Explaining and Analyzing the Role of Social Capital and Public Trust in the Iranian Economy in the Late Safavid Period Based on Zetomka's Theory of Trust

The Safavid period (907- 1135 AH / 1502-1722 AD) is one of the most important periods in the history of Iran. During this period, especially during the reign of Shah Abbas I (978- 1038 AH / 1571-1629 AD), Iran achieved significant prosperity and glory in various political, scientific, cultural and economic fields. Here, the main question is, considering the effective role of socio-cultural components in the economic system, was the situation of social capital and public trust in the late Safavid period ready forthe growth and continued economic prosperity?  This is a descriptive-analytical study examining the historical sources of the Safavid period. Based on the characteristics of fragile trust in the traditional societies relying on the authoritarian political systems formulated in the sociological theory of Piotr Zetomka, the above characteristics has been studied in the late Safavid period. The results of this study show that in the last decades of the Safavid period, Iran has low social capital and fragile public trust due to the status of these characteristics and the existence of talented functions that appear in the lack of public trust and weakness of social capital in society. It has not had the capacity for economic development and the possibility of sustaining long-term economic prosperity.