Parents: Haydar, leader of the Safaviyya, and Martha
Date of Birth: 17 July 1487
House: Safavid
Spouse: the daughter of Shirvanshah II
Spouse: the daughter of Shirvanshah II
Predecessor: Aq Qoyunlu
Reign: 1507 – 1524
Summary: The future of Persia changed because of Ismail's actions throughout his life. His father, Haydar, was the last leader of the Safaviyya Sufi order and a direct descendant of its founder. That made him the heir to his father's legacy. At only a year old, his father died in battle against the Shi'a community in Azerbaijan. Ismail was raised by his mother, who was a half-Greek Turkman. Ismail learned both Persian and Azeri as a child. As the young leader of the Safaviyya Order, he went into hiding until he was old enough to rule. He vowed to make Twelver Shi'a Islam his official religion, and to spread that sect throughout Persia. The people of Azerbaijan and Anatolia were with him, and in 1500, at the age of 13, he led an army of 7,000 troops into Persia where they defeated the local sultan. In 1501, Ismail was crowned shah of Azerbaijan, choosing Tabriz as his capital. Within a decade, the rest of Persia followed. In 1502, he crowned himself Shahanshah ("King of Kings") of Persia. He was young and in charge.
Many famous legends and stories come from Ismail's reign. In 1510, he defeated a Sunni Uzbeg tribe, defeating a army nearly twice the size of his own, and turning the skull of his rival into a jeweled drinking goblet. Between 1512 and 1514, Ismail and Selim I of the Ottoman Empire exchanged threatening letters then went into open warfare. Selim attacked and captured Tabriz, but was forced to quickly retreat before his campaign was completed. Unfortunately, the defeat against the Ottomans destroyed Ismail. Although he quickly reclaimed his occupied possessions, he fell into heavy drinking and retired from the government. His minister, Mirza Shah-Hussayn, a Timurid, took over rule for the shahanshah. Throughout his reign, Persia reached its arms into Afghanistan, Asia Minor, the Levant, Iraq, and Arabia. Ismail also was a renowned poet under the name Khata'i. Most of his poems were written in Azeri, though many were in Persian as well. He wrote of Sufi love, Shi'a doctrine, and even of his family's politics. He claimed descent from 'Ali, Muhammed's son-in-law and the founder of Shi'ism, and emphasized that in many of his poems. Ismail had many children, but his eldest son, Tahmasp, succeeded him in 1524 when Ismail died at an early age.
Many famous legends and stories come from Ismail's reign. In 1510, he defeated a Sunni Uzbeg tribe, defeating a army nearly twice the size of his own, and turning the skull of his rival into a jeweled drinking goblet. Between 1512 and 1514, Ismail and Selim I of the Ottoman Empire exchanged threatening letters then went into open warfare. Selim attacked and captured Tabriz, but was forced to quickly retreat before his campaign was completed. Unfortunately, the defeat against the Ottomans destroyed Ismail. Although he quickly reclaimed his occupied possessions, he fell into heavy drinking and retired from the government. His minister, Mirza Shah-Hussayn, a Timurid, took over rule for the shahanshah. Throughout his reign, Persia reached its arms into Afghanistan, Asia Minor, the Levant, Iraq, and Arabia. Ismail also was a renowned poet under the name Khata'i. Most of his poems were written in Azeri, though many were in Persian as well. He wrote of Sufi love, Shi'a doctrine, and even of his family's politics. He claimed descent from 'Ali, Muhammed's son-in-law and the founder of Shi'ism, and emphasized that in many of his poems. Ismail had many children, but his eldest son, Tahmasp, succeeded him in 1524 when Ismail died at an early age.
Date of Death: 23 May 1524
Successor: Tahmasp I
Other Monarch Deaths:
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1125)
Ashikaga Yoshitane, shogun of Japan (1523)
Ferdinando II, grand duke of Tuscany (1670)
No comments:
Post a Comment