Pilgrimage Trips of Safavid Kings

Abstract

With the Shi'ah branch of Islam becoming the official religion in the Safavid period )709-5311 AH(, the Safavid kings paid more attention and showed more interest in pilgrimage to the tombs of the Shi'ah Imams, their descendants and leading sufi figures such ad Sheikh Safi, Sheikh Zahed and Sheikh Shahabeddin Ahari. Based on the existing records, this article deals with piligrimage tirps in the Safavid period, the methods of travel, the rituals performed, and the probable political and economic goals in such pilgrimages. Another point brought up in this article is the trend of such pilgrimage trips which was constantly on the rise from the establishment of the Safavid dynasty to Abbas i's rule, and which then began to decline gradually.