The consequences of holding Shiite religious rituals in the Safavid

Abstract

The Shiite religious rituals for a period of two centuries were held through the support and backing of the Safavid government. However, the consequences of holding these rituals have not been examined and investigated as expected. The historical researches have mostly considered the manner of holding these rituals. The present study attempts to deal with the results of holding these ceremonies in this historic era which might shed some light on processes of holding these rituals. The consequences are investigated from three main perspectives: "political consequences", "religious and cultural consequences", and "social consequences". It must be stated that holding these religious Shiite rituals in domain of the Safavids led to the political independence of them and increased their legitimacy. This also boosted power of these rituals and affected their quality and quantity. However, the spread of religious rituals led to their entrance into the general culture of the society. It also helped the use of figures of speech and rhetorical devices in the rituals which intensified the rhetorical tensions among the sects.

Keywords

• religious rituals
• shiite rituals
• safavid history
• islamic history
• shiite history