| ID | 184210 |
| Title Proper | Environmental Crises at the End of Safavid History |
| Other Title Information | the Collapse of Iran's Early Modern Imperial Ecology, 1666–1722 |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | James Speer ; Speer, James ; Gustafson, James |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The 17th century was a period of transition in world history. It was marked globally by social movements emerging in response to widespread drought, famine, disease, warfare, and dislocation linked to climate change. Historians have yet to situate Safavid Iran (1501–1722) within the “General Crisis.” This article, coauthored by an environmental historian and a climate scientist, revisits primary sources and incorporates tree-ring evidence to argue that an ecological crisis beginning in the late 17th century contributed to the collapse of the imperial ecology of the Safavid Empire. A declining resource base and demographic decline conditioned the unraveling of imperial networks and the empire's eventual fall to a small band of Afghan raiders in 1722. Ultimately, this article makes a case for the connectedness of Iran to broader global environmental trends in this period, with local circumstances and human agency shaping a period of acute environmental crisis in Iran. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 54, No.1; Feb 2022: p.57-79 |
| Journal Source | International Journal of Middle East Studies 2022-03 54, 1 |
| Key Words | Climate Change ; Famine ; Environmental History ; Safavid Empire ; Dendrochronology |