safavid dynasty

The Safavid State is one of the important Turkish states that ruled Iran. The Safavid dynasty descended from Firuz Shah, who was Kurdish by origin and migrated from Sincar to Ardabil. However, the Safavid dynasty intermingled with Turks in Ardabil and became Turkified. Firuz Shah's grandson, Sheikh Safi al-Din, established his order in Ardabil. Sheikh Safi al-Din was initially a Sunni, and so was his order. However, his grandson, Sheikh Junayd, converted to Shia and made the order Shia as well. Sheikh Junayd also claimed to be descended from the Twelve Imams and attracted Shia Turkmens to his side. He married Uzun Hasan's daughter, and from this marriage, Haydar was born. Sheikh Junayd was killed by Uzun Hasan's son, Sultan Yakub, after which his son Haydar took over the order. During Haydar's time, the power of the order increased significantly. Haydar married Uzun Hasan's daughter, and they had three sons named Ali, Ismail, and Ibrahim.

Due to the growth of the order, Haydar was also killed by Yakub, and Sheikh's family was imprisoned in Istahr Castle. Haydar's son, Ali, succeeded him but was soon killed. Meanwhile, six-year-old Ismail was taken to Lahijan. At the age of 13, Ismail came to Anatolia and gained the support of Shia Turkmens. In 1500, Ismail defeated the Shirvanshahs and conquered Shirvan. He then turned to the Aq Qoyunlu state, which was struggling with throne disputes, and in 1501, he entered Tabriz and proclaimed himself shah. He had sermons read and coins minted in the name of the Twelve Imams and himself. Shah Ismail carried out large massacres against those who resisted staying Sunni in Tabriz and the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty and began a policy of Shiization. Shah Ismail then extended his dominance to the Iraq-i Ajam region and took control of most of Iran. In 1509, he conquered Baghdad and in 1510, he defeated the Uzbek Khan Sheibani and occupied Khorasan.

After this, the Safavids turned their attention to Anatolia. The Safavid-supported Shahkulu and Nur Ali Khalifa uprisings broke out in Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire, which dominated Anatolia, went on a campaign against Iran in 1514 to quell the Safavid threat. Ottoman Sultan Selim and Shah Ismail confronted each other at Chaldiran. In the Battle of Chaldiran, the Safavids suffered a heavy defeat. After this war, the Ottoman army entered Tabriz but soon withdrew. Moreover, Shah Ismail's charisma was shattered, and the Uzbeks occupied the city of Balkh.

In 1524, Shah Ismail died, and his son Tahmasp succeeded him. Shah Tahmasp defended Khorasan against the Uzbeks in the east but lost Baghdad and Tabriz to the Ottoman Empire in the west. Although he regained Tabriz, he completely ceded Iraq-i Arab, which is modern-day Iraq, to the Ottomans. After Shah Tahmasp's death in 1576, his sons, Ismail II and Muhammad Khudabanda, successively ascended to the throne. During their reigns, the Ottoman Empire invaded Luristan, Georgia, Dagestan, Shirvan, and Tabriz, and the Uzbeks retook Khorasan.

In 1588, Shah Abbas came to power. Shah Abbas reduced the power of the Qizilbash Turkmens in the Safavid army and replaced them with Caucasian slaves, although he did not completely eliminate the Qizilbash. He also modernized his army with cannons and rifles. In 1598, Shah Abbas recaptured Herat and Mashhad from the Uzbeks. In 1603, he retook Tabriz from the Ottomans and defeated the Ottoman army in the Battle of Sufiyan. In 1606, he occupied Shamakhi, and with the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha, the Safavids regained Azerbaijan. In 1622, Shah Abbas expelled the Portuguese from Hormuz and took control of the Persian Gulf. In 1624, the Safavids recaptured Baghdad from the Ottomans. Shah Abbas died in 1629 and was succeeded by his grandson, Shah Safi.

During Shah Safi's reign, the Mughals took Kandahar, and the Ottomans retook Baghdad in 1638. Shah Safi died unexpectedly in 1642, and Abbas II succeeded him. After Abbas II, the Safavid state began to decline, with rebellions breaking out across the country. In 1722, the Ghilzai Afghans captured Isfahan, leading to the collapse of Safavid authority. Both the Ottomans and Russians occupied Azerbaijan. During this time, Nader Shah, from the Afshar Turkmens, expelled the Ghilzais, Ottomans, and Russians from Iran and declared himself shah in 1736, officially ending the Safavid dynasty.