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Ismail I
Shahanshah of Azerbaijan and Iran
Shah Ismail I.
Reign	1501–1524
Coronation	1501
Buried	Ardabil
Successor	Tahmasp I
Consort	daughter of Shirvanshah II Khalilullah[1][2][3][4]
Royal House	Safavid dynasty
Father	Haydar Safavi

Ismail I (July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil (Persian: شاه اسماعیل‎; full name: Abū l-Muzaffar bin Haydar as-Safavī), was a Shah of Azerbaijan (1501), Shah of Iran (1502) ^[5][6] and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an Twelver Shia militant religious order and unified all of Iran by 1509.^[7] Born in Ardabil in Northwestern Iran, he reigned as Shah Ismail I of Iran from 1502 to 1524.

Ismail played a key role in the rise of Twelver Islam; he converted Iran from Sunni and Ismaili Shi'i Islam, importing religious authorities from the Levant.^[8] In Alevism, Shah Ismail remains revered as a spiritual guide.

Ismail was also a prolific poet who, under the pen name Khatā'ī ("Sinner") contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language.^[9]

Life and political history[link]

Ismail was born to Martha and Shaykh Haydar on July 17, 1487 in Ardabil. His father, Haydar, was the sheikh of the Safaviyya Sufi order and a direct descendant of its founder, Safi-ad-din Ardabili (1252–1334). Ismail was the last in line of hereditary Grand Masters of the Safaviyah Sufi order, prior to his ascent to a ruling dynasty. As a boy only a year old, he lost his father, the leader of a growing Qizilbash Shi'i community in Azerbaijan, who died in battle. His mother, Martha, was the daughter of Uzun Hasan by his Pontic Greek wife Theodora, better known as Despina Khatun.^[10] Theodora was the daughter of Emperor John IV of Trebizond. (She had married Uzun Hassan in a deal to protect Trebizond from the Ottomans.^[11]) Ismail grew up bilingual, speaking Persian and Azeri.^[12][13]

As legend has it, the infant Ismail went into hiding for several years. With his followers, he finally returned to Tabriz, vowing to make Shi'i Islam the official religion of Iran. Ismail found significant support among the people of Azerbaijan^{[citation needed]}, as well as some parts of the Ottoman Empire, mainly in eastern Anatolia. Ismail's advent to power was due to Turkoman tribes of Anatolia and Azerbaijan, who formed the most important part of the Qizilbash movement.^[14] Centuries of Sunni rule followed by non-Muslim Mongol hegemony lent fertile ground for new teachings.^{[citation needed]} In the summer of 1500, about 7000 Qizilbash forces, consisted of Ustaclu, Shamlu, Rumlu, Tekelu, Zhulkadir, Afshar, Qajar ve Varsak tribes, responded to the invitation of Ismail in Erzincan.^[15] Qizilbash forces passed over the Kura River in Novermber 1500, and marched towards the Shirvanshah's state. They defeated the forces under the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar near Cabanı (present-day Shamakhi Rayon, Azerbaijan), and conquered Baku.^[16] In July 1501, Ismail was enthroned as Shah of Azerbaijan,^[17] choosing Tabriz, Azerbaijan, as his capital. When the Safavids came to power in 1501, Shah Ismail was 14 or 15 years old; by 1510 he had conquered the whole of Iran.^[18] After defeating the Aq Qoyunlu in 1502, he took the title of Shah of Iran.^[6]

In 1510, Ismail I moved against the Sunni Uzbeg tribe. In battle near the city of Merv, some 17,000 Qizilbash warriors ambushed and defeated a superior Uzbek force numbering 28,000. The Uzbek ruler, Muhammad Shaybani, was caught and killed trying to escape the battle and the shah had his skull made into a jeweled drinking goblet.

In 1514, Selim I, the Sunni Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, attacked Ismail's kingdom to stop the spread of Shiism into Ottoman dominions. Selim and Ismail had been exchanging a series of belligerent letters prior to the attack.

Selim I defeated Ismail at the battle of Chaldiran in 1514.^[19] Ismail's army was more mobile and their soldiers were better prepared but the Ottomans prevailed due in large part to their efficient modern army, and possession of artillery, black powder and muskets. Ismail was wounded and almost captured in battle. Selim I entered the Iranian capital of Tabriz in triumph on September 5,^[20] but did not linger. A mutiny among his troops fearing a counter attack and entrapment by the fresh Safavid forces called in from the interior, forced the triumphant Ottomans to withdraw prematurely. This allowed Ismail to recover quickly. Among the booties from Tabriz was Ismail's favorite wife, for whose release the Sultan demanded huge concessions, which were refused. Despite his defeat at Chaldiran, Ismail quickly recovered most of his kingdom, from east of the Lake Van to the shores of the Indian Ocean.

After Chaldiran, however, Ismail lost his supernatural air and the aura of invincibility, gradually falling into heavy drinking of alcohol.^[21] Ismail retired to his palace and withdrew from active participation in the affairs of the state, leaving these to his minister, Mirza Shah-Hussayn.^[22] He died on 23 May 1524 at the relatively early age of thirty-six.

Ismail I pictured at battle against Abu al-Khayr Khan in a scene from the Tarikh-i Alam-Aray-i.