An Investigation of Education in the Age of Safaviyeh

In any society and civilization, education plays a pivotal part which contributes to the progress of humanity. Education has been an integral part of human life from the time he used to live in communes. Yet its nature is inescapably interlocked with the social and religious norms and values inherent in the government of its time. Therefore the investigation of education can expose many of the historical characteristics of any age. This also paves the way for a thorough understanding of the process of education. Moreover, we need to survey the educational centers and their functions in a given country to come to understand the additional aspects of education. Using documents and itineraries from the age of Safaviyeh, this article tries to give a presentation of the kind of education and management practiced in Safaviyan schools. Based on a religious background for the period, this article also poses the question whether Safaviyan kings really believed in religious principles or not. Having teacher and learner as two fundamental components of an educational process, the next objective of this paper is to investigate the role and significance of each in education. It further goes through the schools, financial issues and the viewpoint of Orientalists towards education in the age of Safaviyeh.