Shah Ismail
Persian:شاه اسماعیل ، شاه اسماعیل ختایی
Other Forms:Shah Esmael Safavi
Ismail I (born July 17, 1487, died May 23, 1524, Ardabil)
Shah of
Iran (1501-1524) and founder of the
Safavid dynasty.
His father was
Sheikh Heydar and his mother was Alamshah (daughter of
Uzun Hasan
Ak Koyunlu) Born into a
Shiite family with close ties to the Sufi tradition, he became head of a Shiite military force, the
Kizilbash, at age 14. He captured
Tabriz in 1501 and proclaimed himself shah of Iran, bringing the whole country and portions of modern-day
Iraq under his control. In 1510 his troops defeated the
Sunni Uzbeks. His proclamation of Shia faith as the official creed prompted the staunchly Sunnite sultan of the
Ottoman Empire to order an invasion of Iran in 1514. Ismail lost the
Battle of Chaldoran, but mutiny among the Ottoman troops forced their withdrawal. The conflict between the Safavids and their Sunni neighbours continued for over a century.