Ismail I

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Image:Shah Ismail I.jpg Isma'il I (July 17, 1487 - May 23, 1524), Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty, which survived until 1736. He was from Ardebil (Iranian Azerbaijan) and reigned as Shah Isma'il I 1501 - 1524.

A descendant of the Sufi Shaikh Safi Al-Din (1252-1334) of Ardebil, Isma'il Safavi was the last in line of hereditary Grand Masters of the Safaviyeh Sufi order, prior to its ascent to a ruling dynasty. As a young boy only a year old, he had lost his father Haydar Safavi Sultan, Sufi Grand Master and belligerent leader of a swelling Shi'a Islam community in Azerbaijan region of Iran who was killed in battle. Isma'il's mother was Halima Begum, the daughter of Uzun Hasan by his wife Despina (herself the daughter of John IV of Trebizond). As legend has it, infant Isma'il went into hiding for several years. With his followers, he finally returned to Tabriz, vowing to make Shi'a Islam the official religion of Iran.

Isma'il found significant support among the people of Azerbaijan as well as some parts of the Ottoman Empire, mainly in eastern Anatolia. Centuries of Sunni rule followed by pagan Mongol hegemony lent fertile ground for new teachings. In 1501, Isma'il I proclaimed himself Shah, choosing Tabriz, in Iran's northernmost province of Azerbaijan, as his capital. In that year he also defeated the Ak Koyunlu (White Sheep Turks).

In 1510 Isma'il I moved against the Sunni Uzbeg tribe. In battle near the city of Merv, some 17,000 iranians's 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 Isma'il's Kingdom to check the spread of Shiism into Ottoman dominions. Selim and Ismail had been exchanging a series of belligerent letters prior to the attack.

Selim I decisively defeated Shah Isma'il at the battle of Chaldiran in 1514, in modern-day Iran. 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 in triumph on September 7, but did not linger, a mutiny among his troops forcing him to withdraw. This saved Ismail, and allowed him to recover. Sultan Selim I also took Isma'il's favorite wife hostage, demanding huge concessions for her release. Isma'il refused to cede to the Ottoman demands, and is said to have died of a broken heart in 1524 at the early age of thirty-six, never having seen his beloved spouse again.

Isma'il's reign was marked by enormous conquests, shaping the map of Iran up to the present day. Baghdad and the holy Shi'a shrines of Najaf نجف and Karbalā' كربلاء were seized from the Ottoman Turks, lost and reconquered again.

Shah Ismail was also a Sufi poet. He wrote his poems in Azeri-Turkic language and - to a lesser degree - in Persian. His divan, i.e., the collection of poems he has written with alias Khatâ'i, remains to this day. Here is a sample from his poetry, which is still popular today.

Azeri original:

Men pirimi hak bilirem,

Yoluna gurban oluram,

Dün doğdum bugün ölürem,

Ölen gelsin işte meydan.

English translation:

I regard my pir as the essence,

I'll sacrifice myself in his way,

I was born yesterday, I will die today,

Come, if you're willing to die, this is the arena.

This was sent to the Ottoman Sultan before going to war. In return the Ottoman Sultan wrote poetry in Persian for Shah Ismail.

He was succeeded by his son Tahmasp I.