At a glance
- Roles
- sultan
- Era
- The Gunpowder Empires
- Region
- Persia & Central Asia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Summary
Shah Ismail, founder of Safavid Iran 4.
Origins in al-Salabi
Al-Salabi traces the Safavids to Shaykh Safi al-Din al-Ardabili (650–735 AH), Ismail's great ancestor, whose Sufi propagandists spread the call through Iran, Ottoman provinces, Iraq and Syria, propagating descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him); the book claims Safi al-Din practised dissimulation, appearing a Shafi'i 1.
Chaldiran
Contending with Selim I, Ismail received Selim's embassy bearing a dervish's rag, beads, bowl and staff — a reminder of his lineage. When the shah asked for truce Selim dishonoured and killed his envoy, then crushed him at Chaldiran in August 1514; Ismail fled and Selim entered his capital Tabriz, sequestering his treasure and the Qizilbash, making it his base of operations 2.
After the defeat
The book says defeat made Ismail readier to league with the Portuguese: he confirmed their hold on Hormuz in exchange for help against Bahrain and Qatif, in a project said to divide the Arab East into spheres 3.
Connections
- Founder of
- Safavid Iran
- Opposed
- السلطان سليم شاه بن عثمان
- Participated in
- The battle of Chaldiran and the entry into Tabriz
- Opposed by
- السلطان سليم شاه بن عثمان
People and things also explored
The battle of Chaldiran and the entry into Tabriz· السلطان سليم شاه بن عثمان· Algiers enters Ottoman sovereignty (1519)· Battle of Ridaniyya and the fall of the Mamluk state· Capture of Cairo· The Battle of Marj Dabiq and Selim's Entry into Egypt· Selim I's accession, 918/1512· Submission of the Hijaz to the Ottomans
Sources
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 177-178
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 181
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 182-183
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 177
- Tarikh al-Islam — Hasan Ibrahim Hasan
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ismail I (Shah Ismail Safavi)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ismail-i-safavi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.