Ismail I: Difference between revisions

| caption = Portrait of [[List of monarchs of Persia|ShahShāh]] IsmailIsmā'īl I by the [[Italians|Italian]] painter [[Cristofano dell'Altissimo]]

| succession = [[List of monarchs of Persia|ShahShāh of Iran]]

| dynasty = [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]]

| religion = [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver]] [[Shia Islam|Shīʿa Islam]]

'''IsmailIsmā'īl I''' ({{lang-fa|اسماعیل|Esmāʿīl}}, {{IPA-fa|esmɒːʔiːl|pron}}; July 17, 1487&nbsp;– May 23, 1524), also known as '''Shah[[List Ismailof monarchs of Persia|Shāh]] Ismā'īl I''' ({{lang|fa|شاه اسماعیل}}), was the founder of the [[Safavid dynasty]] of [[Safavid Iran|Iran]], ruling as its [[King of Kings]] (''[[shah]]anshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His reign is often considered the beginning of [[History of Iran|modern Iranian history]],<ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Matthee |author-first=Rudi |author-link=Rudi Matthee |title=SAFAVID DYNASTY |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |date=13 June 2017 |orig-year=28 July 2008 |doi=10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_509 |doi-access=free |issn=2330-4804 |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525211301/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as one of the [[gunpowder empires]].<ref>Streusand, Douglas E., ''Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals'' (Boulder, Col : Westview Press, 2011) ("Streusand"), p. 135.</ref>

The rule of IsmailIsmā'īl I is one of the most vital in the [[history of Iran]].<ref name="Savory 1995">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Savory |author-first=Roger |author-link=Roger Savory |year=2012 |origyear=1995 |title=Ṣafawids |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=8 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0964 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> Before his accession in 1501, Iran, since its [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquest]] by the [[Arabs]] eight-and-a-half centuries earlier, had not existed as a unified country under native [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] rule, but had been controlled by a series of Arab [[Caliphate|caliphs]], [[Seljuk Empire|Turkic]] [[sultan]]s, and [[Ilkhanate|Mongol]] [[Khan (title)|khans]]. Although many Iranian dynasties rose to power amidst this whole period, it was only under the [[Buyid dynasty|Buyids]] that a vast part of Iran properly returned to Iranian rule (945–1055).{{sfn|Savory|1998|pp=628–636}}

The dynasty founded by IsmailIsmā'īl 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, [[Azerbaijan Republic]], [[Armenia]], most of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], the [[North Caucasus]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]], and [[Afghanistan]], as well as parts of modern-day [[Syria]], [[Turkey]], [[Pakistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], and [[Turkmenistan]].<ref name="Helen Chapin Metz 1989. p. 313">Helen Chapin Metz. ''Iran, a Country study''. 1989. University of Michigan, p. 313.</ref><ref name="Emory C. Bogle 1989, p. 145">Emory C. Bogle. ''Islam: Origin and Belief''. University of Texas Press. 1989, p. 145.</ref><ref name="Stanford Jay Shaw 1977, p. 77">Stanford Jay Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University Press. 1977, p. 77.</ref><ref name="Andrew J. Newman 2006">Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran: ''Rebirth of a Persian Empire'', I.B. Tauris (March 30, 2006).</ref> It also reasserted the [[Culture of Iran|Iranian identity]] in large parts of [[Greater Iran]].<ref name="Iranica"/><ref>''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.</ref> The legacy of the Safavid Empire was also the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and [[Western world|West]], the establishment of an efficient state and [[bureaucracy]] based upon "[[Separation of powers#Checks and balances|checks and balances]]", its [[Safavid art|architectural innovations]], and [[Mecenate|patronage for fine arts]].<ref name="Iranica"/>

One of his first actions was the proclamation of the [[Twelver]] denomination of [[Shia Islam|Shīʿa Islam]] as the [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|official religion]] of his newly-founded [[Safavid Iran|Persian Empire]],<ref name="Masters 2009">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Masters |author-first=Bruce |year=2009 |chapter=Baghdad |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA71 |editor1-last=Ágoston |editor1-first=Gábor |editor2-first=Bruce |editor2-last=Masters |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Facts On File]] |page=71 |isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1 |lccn=2008020716 |access-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516202344/https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA71 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> marking one of the most important turning points in the [[history of Islam]],<ref name="Savory 1995"/> which had major consequences for the ensuing history of Iran.<ref name="Iranica"/> He caused sectarian tensions in the [[Middle East]] when he destroyed the tombs of the [[List of Abbasid caliphs|Abbasid caliphs]], the SunniSunnī Imam [[Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man|Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān]], and the [[Sufism|SufiṢūfī Muslim]] ascetic [[Abdul Qadir Gilani|ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī]] in 1508.<ref name="Masters 2009"/> Furthermore, this drastic act also gave him a political benefit of separating the growing Safavid Empire from its [[Sunni Islam|SunniSunnī]] neighbors—the [[Ottoman Empire]] to the west and the [[Shaybanids|Uzbek Confederation]] to the east. However, it brought into the Iranian body politic the implied inevitability of consequent conflict between the [[List of monarchs of Persia|ShahShāh]], the design of a "[[secular]]" state, and the religious leaders, who saw all secular states as unlawful and whose absolute ambition was a [[theocratic state]].

IsmailIsmā'īl I was also a prolific poet who, under the pen name '''Khataʾi''' ([[Persian language|Persian]] tr. "the wrongful"), contributed greatly to the literary development of the [[Azerbaijani language]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=G. |last=Doerfer |title=Azeri Turkish |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]], viii, Online Edition |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-viii |page=246}}</ref> He also contributed to [[Persian literature]], though few of his Persian writings survive.<ref name="iranicaonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/esmail-i-safawi#ii|title=ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ – Encyclopaedia Iranica|publisher=iranicaonline.org|access-date=2014-10-15}}</ref>

[[File:1541-Battle in the war between Shah Isma'il and the King of Shirvan-Shahnama-i-Isma'il.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Safavid conquest of Shirvan|The battle]] between the young Ismā'īl and [[List of monarchs of Persia|ShahShāh]] [[Farrukh Yassar]] of [[Shirvan]]]]

IsmailIsmā'īl I was born to Martha and [[Shaykh Haydar]] on July 17, 1487, in [[Ardabil]]. His father, Haydar, was the [[sheikh]] of the [[Safavid order|Safavid]] ''[[tariqa]]'' (Sufi order) and a direct descendant of its [[Kurds|Kurdish]] founder,<ref name="Tapper">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAzGTtWlp7gC|title=Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan|last=Tapper|first=Richard|date=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521583367|language=en|page=39|quote=The Safavid Shahs who ruled Iran between 1501 and 1722 descended from Sheikh Safi ad-Din of Ardabil (1252–1334). Sheikh Safi and his immediate successors were renowned as holy ascetics Sufis. Their own origins were obscure; probably of Kurdish or Iranian extraction&nbsp;...}}</ref>{{sfn|Savory|1997|page=8}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwB7Zo7lVp0C|title=Mulla Sadra's Transcendent Philosophy|last=Kamal|first=Muhammad|date=2006|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0754652717|page=24|language=en|quote=The Safawid was originally a Sufi order whose founder, Shaykh Safi al-Din, a Sunni Sufi master descended from a Kurdish family&nbsp;...}}</ref> [[Safi-ad-din Ardabili]] (1252–1334). Ismail was the last in this line of hereditary Grand Masters of the order, prior to his ascent to a ruling dynasty.