دانشگاه اصفهان پژوهش های تاریخی 2008-6253 18 1 2026 03 21 The Political and Religious Role and Influence of the Tabarra'iyan in Safavid Governance نقش و تأثیر سیاسی مذهبی تبرائیان در حکومت صفویه 61 77 30327 10.22108/jhr.2026.147637.2882 FA اکبر بیات دانشجوی دکتری گروه تاریخ، واحد نجف‌آباد، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، نجف‌آباد، ایران شکوه السادات اعرابی هاشمی استادیار گروه تاریخ، واحد نجف‌آباد، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، نجف‌آباد، ایران فیض الله بوشاسب گوشه دانشیار گروه تاریخ، واحد نجف‌آباد، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، نجف‌آباد، ایران Journal Article 2025 12 03 Abstract Following the establishment of the Safavid Kingdom by Shah Ismail I, the utilization of the tabarrā (disavowal/imprecation) to create a religious distinction led to the formation of a group called the Tabarrā’iyyān (or Tabarra'is). Their duty was to express tabarrā and punish those who disobeyed the practice. The behavior of the Tabarrā’iyyān during this period had religious and political impacts both inside and outside the borders of Iran, which require examination. This study addresses this issue by focusing on the central question: What was the political and religious role and impact of the Tabarrā’iyyān in Safavid governance? This research answers this question using a library-based (documentary) method. The findings show that in the early Safavid period, the Tabarrā’iyyān were a group serving the government, pursuing the project of religious conversion in Iran. Their duties included expressing tabarrā alongside the Safavid military forces, in religious and governmental assemblies, and accompanying the ulema (scholars) and amirs (nobles). The actions of the Tabarrā’iyyān in this era gave a religious dimension to the political confrontations between the Safavids and the Uzbeks and Ottomans, and increased persecution of Shias outside the Iranian realm. After a period of prohibition during the reign of Ismail II, the Tabarrā’iyyān gradually lost their governmental role and, due to the delegation of religious affairs to the ulema, they were integrated into the Shia religious society. Keywords: Tabarrā’iyyān, Safavid, Shah Ismail, Tabarra, Shia and Sunni. Introduction The Tabarrā’iyyān were a group active during the Safavid Kingdom, especially in its initial period of establishment, whose duty was to express tabarrā, and curse and insult the Sunni Caliphs. In fact, the Tabarrā’iyyān during this era were an ideological force that executed the Safavid policy of religious conversion of Iranians by expressing tabarrā. In addition to the violence and bloodshed they caused inside the Safavid territory, the actions of the Tabarrā’iyyān provoked the anger and enmity of Sunni governments in the West and East of Iran, giving a religious appearance to their rivalry and wars with the Safavids. During this time, the cursing and imprecations of the Tabarrā’iyyān increased the takfīrī (excommunication) fatwas against the Shia among Sunni scholars. Consequently, the mass murder and looting of Shias intensified during the attacks of the Uzbeks in the East and the Ottomans in the West of Iran. Based on this, the aim of this research is to examine the political and religious role of the Tabarrā’iyyān in Safavid governance, addressing this research question: What was the political and religious role and impact of the Tabarrā’iyyān in Safavid governance? To answer this question, we collect and analyze information using the library (documentary) method. In examining the research background, we only found the article "The Tabarra’iyan and the Early Safavids" by Rosemary Stanfield-Johnson, which describes the Tabarrā’iyyān and their activities at the beginning of the Safavid period. However, it focuses less on their political and religious role and impact, and only covers the early Safavid period. Aside from this article, we did not find any research that directly examines the political and religious role of the Tabarrā’iyyān in Safavid governance. Materials and Methods This research is of the fundamental research type, which uses a descriptive-interpretive method to analyze and interpret historical information. This research relies on historical sources of Safavid proponents for data collection, with historical books written during the Safavid era holding priority. Khulāṣat al-Tawārīkh, Aḥsan al-Tawārīkh, and Rawḍat al-Ṣafawiyya are among the most important of these sources. Research Findings Based on the findings of this research, the Tabarrā’iyyān were a popular and Sufi-leaning group serving the Safavid Kingdom. During the reign of Shah Tahmasp, the Tabarrā’iyyān transformed into an organized group and a powerful institution within the court and Safavid society, receiving special attention from the Shah. They had specific duties and were allocated salaries and stipends by the King. The actions of the Tabarrā’iyyān, alongside other actions such as the killing of Sunnis and the destruction of the tombs of Sunni scholars, intensified the enmity of the Uzbeks and Ottomans toward the Safavids and gave a religious color to their political rivalry. In the religious dimension, the behaviors of the Tabarrā’iyyān also highlighted the fatwas of takfīr (excommunication) against the Shia during this period. From the middle to the end of the Safavid reign, due to the prominence of the role of Shia ulema in holding religious rituals and in relations with the Ottomans and peace treaties with them, the Tabarrā’iyyān, as a governmental movement, suffered a decline. Nevertheless, during this period, the culture of tabarrā and the Shia rituals that the Tabarrā’iyyān played a role in shaping continued in the form of religious ceremonies and ta'ziyeh (passion plays), but under the supervision of the ulema and not in the form of the street activities of the Tabarrā’iyyān. Discussion of Results and Conclusions During the establishment period of the Safavid government, the Tabarrā’iyyān were their executive and propaganda arm for implementing the policy of religious conversion in Iran. Some of their actions during this period did not comply with religious and jurisprudential principles. The compulsion of Sunni scholars to perform tabarrā and their execution were primarily based on the spirit and motivations of Shah Ismail Safavi, who sought to establish dominance over the Iranian realm and achieve its political and religious unification. The actions of the Tabarrā’iyyān during this era intensified religious enmities. The Uzbeks and Ottomans justified war against the Iranians and the Safavids by citing these behaviors and obtaining takfīr fatwas against the Shia from some Sunni scholars. As this period passed, the Safavid government gained more stability and rationality, and religious scholars gained more influence in the religious affairs of the Safavid government. This led to the Safavids moving away from violent acts concerning tabarrā. During the brief reign of Shah Ismail II, the Tabarrā’iyyān faced a prohibition of activity and restriction, which was lifted after his death. However, the influence of Shia ulema in the Safavid court, the delegation of religious programs to them, and the diplomatic relations between the Safavids and the Ottomans—including the commitment to refrain from tabarrā in their peace treaties—led the Tabarrā’iyyān to be removed from the special group under the government. They gradually integrated into the Shia religious society and lost their political prominence. پس‌از تأسیس پادشاهی صفویه توسط شاه اسماعیل اول، بهره‌گیری از تبری برای ایجاد تمایز مذهبی، موجب شکل‌گیری گروهی به نام تبرائیان شد که وظیفۀ اظهار تبری و مجازات سرپیچی‌کنندگان از آن را بر عهده داشتند. رفتارهای تبرائیان در این دوره، تأثیرات دینی و سیاسی در داخل و خارج از قلمرو ایران داشت که نیاز به بررسی و تحلیل دارند. این مقاله در بررسی این مسئله به این سؤال اصلی می‌پردازد که «نقش و تأثیر سیاسی و مذهبی تبرائیان در حکومت صفویه چگونه بود؟». این پژوهش با روش کتابخانه‌ای به این سؤال پاسخ می‌دهد. نتایج به‌دست‌آمده نشان می‌دهد تبرائیان در دورۀ ابتدایی صفویه گروهی در خدمت حکومت بودند که برنامۀ تغییر مذهب در ایران را دنبال می‌کردند. اظهار تبری در همراهی با لشگر نظامی صفویان، مجالس دینی و حکومتی و همراهی علما و امرا از وظایف آن‌ها بود. رفتارهای تبرائیان در این دوره به تقابل‌های سیاسی صفویه با ازبکان و عثمانی رنگ مذهبی داد و فتواهای تکفیری علیه شیعه را شدت بخشید. همچنین آزارها و سخت‌گیری‌ها را برای شیعیان در خارج از قلمرو ایران بیشتر نمود. تبرائیان بعداز دورۀ محرومیت و ممنوعیت در دوران پادشاهی اسماعیل دوم، به‌مرور نقش حکومتی خود را از دست دادند و به‌واسطه واگذاری امور دینی به علما، در جامعۀ مذهبی شیعه ادغام شدند

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