Ismāʿīl I

Ismāʿīl I (born July 17, 1487, Ardabīl?, Azerbaijan—died May 23, 1524, Ardabīl, Safavid Iran) was the shah of Iran (1501–24) and religious leader who founded the Safavid dynasty (the first Persian dynasty to rule Iran in 800 years) and converted Iran from the Sunni to the Twelver Shiʿi sect of Islam. According to Safavid tradition, Ismāʿīl was descended from ʿAlī. His grandfather Junayd, leader of a Sufi order (tariqah) that had adopted a militant form...