Investigating the Role of Correspondences in Iranian Political Relations with Neighboring Governments in the First Shah Abbas Era (with an Emphasis on the Manuscripts of the Correspondences)

The kingship of Shah Abbas was contemporary with one of the most critical period in the Safavid era. One of the main challenges of the Safavid government at this time was how to deal with the neighboring states. One of Shah Abbas's first steps to address the challenges was to enable diplomacy and to send numerous communications to the neighboring states. In addition to introducing the correspondences manuscripts, this research, in a descriptive and analytical manner, seeks to answer this question: What role did political correspondences play in having foreign relations with the neighboring states during the reign of Shah Abbas? The findings indicate that although Shah Abbas I's correspondences did not play an active role in convincing Uzbeks to negotiate and preventing them from invading Khorasan, the continuation of Shah Abbas's correspondences with the Ottomans and Indian Gurkhans played an active role in building confidence in Iran's relations with these governments. It provided Shah Abbas with an opportunity to reclaim the occupied territories.