The Effect of Shiitism of the Safavid Era on Historiography of the Work Ālam Ārae Shāh Tahmāsb

Relating the events and king's life events with different techniques was one of the popular traditions of historiography in Iran. To have an understanding of the history, historiography and studying history in different periods, there is no way but to get advantage of such works. The book Ālam Ārae Shāh Tahmāsb written by Hosseini Marashi Tabrizihas recorded the events of Shāh Tasmāb's period from 930 to 981. With respect to the significance of this book in historical studies of the Safavid Period, namely in shiitism investigation which had been a popular phenomenon of this period, this research is to investigate and to analyze the historiographical and historical studies of this book by Hosseini Marashi Tabrizi, an author whose Shiite approach is evident. The authors have used descriptive-analytical method. The main question of this research is that what has been the effect of shiitism as a popular tendency on the study and historiography as done by Hosseini Marashi Tabrizi in his book of Ālam Ārae Shāh Tahmāsb? The findings of the study prove that although this work is a narrative one, factors such as Shiite as the dominant religion, the author's viewpoints and his impressibility from shiitism have been influential in historiography an historical studies. Therefore, factors such as legitimatizing the Safavi King, the religious attitude of the writer to history, sacred daydreaming, religious interpretation, exaggerative attitude and determinism, using Shiite literature and words taken from Shiite beliefs, and repeating the Shiite Imams' names all prove that the author has been influenced by Shiite belief as the dominant religion of that period.