavids!
on the other hand I’ve really been enjoying the jokes about an Adams-Mamdani general election as a new faceoff between the Ottomans and Safavids so I’m part of the problem
I feel like an old crank these days when I get irritated at someone making an assertion of what they consider to be fact that I think is a sanded-down version of a more complex and more accurate relationship. bring back complex linkages! they’re more satisfying!
June 29, 2025 at 7:10 AM
on the other hand I’ve really been enjoying the jokes about an Adams-Mamdani general election as a new faceoff between the Ottomans and Safavids so I’m part of the problem
I'll allow any Safavids if you can find them.
June 24, 2025 at 3:44 PM
I'll allow any Safavids if you can find them.
Mamdani is about to have the best Ashura since the Safavids conquered Iran
June 24, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Mamdani is about to have the best Ashura since the Safavids conquered Iran
The Ottomans, the Mongols, Safavids, the various Chinese dynasties.
December 26, 2025 at 8:32 PM
The Ottomans, the Mongols, Safavids, the various Chinese dynasties.
Huge explosion in Isfahan, the most historically important city in Iran, the capital of the Buyids, Seljuqs, and the Safavids.
Barbarians!
Barbarians!
March 31, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Huge explosion in Isfahan, the most historically important city in Iran, the capital of the Buyids, Seljuqs, and the Safavids.
Barbarians!
Barbarians!
This has little to do with opinions, the ottomans and the safavids were also this way
April 8, 2026 at 5:01 AM
This has little to do with opinions, the ottomans and the safavids were also this way
Yeah, they weren't threatening anyone, let alone expanding. The Safavids were mainly fighting the Ottomans & the Mughals were fighting themselves. It's the equivalent of white guys posting about Carolingian Kingdoms.
July 17, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Yeah, they weren't threatening anyone, let alone expanding. The Safavids were mainly fighting the Ottomans & the Mughals were fighting themselves. It's the equivalent of white guys posting about Carolingian Kingdoms.
There has been bad feeling with the town next door cos they still believe that the rightful rulers of Persia are the Safavids, and they maintained that belief even when the factories closed down
March 7, 2026 at 8:09 AM
There has been bad feeling with the town next door cos they still believe that the rightful rulers of Persia are the Safavids, and they maintained that belief even when the factories closed down
Critical support to the Safavids against the Sublime Porte!
on the other hand I’ve really been enjoying the jokes about an Adams-Mamdani general election as a new faceoff between the Ottomans and Safavids so I’m part of the problem
I feel like an old crank these days when I get irritated at someone making an assertion of what they consider to be fact that I think is a sanded-down version of a more complex and more accurate relationship. bring back complex linkages! they’re more satisfying!
June 29, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Critical support to the Safavids against the Sublime Porte!
Iranian nationalist narratives of 2500 year state continuity only make sense if you ignore the bit between the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 and rise of the Safavids in the 1490s.
I get why that's contested in Iran and the Iranian disapora. But not so much when it comes to the Euro/US Left.
I get why that's contested in Iran and the Iranian disapora. But not so much when it comes to the Euro/US Left.
July 30, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Iranian nationalist narratives of 2500 year state continuity only make sense if you ignore the bit between the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 and rise of the Safavids in the 1490s.
I get why that's contested in Iran and the Iranian disapora. But not so much when it comes to the Euro/US Left.
I get why that's contested in Iran and the Iranian disapora. But not so much when it comes to the Euro/US Left.
300 years is such a weird time to claim as the era of Muslim gunpowder empires. They were all in serious decline by then! The Safavids were basically already done -- the Afghans had conquered them, though they'd be back briefly a few years later. We're firmly in "400 years ago" territory.
July 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
300 years is such a weird time to claim as the era of Muslim gunpowder empires. They were all in serious decline by then! The Safavids were basically already done -- the Afghans had conquered them, though they'd be back briefly a few years later. We're firmly in "400 years ago" territory.
Nah, gunpowder armies require and allow for a stronger state. Thats why the ottomans and mughals and safavids expanded so quickly. Hill tribes can no longer challenge the emperor when his armies have muskets and they have swords
August 31, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Nah, gunpowder armies require and allow for a stronger state. Thats why the ottomans and mughals and safavids expanded so quickly. Hill tribes can no longer challenge the emperor when his armies have muskets and they have swords
i cannot stress enough that the actual comparison with a non-Jewish religion to make wrt meshichists is the safavids and always has been
April 29, 2025 at 2:24 AM
i cannot stress enough that the actual comparison with a non-Jewish religion to make wrt meshichists is the safavids and always has been
This is correct, neo-imperialism is appallingly common in Europe to say nothing of people in the developing who lionize precolonial empires (in India it's usually the Cholas or the Maurya, in Iran the conquering Ghaznavids and Safavids, etc).
It occurs to me that America might actually be doing a better job of wrestling with its past than it gets credit for, we just don’t notice because the truly bonkers shit in other countries is in languages we can’t read
... what
July 5, 2026 at 4:34 PM
This is correct, neo-imperialism is appallingly common in Europe to say nothing of people in the developing who lionize precolonial empires (in India it's usually the Cholas or the Maurya, in Iran the conquering Ghaznavids and Safavids, etc).
Persians (Safavids) starting stupid wars with Romans (Ottomans).
June 3, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Persians (Safavids) starting stupid wars with Romans (Ottomans).
In 1725, the Afghans had driven the Safavids out of Isfahan and Tahmasp was sitting around in the mountains trying to work out how to get his throne back.
July 17, 2025 at 12:57 PM
In 1725, the Afghans had driven the Safavids out of Isfahan and Tahmasp was sitting around in the mountains trying to work out how to get his throne back.
I can’t wait for the looks on everyone’s faces when I explain that the Safavids took Bahrain from the *Portuguese.*
September 26, 2023 at 9:45 PM
I can’t wait for the looks on everyone’s faces when I explain that the Safavids took Bahrain from the *Portuguese.*
You can see these places that ordinary Iranians hold so dear in episode 3.. filmed almost exactly 7 years ago. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Art of Persia - Series 1: Episode 3
Samira Ahmed goes back to when Persia faced her gravest threat, Genghis Khan, and reveals how the Safavids, who succeeded the Mongols, give Iran a powerful new identity.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 10, 2026 at 2:02 PM
You can see these places that ordinary Iranians hold so dear in episode 3.. filmed almost exactly 7 years ago. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Spain would like to talk
300 years also lets you dodge the East India Company taking over most of South Asia by mere decades, though it’s also about 20 years to late for the Mughals to really be a superpower
300 years also lets you dodge the East India Company taking over most of South Asia by mere decades, though it’s also about 20 years to late for the Mughals to really be a superpower
July 17, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Spain would like to talk
300 years also lets you dodge the East India Company taking over most of South Asia by mere decades, though it’s also about 20 years to late for the Mughals to really be a superpower
300 years also lets you dodge the East India Company taking over most of South Asia by mere decades, though it’s also about 20 years to late for the Mughals to really be a superpower
What makes this even sadder is that Iranian Jews were and still are very well integrated. They were one of the few Jews communities in the world that the pull factor of the Aliyah and Zionism did not apply to which is honestly amazing considering how much shit they’ve been through since the Safavids
March 24, 2026 at 6:50 PM
What makes this even sadder is that Iranian Jews were and still are very well integrated. They were one of the few Jews communities in the world that the pull factor of the Aliyah and Zionism did not apply to which is honestly amazing considering how much shit they’ve been through since the Safavids
In 1500ish AD, Iran had another very big empire called the Safavids. Shah Ismail, the Safavid ruler, asked a famous poet named Hatefi to please compose an epic poem like the Shamaneh about how great the Safavids were.
Hatefi tried. He really did try! But he never finished it. It was just too long.
Hatefi tried. He really did try! But he never finished it. It was just too long.
December 20, 2024 at 6:01 PM
In 1500ish AD, Iran had another very big empire called the Safavids. Shah Ismail, the Safavid ruler, asked a famous poet named Hatefi to please compose an epic poem like the Shamaneh about how great the Safavids were.
Hatefi tried. He really did try! But he never finished it. It was just too long.
Hatefi tried. He really did try! But he never finished it. It was just too long.