Ismail I

For the Sultan of Granada, see Ismail I of Granada.

Ismail I
Portrait of Shah Ismail I. Inscribed "Ismael Sophy Rex Pers". Painted by the Italian painter Cristofano dell'Altissimo between 1552 and 1568. Housed at the Uffizi, Florence.[1]
Shah of Iran
Reign22 December 1501 – 23 May 1524
SuccessorTahmasp I
Viziers
See list
Born17 July 1487
Ardabil, Aq Qoyunlu
Died23 May 1524(1524-05-23) (aged 36)
Near Tabriz, Safavid Iran
Burial
Sheikh Safi Shrine Ensemble, Ardabil, Iran
SpouseTajlu Khanum
Behruzeh Khanum
Issue
Among others		Tahmasp I
Sam Mirza
Alqas Mirza
Bahram Mirza
Parikhan Khanum
Mahinbanu Khanum
Names
Abu'l-Moẓaffar Ismā'īl ibn Shaykh Ḥaydar ibn Shaykh Junayd
Regnal name
Shah Ismail I
DynastySafavid
FatherShaykh Haydar
MotherHalima Begum
ReligionTwelver Shia Islam

Ismail I (Persian: اسماعیل یکم, romanized: Ismāʿīl; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history,[2] as well as one of the gunpowder empires.[3] The rule of Ismail I is one of the most vital in the history of Iran.[4] Before his accession in 1501, Iran, since its Islamic conquest eight-and-a-half centuries earlier, had not existed as a unified country under native Iranian rule. Although many Iranian dynasties rose to power amidst this whole period, it was only under the Buyids that a vast part of Iran properly returned to Iranian rule (945–1055).[5]

The dynasty founded by Ismail I would rule for over two centuries, being one of the greatest Iranian empires and at its height being amongst the most powerful empires of its time, ruling all of present-day Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, most of Georgia, the North Caucasus, and Iraq, as well as parts of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.[6][7][8][9] It also reasserted the Iranian identity in large parts of Greater Iran.[2][10] The legacy of the Safavid Empire was also the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", its architectural innovations, and patronage for fine arts.[2]

One of his first actions was the proclamation of the Twelver denomination of Shia Islam as the official religion of his newly-founded Safavid Empire,[11] marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam,[4] which had major consequences for the ensuing history of Iran.[2] He caused sectarian tensions in the Middle East when he destroyed the tombs of the Abbasid caliphs, the Sunni Imam Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man, and the Sufi Muslim ascetic Abdul Qadir Gilani in 1508.[11]

Ismail I was also a prolific poet who under the pen name Khaṭāʾī (Persian/Azerbaijani: خطائی, lit. 'the Cathayan')[12][13] contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language.[14] He also contributed to Persian literature, though few of his Persian writings survive.[15]

  1. ^ Casale, Sinem Arcak (2023). Gifts in the Age of Empire: Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1500–1639. University of Chicago Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0226820422.
  2. ^ a b c d Matthee, Rudi (13 June 2017) [28 July 2008]. "Safavid Dynasty". Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Columbia University. doi:10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_509. ISSN 2330-4804. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. ^ Streusand, Douglas E., Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals (Boulder, Col : Westview Press, 2011) ("Streusand"), p. 135.
  4. ^ a b Savory, Roger (2012) [1995]. "Ṣafawids". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 8. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0964. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  5. ^ Savory 1998, pp. 628–636.
  6. ^ Helen Chapin Metz. Iran, a Country study. 1989. University of Michigan, p. 313.
  7. ^ Emory C. Bogle. Islam: Origin and Belief. University of Texas Press. 1989, p. 145.
  8. ^ Stanford Jay Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University Press. 1977, p. 77.
  9. ^ Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire, I.B. Tauris (2006).
  10. ^ Why is there such confusion about the origins of this important dynasty, which reasserted Iranian identity and established an independent Iranian state after eight and a half centuries of rule by foreign dynasties? RM Savory, Iran under the Safavids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980), p. 3.
  11. ^ a b Masters, Bruce (2009). "Baghdad". In Ágoston, Gábor; Masters, Bruce (eds.). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts On File. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-8160-6259-1. LCCN 2008020716. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. ^ Abbas Amanat (2017). Iran: A Modern History. p. 60. A book of Turkish poetry, under the curious pen name Khata'i (presumably someone from "Cathay," today's China), was most likely composed by Isma'il for his Turkmen followers as inspirational literature.
  13. ^ "XƏTAİ". Azərbaycan kişi adlarının izahlı lüğəti (in Azerbaijani). məşhur Azərbaycan şairi və dövlət xadimi Şah İsmayılın bu təxəllüsü tədqiqatlarda "Xətay, Kitay türklərindən olan", "xəta törədən, əlindən xəta çıxan" və "Allah, Tanrı" kimi izah edilir. Çinin ən qədim adı olan "Kitay", "ki" od, Günəş, "tay" dağ sözlərindən düzəlmiş, "Günəşli dağ" və ya "Günəşli ölkə" mənasında işlənir. Zənnimizcə, Ş[ah] İ[smayıl] Xətainin Kitay türklərindən olması ehtimalı daha düzgündür.
  14. ^ Doerfer, G. "Azeri Turkish". Encyclopaedia Iranica, viii, Online Edition. p. 246.
  15. ^ "Esmā ʿĪl I Ṣafawī – Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2014-10-15.