Ismail I

Founded the Safavid dynasty at 14 and made Shia Islam the state religion of Iran.

Life

Qizilbash

Ismail was the son of the chief of the Safavid Sufi order. After his father was killed in battle he grew up on the run; his followers wore red headgear as their emblem and were called the "Qizilbash."

Boy shah

In 1501 he took Tabriz, proclaimed himself shah, and declared Twelver Shia Islam the state religion; over the next ten years he unified Iran, and in 1510 he defeated the Uzbek Muhammad Shaybani Khan at Merv.

Chaldiran

In 1514 he was defeated at Chaldiran by the artillery and musketeers of the Ottoman sultan Selim I; after that he never again led a campaign in person, and he died in 1524.

Legacy

Ismail I established Shia Islam as the state religion, laying the foundation of modern Iran's religious identity.

Did you know? He was also a poet and wrote many poems in Azerbaijani Turkic.

Key dates

• 1501Captures Tabriz and founds the Safavid dynasty
• 1510Defeats Muhammad Shaybani Khan at Merv
• 1514Defeated at Chaldiran
• 1524Died