Tahmasp I is one of the major antagonists in the Magnigicent Century TV-show. He is the Shah of Safavid dynasty and a sworn enemy to Sultan Suleyman Khan and Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha. He was played by Gökhan Alkan in season 3 and by Sermet Yeşil in season 4.
Biography[]
At the end of the second season, Sultan Suleiman decides to start a military campaign against the Persians and conquer Baghdad. However, the Sultan's participation in this campaign is postponed due to the death of his mother and the subsequent problems associated with this in his harem. However, Ibrahim Pasha (the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and the Sultan's closest representative) soon sets off there. It is Ibrahim who volunteers to lead the army until the Sultan arrives. However, he falls into a trap set by Tahmasp's people and miraculously survives. His assistant Iskender Celebi gets a dressing down for this. Soon, one of the military leaders, Ulama Pasha, sets off to repel another enemy attack. But his army is routed by the Persians (despite the fact that there were fewer Persians). Ibrahim Pasha demands an explanation from him. Ulama Pasha claims that he received an order from Ibrahim Pasha to go there (but the order turned out to be fake). Soon, Ibrahim manages to take Tabriz. Tahmasp gives his men a dressing down for this. Soon, Sultan Suleiman personally enters the matter and demands that Tahmasp personally participate in the battle. However, he refuses. Soon the cold season approaches, and the Sultan has no choice but to return to Istanbul with his entire army. Iskender Celebi is declared guilty of failures. He is executed. But Tahmasp's participation in the events of the third season does not end there. A Persian woman named Firuze gets into the harem of the Sultan. She becomes the Sultan's favorite, which causes discontent of his legal wife Hurrem. Hurrem makes a bet with Firuze. The one whom the Sultan rejects will have to commit suicide. It soon turns out that Firuze is a member of the Safavid dynasty (the same dynasty from which Tahmasp comes). Hurrem immediately finds out about this and tells the Sultan. The Sultan demands an explanation from Firuze and she claims that her father was the brother of Tahmasp's father. He wanted to rule Persia himself. This led to a battle and the escape of Tahmasp's uncle. His ship was sunk and Firuze miraculously survived. Ibrahim Pasha asks people about this story and the story is confirmed. However, the Sultan can no longer trust Firuze after all this and sends her out of the palace. Hurrem's friend Rustem informs the Persians about Firuze and they take her to their lands. In the last scene in which Firuze appears, she is called Humeyra. The Persians also claim that the real Firuze is waiting for her (which may mean that the Firuze we saw is not Firuze at all). Soon after this, the Sultan falls ill. Doctors claim that the Sultan was poisoned. An investigation begins immediately. Having learned that Firuze was taken by the Persians, Ibrahim Pasha suspects her. However, her guilt or innocence is never directly voiced in the plot. Later, Tahmasp's influence is felt in the fourth season. His brother, Elkas Mirza, who is laying claim to the Persian throne, decides to unite with the Sultan. Elkas also falls in love with the Sultan's sister Fatma (and she reciprocates his feelings). The Sultan decides to take advantage of Elkas and Fatma's relationship to put a man on the Persian throne who will not only be loyal to the Ottomans, but also be related to the ruling dynasty of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan goes on a campaign against the Persians, but this campaign ends in nothing. Tahmasp lures Elkas's people to his side. He also organizes an assassination attempt on the Sultan and Elkas, but fortunately, the Sultan's son, Shehzade Mustafa, saves his father and Elkas. The Sultan is unhappy with this turn of events. He sends Elkas away. Later, we learn that Shah Tahmasp executed Elkas. Later, the Sultan again goes on a campaign against the Persians. Rustem Pasha and Hurrem frame Mustafa, accusing him of conspiring with Tahmasp. The Sultan believes and executes Mustafa. Time passes. The two remaining sons of the Sultan, Selim and Bayezid, begin a war against each other. Bayezid loses and is captured by the Persians. Tahmasp tries to negotiate with Bayezid, but he does not want to listen to him. Then Tahmasp decides to hand over Bayezid to his country. He negotiates with both the Sultan and Selim at the same time and deliberately overstates his demands. In order to leave Bayezid defenseless, he kills his entire army and even his personal guards, and throws Bayezid and his sons into prison. Soon, Selim ransoms and kills Bayezid. Later, Selim becomes the sultan after his father's death. The further fate of Tahmasp remains unknown.
Personality[]
Tahmasp is definitely a vile character. He is willing to attack the Ottoman Empire (including on the battlefield) as many times as he wants. However, unlike the Sultan, he is clearly not averse to using dirty methods.
Trivia[]
- Like all the other political opponents of the Ottoman Empire, he can be called a villainous opposite of Sultan Suleyman Khan in various ways:
- Both of them want political against each other's countries. But while Sultan Suleyman mostly tries to conquer Persia on the battlefield, Tahmasp tries to set a trap on the Sultan.
- Both of them try to replace each other with each other's relatives. But when the Sultan knows that Elkas is hardly a person he can trust, he sends him away peacefully, while not only Tahmasp sells Bayezid to his brother, but also kills his guards just in front of him.