Change and Continuity: Safavid Administration in Eighteenth-century Iran

ABSTRACTThe article aims to deepen knowledge concerning the continuity of the Safavid system of central bureaucracy following the fall of the Safavids through the presentation of the administrative history of a high-ranking office, majlis-nawis, and a type of royal decree, raqam. By introducing their functions and unique interrelation between them during the seventeenth century, and their development and transformation in the post-Safavid period, the paper sheds light on the continuous, albeit changed, presence of this administrative position and document form in the eighteenth century. Furthermore, it will be shown that the raqambecame the most dominant form of decree in the chancelleries of post-Safavid dynasties, whereas the majlis-nawislost its relevance in the second half of the eighteenth century.