King Ismail

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Ismail I (Persian: Esmāʿīl; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail I (شاه اسماعیل), founded the Safavid dynasty, ruling from 1501 to 23 May 1524 as Shah of Iran (Persia). His rule was one of the most vital in Iranian history. Prior to his accession in 1501, Iran had not existed under native Iranian rule for eight-and-a-half centuries since its Arab occupation, but was instead controlled by a series of Arab caliphs, Turkic sultans, and Mongol khans. Although many Iranian dynasties rose to power during this period, it was only under the Buyids that a vast part of Iran proper came under Iranian rule (945-1055). The dynasty founded by Ismail I ruled for over two centuries, becoming one of the greatest Iranian empires in history and at its height being amongst the most powerful empires of its time. It encompassed all of present-day Iran, Azerbaijan Republic, Armenia, most of Georgia, the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of modern-day Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The Safavid Empire also reasserted Iranian identity in large parts of Greater Iran. One of Ismail's first actions was to proclaim Twelver Shia Islam the official religion of his newly-formed state, which had significant consequences for Iranian history. This drastic act gave him a political benefit by separating the growing Safavid state from its strong Sunni neighbors—the Ottoman Empire to the west and the Uzbek confederation to the east. However, it brought into the Iranian body politic the inevitability of conflict between the shah and religious leaders, who saw all secular states as unlawful. Ismail was a prolific poet under the pen name Khaṭāʾī (meaning "he who made a mistake" or "he who was wrong" in Persian), contributing greatly to Azerbaijani language literature. He also contributed to Persian literature, although few of his Persian writings survive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_I