Abbas I of Persia - Early Years

Early Years

Abbas was born in Herat (now in Afghanistan, then one of the two chief cities of Khorasan) to the royal prince Mohammed Khodabanda and his wife Khayr al-Nisa Begum (known as "Mahd-i Ulya"), the daughter of the governor of Mazandaran province, who claimed descent from the fourth Shi'a Imam Zayn al-Abidin. At the time of his birth, Abbas' grandfather Shah Tahmasp I was ruler of Iran. Abbas' parents gave him to be nursed by Khani Khan Khanum, the mother of the governor of Herat, Ali Qoli Khan Shamlu. When Abbas was four, Tahmasp sent his father to stay in Shiraz where the climate was better for Mohammed's fragile health. Tradition dictated that at least one prince of the royal blood should reside in Khorasan, so Tahmasp made Abbas nominal governor of the province, despite his young age, and Abbas was left behind in Herat.

In 1578, Abbas' father became Shah of Iran. Abbas' mother soon came to dominate the government, but she had little time for Abbas, preferring to promote the interests of his elder brother Hamza. The queen antagonised leaders of the powerful Qizilbash army, who plotted against her and strangled her in July 1579. Mohammed was a weak ruler who was incapable of preventing Iran's rivals, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, invading the country or stopping factional feuding among the Qizilbash. The young crown prince Hamza was more promising and led a campaign against the Ottomans, but he was murdered in mysterious circumstances in 1586. Attention now turned to Abbas.

At the age of 14, Abbas had come under the power of Murshid Qoli Khan, one of the leaders of the Qizilbash in Khorasan. When a large Uzbek army invaded Khorasan in 1587, Murshid decided the time was right to overthrow the ineffectual Shah Mohammed. He rode to the Safavid capital Qazvin with the young prince and proclaimed him king. Mohammed made no protest against his deposition and handed the royal insignia over to his son on 1 October 1587. Abbas was 16 years old.