This map shows the Safavid Empire as it starts to decline in 1634, after the Golden Age of Shah Abbas. With the introduction of European trade during the time of Abbas, Iran had become partners with the English and the Dutch. With the Shah dead and no suitable heir, the Dutch East India Company, and later the British, used their superior maritime power to control trade routes in the western Indian Ocean. As a result, Iran was cut off from overseas links to East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia.
In addition to being cut off from these links, Iran fought their arch rivals: the Ottomans and the Uzbeks. Iran had to contend with the rise of Russian Muscovy, and in the far eastern territories, the Mughals of India had expanded into Khorasan at the expense of Iranian control.
The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they controlled all of modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Armenia, most of Georgia, the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Jan Janssonius (also known as Johann or Jan Jansson or Janszoon) (1588-1664) was a renowned geographer and publisher of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch dominated map publishing in Europe. Born in Arnhem, Jan was first exposed to the trade via his father, who was also a bookseller and publisher. In 1612, Jan married the daughter of Jodocus Hondius, who was also a prominent mapmaker and seller. Jonssonius’ first maps date from 1616.
