Editing Tahmasp I (section)

{{Short description|Safavid Shah of Iran from 1524 to 1576}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Tahmasp I<br />{{no bold| طهماسب یکم}}
| image        = Tahmasp I.png
| caption      = Shah Tahmasp I in the mountains (detail), by [[Farrukh Beg]]
| succession   = [[List of monarchs of Persia|Shah of Iran]]
| reign        = 23 May 1524 – 25 May 1576
| coronation   = 2 June 1524
| predecessor  = [[Ismail I]]
| regent       = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''||[[Div Sultan Rumlu]]|Kopek Sultan|Chuha Sultan|Hossein Khan|}}
| successor    = [[Ismail II]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1514|02|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Shahabad, Isfahan|Shahabad]], [[Isfahan]], [[Safavid Iran]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|df=yes|1576|5|25|1514|2|22}}
| death_place  = [[Qazvin]], Safavid Iran
| spouse       = Many, among them:<br />[[Sultanum Begum]]<br />[[Sultan-Agha Khanum]]
| issue        = See [[#Family|below]]
| full name    = Abu'l-Fath Tahmasp ({{langx|fa|ابوالفتح تهماسب}})
| father       = [[Ismail I]]
| mother       = [[Tajlu Khanum]]
| signature    = Khalili Collection Islamic Art TLS-2714-back.jpg
| signature_type = Seal
| religion     = [[Twelver|Twelver Shia Islam]]
| dynasty      = [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]]
}}
'''Tahmasp I''' ({{langx|fa|طهماسب یکم|translit=Ṭahmāsb}} or {{lang|fa|تهماسب یکم}} {{transliteration|fa|Tahmâsb}}; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second [[shah]] of [[Safavid Iran]] from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of [[Shah Ismail I]] and his principal consort, [[Tajlu Khanum]].

Tahmasp ascended the throne after the death of his father on 23 May 1524. The first years of Tahmasp's reign were marked by civil wars between the [[Qizilbash]] leaders until 1532, when he asserted his authority and began an [[absolute monarchy]]. He soon faced a [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555)|long-lasting war]] with the [[Ottoman Empire]], which was divided into three phases. The Ottoman sultan, [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], tried to install his own candidates on the Safavid throne. The war ended with the [[Peace of Amasya]] in 1555, with the Ottomans gaining sovereignty over [[Ottoman Iraq|Iraq]], much of [[Safavid Kurdistan|Kurdistan]], and western [[Safavid Georgia|Georgia]]. Tahmasp also had conflicts with the [[Uzbeks]] of [[Khanate of Bukhara|Bukhara]] over [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], with them repeatedly raiding [[Herat]]. In 1528, at the age of fourteen, he defeated the Uzbeks in the [[Battle of Jam]] by using [[artillery]].

Tahmasp was a [[Patronage|patron]] of the arts and was an accomplished painter himself. He built a royal house of arts for painters, [[Calligraphy|calligraphers]] and poets. Later in his reign, he came to despise poets, shunning many and exiling them to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] court of India. Tahmasp is known for his religious piety and fervent zealotry for the [[Shia Islam|Shia]] branch of Islam. He bestowed many privileges on the clergy and allowed them to participate in legal and administrative matters. In 1544 he demanded that the fugitive Mughal emperor [[Humayun]] convert to Shi'ism in return for military assistance to reclaim his throne in India. Nevertheless, Tahmasp still negotiated alliances with the Christian powers of the [[Republic of Venice]] and the [[Habsburg monarchy]] who were also rivals of the Ottoman Empire.

Tahmasp's succession faced disputes even before his death, and following his passing, a civil war erupted, resulting in the deaths of most of the royal family. His reign, spanning nearly fifty-two years, was the longest of any Safavid ruler. While contemporary Western accounts were critical of him, modern historians recognize Tahmasp as a courageous and capable commander who preserved and expanded his father's empire. His reign marked a pivotal shift in Safavid ideological policy: he ended the [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] Qizilbash tribes' veneration of his father as the [[Messiah]] and instead established himself as a pious and orthodox Shia king. Tahmasp also initiated a long-term process, later continued by his successors, to diminish Qizilbash influence in Safavid politics. This was achieved by introducing a "third force" composed of [[Islamized]] [[Georgians]] and [[Armenians]].