Tarikh-i Shah Safi

During the reign of Shah ?Abbas I (r. 996-1038/1587-1629), the Safavid state was at the top of its power and magnificence. When ?Abbas died in 1038/1629, he was succeeded by his grandson Sam Mirza, son of former crown-prince Muhammad Baqir Mirza who had been murdered on his father's orders in Rasht in 1024/1615, taking on the name of Shah Safi. The reign of Shah Safi (r. 1038-52/1629-42) marks the beginning of a steady decline of the Safavid empire, ending with the deposition of its last ruler, Shah ?Abbas III, by Nadir Khan in 1148/1736. The present work by Abu 'l-Mafakhir Tafrishi is a history of the reign of Shah Safi. Often based on the author's personal experience or on other eyewitness accounts, it is a welcome source of information on the reign of this cruel and incapable Safavid emperor. In the appendix: a short text on the reign of Shah Safi by the author's brother, Muhammad Husayn Tafrishi.