Ismail

Ismail I Safavi (died 1524) First ruler of the Safavid dynasty in PERSIA (1501–24). His ancestor Safi ud-Din (1252–1334) was a Sufi holy man and founder of the Safaviyya, the mystic brotherhood after which the dynasty is named. Supported by Turcoman tribesmen, he established his rule over Persia, extending it into Kurdistan and driving the UZBEKS from Khurasan in the north-east. His expansion was checked in the west by the OTTOMAN sultan Selim I at Chaldiran in 1514. His most enduring achievement was to convert his realm from SUNNI to SHIA ISLAM.

Ismail , 1486-1524, shah of Persia (1502-24), founder of the Safavid dynasty. He restored Persia to the position of a sovereign state for the first time since the Arab invasion of Persia. Ismail established the Shiite form of Islam as the state religion; this gained him the animosity of the Uzbeks and the Ottoman Turks, who were Sunni Muslims. He warred on the Uzbeks successfully in 1510, and Selim I attacked him in 1514, thus initiating a long series of border wars between the Ottoman Turks and the Persians.

Ismail (1486–1524) Shah of Persia (Iran) (1501–24), founder of the Safavid dynasty. A national and religious hero in Iran, he re-established Persian independence and established Shi'ite Islam as the state religion. He warred successfully against the Uzbeks in 1510, but was defeated by Ottoman Sultan Selim I at the Battle of Chaldiran (1514).