An Examination of Shah Abbas Safavi's Violence based on Dollard and Miller's Frustration-Aggression Theory
Abstract
This study employs John Dollard and colleagues’ Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis as a theoretical lens to analyze the pervasive political violence of Shah Abbas I (r. 1588-1629) of the Safavid Empire. It argues that the Shah’s violent behaviors—including the suppression of the Qizilbash, the murder of relatives, brutal punishments at court, and aggression towards foreigners—were not merely acts of a tyrannical personality but can be understood as aggressive responses to profound structural and personal frustrations. These frustrations stemmed from internal threats to central authority, external military pressures from the Ottomans and Uzbeks, and personal insecurities rooted in a turbulent youth. Using a historical-analytical method, this interdisciplinary research synthesizes Persian chronicles and European travelogues to trace a causal link between specific failures/frustrations and subsequent aggressive policies. The findings suggest that Shah Abbas’s reign presents a compelling historical case study of the frustration-aggression dynamic operating at the level of statecraft, where psychological defense mechanisms became institutionalized as tools of governance. This analysis provides a deeper, multi-causal understanding of Safavid political behavior, moving beyond purely political or military explanations to incorporate psychosocial drivers.
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Introduction
Shah Abbas I stands as a pivotal yet paradoxical figure in Iranian history, renowned for consolidating the Safavid Empire, revitalizing the economy, and patronizing magnificent art and architecture, yet also infamous for his exceptional cruelty and systemic violence. Traditional historiography has often explained his violent actions as necessary measures for state-building or as manifestations of personal despotism. This study proposes an alternative, interdisciplinary explanation by applying the Frustration-Aggression Theory, developed by Dollard, Miller, et al. in 1939, to his reign.
The core premise of this theory is that aggression is always a consequence of frustration—the blocking of goal-directed behavior. This research posits that Shah Abbas’s rule was characterized by acute and recurring frustrations: the frustration of effective sovereignty due to over-mighty Qizilbash tribes, the frustration of security from Ottoman and Uzbek incursions, the frustration of stable succession rooted in familial betrayal, and the frustration of economic and religious integration. We hypothesize that his documented aggressive actions—purges, executions, symbolic terror, and military campaigns—constitute patterned responses to these blocked political and personal goals.
This study seeks to answer: 1) How can specific violent acts of Shah Abbas be mapped onto identifiable political, military, or personal frustrations? 2) To what extent does the frustration-aggression framework provide a plausible, integrative explanation for his reign’s violence compared to purely strategic or tyrannical models? By bridging social psychology and history, this analysis aims to illuminate the psycho-logic of power in early modern Iran, offering a model for understanding state violence as a complex interplay of structure, strategy, and psychological impulse.
Conclusion
This study has demonstrated that the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis offers a powerful, though partial, key to understanding the violence of Shah Abbas I. By mapping his documented aggressive actions against the backdrop of political, military, and personal frustrations, a coherent psycho-logic emerges. His reign illustrates how the frustrations inherent in state-building—security threats, elite intransigence, dynastic instability—can catalyze aggressive responses that become embedded in the machinery of state.
This interdisciplinary approach moves the historical discussion beyond the dichotomy of “great statesman” versus “bloody tyrant.” It reveals Shah Abbas as a ruler whose brilliant reconstructions and horrific cruelties may have sprung from the same well of intense, frustrated ambition. The value of this framework extends beyond Safavid studies, suggesting that the frustration-aggression dynamic is a valuable lens for analyzing the exercise of power in any pre-modern, personality-driven state. Future research could apply this model to other monarchs (e.g., Ivan the Terrible, Louis XI) or explore the role of collective frustration in precipitating state-level aggression in different historical contexts.
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