The Topkapi Palace Museum of Istanbul in Turkey is one of the world’s most important sites for the study of world history and civilization, on par with Museums such as the Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia), The British Museum (London, England), The Louvre (Paris, France), Iran Bastan Museum موزه ایران باستان (Tehran, Iran), Altes Museum (Berlin, Germany), Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome, Italy) and the Egyptian Museum المتحف المصري (Cairo, Egypt).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Enderûn Library at the Topkapi palace Museum (Source: Public Domain). The Topkapi is one of the most important museums of Persianate or Turco-Iranian civilization.

Kavehfarrokh.com’s previous posting on “Giosofat Barbaro’s Reference to the Identity of Shah Ismail and the Safavids” resulted in communication highlighting the housing of significant Safavid items in Istanbul’s Topkapi Museum. The source of this information is an article penned in the BBC on December 6, 2014 by Pejman Akbarzadeh entitled “ردپای فرهنگ ایران در موزه‌های استانبول”

[The Footprint of Iranian Culture in Istanbul’s Museums]. Below are two Safavid military items (a helmet and a military standard) housed in Istanbul’s Topkapi Museum.

Safavid helmet-Topkapi-BBC-PersianSafavid helmet with mail (کلاهخود از دوران صفویه – موزه کاخ توپکاپی در استانبول), most likely captured during the wars between the Safavid and Ottoman empires; Topkapi Museum (Source: BBC Persian & Pejman Akbarzadeh).

Safavid Standard-TopkapiSafavid Battle Standard captured in the Battle of Chaldiran (August, 23, 1514) (درفش ارتش ایران در جنگ چالدران – موزه کاخ توپکاپی) (Source: BBC Persian & Pejman Akbarzadeh).