That Shaykh Ṣafiyyu'd-Dín, the saintly recluse of Ardabíl from whom the Ṣafawí kings of Persia derived their descent Proofs of the fame, influence and greatness of Shaykh Ṣafiy­yu'd-Dín. and their name, was really an important and influential person in his own day, is a fact sus­ceptible of historical proof. He who wins a throne and founds a great dynasty destined to endure for more than two centuries is apt, if he be of lowly origin, to create, or allow to be created, some legend con­necting his ancestors with famous kings, statesmen or warriors of old, or otherwise reflecting glory on a House which, till he made it powerful and illustrious, held but a humble place in men's esteem. But Sháh Isma'íl, sixth in descent from Shaykh Ṣafí (as we shall henceforth call him for brevity), who founded the Ṣafawí dynasty about the beginning of the sixteenth century of the Christian era, and raised Persia to a position of splendour which she had scarcely held since the overthrow of the ancient and noble House of Sásán by the Arabs in the seventh century, had no occasion to resort to these devices; for whether or no Shaykh Ṣafí was directly descended from the seventh Imám of the Shí'a, Músá Káẓim, and through him from 'Alí ibn Abí Ṭálib * and Fáṭima the Prophet's daughter (and his claim is probably at least as good as that of any contemporary Sayyid), two facts prove that in his own time (the thirteenth century) he was highly accounted as a saint and spiritual guide.

The first and more important of these two facts is the concern shown by that great Minister Rashídu'd-Dín Faḍ- The high esteem in which he was held by the Minister Rashídu'd-Dín Faḍlu'lláh. lu'lláh for his welfare, and the desire to win his favour and intercession. In the very rare collection of the Minister's letters known as the Munsha'át-i-Rashidí * there occur two documents affording proof of this. The first is a letter (No. 45 of the collection, ff. 145^b-149^a of the MS.) addressed to Shaykh Ṣafiyyu'd-Dín himself, offering to his monastery (Khánqáh) a yearly gift of corn, wine, oil, cattle, sugar, honey and other food-stuffs for the proper entertainment of the notables of Ardabíl on the anniversary of the Prophet's birthday, on condition that prayers should be offered up at the conclusion of the feast for the writer and benefactor. The second (No. 49, ff. 161^a-169^b) is addressed by Rashíd to his son Mír Aḥmad, governor of Ardabíl, enjoining on him consideration for all its inhabitants, and especially “to act in such wise that His Holiness the Pole of the Heaven of Truth, the Swimmer in the Oceans of the Law, the Pacer of the Hippodrome of the Path, the Shaykh of Islám and of the Muslims, the Proof of such as attain the Goal, the Exemplar of the Bench of Purity, the Rose-tree of the Garden of Fidelity, Shaykh Ṣafiyyu'l-Millat wa'd-Dín (may God Most High perpetuate the blessings of His Holy Exhalations!) may be well pleased with and grateful to thee.” * These letters, and especially the second, which is filled with the most exaggerated praises of Shaykh Ṣafí, sufficiently prove the high repute which he enjoyed amongst his contemporaries.*

The second fact germane to our thesis is that com­paratively soon after his death a most extensive monograph The great mono­graph on his life entitled Ṣaf­watu'ṣ-Ṣafá. on his life, character, teachings, doctrines, virtues and miracles was compiled by one of his followers, the darwísh Tawakkul * ibn Isma'íl, commonly called Ibnu'l-Bazzáz, apparently under the in­spiration and direction of Shaykh Ṣadru'd-Dín, who suc­ceeded his father Shaykh Ṣafí as head of the Order and held this position for fifty-eight years (A.D. 1334-1392). This rare and important book has never been printed, * but is the chief source of all later accounts of the head of the family and dynasty, in most of which it is frequently and explicitly cited. A much later recension of it was made in the reign of Sháh Ṭahmásp (A.D. 1524-1576) by a certain Abu'l-Fatḥ al-Ḥusayní. I have personal knowledge of only three manuscripts, Add. 11745 of the British Museum; * No. 87 of the Pote Collection in the library of King's College, Cambridge; * and a fine copy made at Ardabíl in 1030/1621, now belonging to Mr A. G. Ellis, who, with his customary generosity, placed it at my disposal for as long as I required it. This exhaustive work comprises an Introduction, twelve chapters, and a Conclusion, each of which is divided into numerous sections, * and its contents are summarized by Rieu with his usual precision. It contains interesting matter, diluted by much that is wearisome save to a devoted disciple, and represents on a more extensive scale the type of hagio­graphy familiar to all Persian students in such books as the Manáqibu'l-'Árifín of Aflákí, available in the English version of Redhouse * and the French of Huart. * The extracts from it included in most later histories of the family, notably the Silsilatu'n-Nasab-i-Ṣafawiyya, * will suffice to satisfy the curiosity of most readers, though a careful perusal and analysis of the original work would undoubtedly yield results of value, most of the anecdotes and sayings being vouched for by Shaykh Ṣadru'd-Dín. But before further discussing Shaykh Ṣafí and his descendants something more must be said about his ancestors.

That the seventh Imám Músá Káẓim had, besides the son 'Alí Riḍá who succeeded him in the Imámate, another The seventh Imám Músá Káẓim. son named Ḥamza, from whom Shaykh Ṣafí claimed descent, is a fact vouched for by the historian al-Ya'qúbí, * but the next dozen links in the chain (including five Muḥammads without further designation) are too vague to admit of identification. The earliest ancestor of the Ṣafawís who is invested with any Fírúzsháh­i-Zarrín-kuláh. definite attributes is Fírúzsháh-i-Zarrín-kuláh (“Golden-cap”), who is stated by the Silsilatu'n-Nasab to have been made governor of Ardabíl, henceforth the home and rallying-point of the family, by a son of Ibráhím-i-Adham, here represented as king of Persia. Ibráhím-i-Adham, however, though reputed of kingly race, renounced the world, became a notable saint, and died about A.D. 780 in Syria, and history knows nothing of any son of his who succeeded to a throne in Persia or elsewhere. Fírúzsháh died after a prosperous life at Rangín in Gílán,

'Awaḍ al­Khawáṣṣ. and was succeeded by his son 'Awaḍ, of whom nothing is recorded save that he lived and died at Isfaranján near Ardabíl. His son Muḥam-mad earned the title of Ḥáfiẓ because he knew the Qur'án

Muḥammad Ḥáfiẓ. by heart, an accomplishment for which he is said to have been indebted to the Jinn, * who kidnapped him at the age of seven and educated him amongst themselves for a like number of years. The Ṣaláḥu'd-Dín Rashíd. Quṭbu'd-Dín Aḥmad. two succeeding heads of the family, Ṣaláḥu'd-Dín Rashíd and Quṭbu'd-Dín Aḥmad, seem to have lived quietly at Kalkhorán, * devoting them­selves to agriculture, until a fierce incursion of the Georgians compelled the latter to flee to Ardabíl with his family, including his little son Amínu'd-Dín Jibrá'íl, then only a month old. Even here they were not left un­molested: the Georgians pursued them and they had to take refuge in a cellar, where their lives were only saved by a devoted youth, who, ere he fell beneath the swords of his assailants, succeeded in concealing the entrance to the cellar by throwing down a large earthen jar over it. Quṭ-bu'd-Dín himself was severely wounded in the neck and hardly escaped with his life, and his grandson Shaykh Ṣafí, who was born during his life, used to relate that when his grandfather took him on his shoulder he used to put four baby fingers into the scar left by the wound. In due Amínu'd-Dín Jibrá'íl. course Quṭbu'd-Dín was succeeded by his son Amínu'd-Dín Jibrá'íl, farmer and saint, who adopted Khwája Kamálu'd-Dín 'Arabsháh as his spiritual director, and married a lady named Dawlatí; she in due course, in the year 650/1252-3, bore him the son Ṣafiyyu'd-Dín. who afterwards became famous as Shaykh Ṣafiy-yu'd-Dín, with whom the family suddenly emerges from comparative obscurity into great fame. The author of the Silsilatu'n-Nasab, not content with giving the year of his birth, further fixes the date as follows. At the time of his birth Shams-i-Tabríz had been dead five years, Shaykh Muḥyi'd-Dín ibnu'l-'Arabí twelve years, and Najmu'd-Dín Kubrá thirty-two years. He was five years old when Húlágú Khán the Mongol conquered Persia, twenty-two on the death of Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí, and forty-one on the death of Sa'dí. The eminent saints contemporary with him included Amír 'Abdu'lláh-i-Shírází, Shaykh Najíbu'd-Dín Buzghúsh, 'Alá'-u'd-Dawla-i-Samnání and Shaykh Maḥmúd-i-Shabistarí (author of the Gulshan-i-Ráz or “Rose-bed of Mystery”). He had three elder * and two younger brothers * and one elder sister, being thus the fifth in a family of seven; and his father died when he was six years of age.