Ismāʿīl I

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History & Society

Ismāʿīl I

shah of Iran

Also known as: Esmāʿīl I, Khaṭāʾī

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 15, 2024 • Article History

Category: History & Society

Also spelled:: Esmāʿīl I

Born:: July 17, 1487, Ardabīl?, Azerbaijan

Died:: May 23, 1524, Ardabīl, Safavid Iran (aged 36)

House / Dynasty:: Ṣafavid dynasty

Role In:: Battle of Chāldirān

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Ismāʿīl I (born July 17, 1487, Ardabīl?, Azerbaijan—died May 23, 1524, Ardabīl, Safavid Iran) was the shah of Iran (1501–24) and religious leader who founded the Safavid dynasty (the first Persian dynasty to rule Iran in 800 years) and converted Iran from the Sunni to the Twelver Shiʿi sect of Islam. According to Safavid tradition, Ismāʿīl was descended from ʿAlī. His grandfather Junayd, leader of a Sufi order (tariqah) that had adopted a militant form of Shiʿism, initiated the family’s quest for political power, backed by military support from disaffected Turkmen who were later known collectively as the Kizilbash (“Red ...(100 of 585 words)

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