Abbas I

Abbas I (Abbas the Great) äbäs´, ăbäs´, ăb´es , 1557-1629, shah of Persia (1587-1628), of the Safavid dynasty. In 1597 he ended the raids of the Uzbeks, and subsequently (1603-23) he conquered extensive territories from the Turks. He maintained diplomatic contacts with Europe, and with English aid he took (1622) Hormoz from the Portuguese and founded what is now the port of Bandar Abbas . He broke the power of the tribal chiefs and established the Shahsavan [friends of the shah]. At his capital at Esfahan, he erected many palaces, mosques, and gardens and did much to improve public works in Persia.

Abbas I ( the Great) (1571–1629) Shah of Persia (1588–1629). The outstanding ruler of the Safavid dynasty, Abbas restored Persia as a great power, waging war successfully against the invading Uzbeks and Ottoman Turks and recapturing Hormuz from the Portuguese. Tolerant in religion, he encouraged Dutch and English merchants and admitted Christian missionaries. He made Isfahan his capital and turned it into one of the world's most beautiful cities.

Abbas I (or Abbas the Great) (1557–1628) Shah of Persia (1588–1628). He ended an inherited war with the Ottomans by conceding territory (1590) in order to free himself to drive the Uzbek Turks from north-eastern Persia (1598). By 1618 he had strengthened his army by curbing the Turcoman chiefs who supplied his recruits, and by using foreign advisers, and had reconquered the lands ceded to the Ottomans, but he died before the end of a further war over Mesopotamia (1623–29).