'Abbas I (redirected from Abbas I of Persia)

'Abbas I

 known as 'Abbas the Great

'Abbas I, detail of a painting by the Mughal school of Jahangir, c. …

(credit: Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)

(born Jan. 27, 1571—died Jan. 19, 1629) Shah of Persia (1587–1629). Succeeding his father, Muhammad Shah, he strengthened the Safavid dynasty by expelling Ottoman and Uzbek troops and creating a standing army. 'Abbas made Esfahan Persia's capital, and under him it became one of the world's most beautiful cities. Persian artistic achievement reached a high point during his reign; illuminated manuscripts, ceramics, and painting all flourished, and the Portuguese, Dutch, and English competed for trade relations with Persia. Tolerant in public life (he granted privileges to Christian groups) and concerned for his people's welfare, his fear for his personal security led him to act ruthlessly against his immediate family.

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'Abbas I

(born 1813—died July 13, 1854, Banha, Egypt) Viceroy of Egypt (1848–54) under the Ottoman Empire. His rule was one of consolidation, when many of the Western-style reforms begun by his grandfather, Muhammad 'Ali, were either discontinued or neglected. Though generally distrusting of foreigners, he allowed the British to construct a railroad between Alexandria and Cairo in 1851. The British, in turn, assisted him in disputes with his Ottoman overlords, whom he nonetheless aided by sending troops to fight in the Crimean War (1853). A recluse, he was murdered by two servants at his palace in Banha.