The Functions and Scope of Authority of “Majles-e Behesht-Ayin” (The Royal Assembly of the Safavid Senior Officials)

The Safavid government, like many other monarchies in the history of Iran, had a bureaucratic and patrimonial structure. Although such a political system appears at first glance to be an absolute monarchy in which all decisions are made by the head of the hierarchy of political power, because of the existence of bureaucracy there was an opportunity of forming assemblies of advisers. In fact, besides the seeming role of the ruling king in making all decisions, there were some decision-making institutions in between the internal layers of the monarchy. These institutions finalized and then issued decisions in the form of the king’s orders or other high-level seniors’ instructions. Considering the frequent use of the term “Majles-e Behesht-Ayin” (The Royal Assembly of the Safavid Senior Officials) in historical texts of the Safavid Era, which mostly refers to the consultation gatherings in the Safavid royal court, there seems to be evidence for the existence of a royal assembly in such gatherings. Therefore, this research aims at proving the existence of a royal assembly of the Safavid senior officials and illustrating a clear image of its status and functions in the decision-making system of the Safavid royal court.