The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 12 Isfahan
August 1722, 1, Isfahan.

In 1501, Ismail I defeated the Aries Dynasty and occupied Tabriz, the capital of the Aries Dynasty. He called himself the "King of Kings" and established the Safavid Dynasty.But in the next hundred years, facing the more powerful northwest neighbor, the Ottoman Empire, it has always been in a relatively weak position. It can be said that it was beaten on the ground by the Ottomans. At one point, it knelt down and "called daddy" , that is quite depressing.The capital, Tabriz, was captured by the Ottomans four times, and the entire city was looted.

Later, in order to stay away from the Ottomans, the Safavid dynasty simply moved the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin.In 1598, Abbas I moved the capital from Qazvin, which was too close to the border, to Isfahan, which was located in the center of the country.

Perhaps the feng shui of the new capital was so good that the Safavid dynasty suddenly began to turn around.Under the leadership of the great Emperor Abbas, the sturdy Persian cavalry not only regained the core areas of Mashhad after several years of bloody battles, but also fought all the way to Samarkand and forced Afghanistan to surrender.

After finishing cleaning up the eastern territory, they turned around and concentrated their efforts on attacking the Ottomans.At this time, the Ottoman national power was no longer what it used to be. Abbas recovered all the lost territory in the northwest after ten years of hard fighting.A few years later, the second large-scale campaign was launched again and the fertile Mesopotamia was regained. It can be said that during the reign of Abbas the Great, the Safavid dynasty reached its historical peak.

Isfahan, this city is not only the capital of the Safavid dynasty, but also has always been the hub of north-south transportation and a trade channel. After China's Silk Road came over, it passed through Samarkand and then through Mashhad, along the Walking along the Albor Mountains to the vicinity of Tehran, one branch continues to Tabriz, passing through Turkey, and another branch goes south to Isfahan, then crosses the Zagros Mountains to Baghdad, passes through the Mediterranean Sea, and finally trades with Europe. , there is another route from India that also passes through Isfahan.

Therefore, Isfahan has always been an important commercial thoroughfare from north to south and east to west. In addition, Emperor Abbas spared no effort in the large-scale construction of the new capital, making Isfahan extremely magnificent. It is known as "half of the world" by the world.Well, I just praise Isfahan as half the world, and half of the good things in the world are available in Isfahan.

At this time, Isfahan was still magnificent and unparalleled in its reputation as the "Pearl of Persia". There were majestic temples of the Holy God, solemn and quiet scripture schools, countless well-decorated caravanserais, and many splendid temples hung with white cloth. The hot public baths, merchants traveling from north to south, and the bustling streets all show the commercial prosperity of this city.

"Wow, what a huge Zhenshen Temple!"

After a long journey of more than twenty days, the caravan finally arrived at Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid dynasty.According to Persian regulations, no private armed forces are allowed to enter Isfahan. Therefore, more than two hundred trading company "guards" and trading company personnel stayed in the trading station outside the city, while several officers in ordinary clothes stayed at the trading station. Under the guidance of the shopkeeper of the trading company, they rode two carriages through the bustling streets and headed towards the Qi Legation in the west of the city.When passing by the King's Mosque (today's Imam Mosque in Isfahan), everyone was shocked by the majestic, solemn, exquisite and magnificent style it displayed.

This temple, which covers an area of ​​more than 27 square meters, is the largest double-vaulted temple in Isfahan. It is said that Emperor Abbas summoned the best masters from all of Persia to build this project. It took [-] years of meticulous craftsmen to build it.There are many poems written in beautiful Persian by famous calligraphers on the main entrance, and the towering minaret door is covered with magnificent, colorful and beautiful ceramic tiles.The honeycomb-shaped doorway arch is dazzlingly decorated, and the doorway is covered with fine and smooth marble.

Yan Shaowu, commander of the 100rd Mixed Battalion and Xuangjie Colonel (Major), looked at the magnificent temple gradually disappearing, and unconsciously compared it with the more than [-]-meter-high Babel Tower in Jianye City. The land is vast, and both in terms of height and architectural appearance, it is far less spectacular than the latter.

However, since this country can build such a majestic temple of the true god, its national strength is not weak. As for the apocalyptic dilapidated scene of the dynasty they saw on the road, it may be caused by the local government's lack of governance.

The Chayand River originates from the Zagros Mountains in western Persia and runs through the city of Isfahan from west to east.On the gurgling Chayand River, there are several ancient bridges with a sense of history and artistic beauty, among which the most beautiful one is undoubtedly the 33-hole bridge.

This hole bridge was built more than 100 years ago, with a total length of nearly 300 meters. The lower level of the hole bridge is composed of 33 semicircular bridge holes, arranged neatly in order.The bridge holes are reflected in the clear river water, forming 33 uniform and completely closed circular holes with the bridge holes themselves.

However, just as two carriages from Qi State were about to pass through the hole bridge, they were stopped by dozens of heavily armed Shah Guards and ordered to move their vehicles back and out of the way of the road.

A luxuriously decorated carriage drove from the north of the bridge. Dozens of cavalrymen wearing uniforms, shining armor and plates protecting their chests and backs were accompanying them. The sharp spears held by the cavalrymen pointed directly at the sky. , the whole momentum seemed extremely huge.

The carriage drove across the bridge and suddenly stopped when it passed the Qi people's vehicles.After a while, a short and fat Persian nobleman wearing an expensive leather felt hat got out of the carriage and stretched out his hand to signal the Qi people to come over and talk.

"Are you the Qi caravan that has just arrived in Isfahan?" the Safavid Empire's Grand Vizier Muhammad Qulihan Shamru asked harmoniously.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Grand Vizier." Niu Xiping, the chief shopkeeper of the Persian Trading Company, learned from the interpreter beside him that this Persian nobleman turned out to be the Grand Vizier of the Empire. He quickly leaned over to pay tribute, and then replied respectfully: "Our trading company has We came from Bushehr Port and just arrived in Isfahan." "Is it still safe on the way?"

"There were some twists and turns on the way back to Sir Grand Wei Qi."

"Huh?..." When Muhammad heard this, he was startled for a moment, and then he couldn't help but smile bitterly.The empire was in decline, and its control over local provinces was not as strong as it once was. As a result, bandits were rampant in the territory, posing a serious threat to the safety of merchants and travelers.

Nowadays, even the people of Qi, who have strong commercial power, have to euphemistically complain about "a little twists and turns on the road."

"Did your caravan ever carry rice?"

"Back to the Grand Vizier, our caravan has transported some polished rice from India."

"How many are there?"

"About five or six tons."

"Five or six tons?" Muhammad Qulihan Shamru secretly converted the weight unit mentioned by the Qi people, and then frowned, "You should transport more food to Isfahan."

"..." Niu Xiping couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.

Bring more food to Isfahan?This thing is not valuable, and it also takes up vehicle transportation space. With this time, we might as well pack more valuable silk and porcelain. Even if it is replaced by tea and coffee, it is much more cost-effective than transporting food all the way!
The food crops in Persia are mainly wheat, barley and other cereals. In addition to Khorasan, the main production areas are also widely planted in the inland mountain valleys, which can basically meet its own needs. However, rice mainly relies on supplies from Sindh, India, Bangladesh, etc. Local imports are basically monopolized by Qi merchants.

However, in order to obtain higher trade profits, Qi merchants generally transported rice to Persia as ballast for sale. Most of the goods carried were high value-added industrial products produced locally, or some specially supplied to the princes and nobles. High-end luxury goods for consumption.

In addition to part of the five or six tons of polished rice shipped this time to the Qi diplomatic mission and trading company personnel living in Isfahan, the rest will be given to dignitaries in the city along with a large number of high-end commodities to protect the trading company. upper-level relationship.

Now, the grand vizier of the empire was actually concerned about whether the Qi caravans were transporting food to Isfahan. At the same time, he also expressed serious concern about the amount of food.

Could it be that this imperial capital with a population of more than 50 is suffering from a food shortage?
"It may not be a food shortage." Yan Shaowu watched the Imperial Grand Vizier's car go away, stroking his stubble-covered chin, thoughtfully, "This city is likely to face a war."

"War?" Niu Xiping was shocked and asked in surprise: "Who can fight against the Persian capital? The Ottomans? Or the Lezkin people in the mountains of Dagestan?"

"...It may also be Afghans." Yan Shaowu said with a smile: "You know, in the past ten years, the Persians have been defeated repeatedly in Afghanistan, which has cast a shadow on those tribal armed forces. Maybe they will simply abandon them. Kerman ignored it and turned around to kill Isfahan. After all, the temptation of half the world in Isfahan is enough to make those Afghans who are so poor and have only one life left to take a huge risk!"
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(End of this chapter)