Safavid Empire
Shia Iranian state
The Safavid Empire ruled Persia from 1501 to 1736, establishing Shia Islam as the state religion—a decision that still shapes Iran's religious identity.
At its height under Shah Abbas I, the empire stretched from the Caucasus to Afghanistan, with Isfahan as its magnificent capital.
The Safavids are remembered for their cultural achievements in art, architecture, and the Persian miniature tradition, as well as their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire.
- AshuraIslamic day of fasting
- SufismIslamic spiritual mysticism
- Persian carpetsTraditional Iranian floor coverings
- Shia IslamMuslim denomination following Ali
- caravanseraiTraveler's courtyard lodge
Persian gardens · Shah · royal court · Silk Road · silk trade · blue tiles · silk production · illuminated manuscripts · clerical hierarchy · Twelver Shia · bazaars · tea houses · military reforms · trade caravans · succession disputes · Persia · Mughal · calligraphy
- empiresBritish Empire, Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Persian Empire, Mongol Empire
- Former StatesPrussia, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, Byzantine Empire
- IranIran, Tehran, Isfahan, Persia, Shiraz
- Islamic historycaliphates, Quran, Umayyad Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, caliphate
- Islamic EmpiresAbbasids, Ottoman Empire, Umayyad Caliphate, Mughal Empire, Mughals
- PersiaIran, Persian Empire, Sassanid Empire, Persepolis, Isfahan
Safavid EmpireOttoman Empire
Turkish sultanate, 1299-1922
Mughal Empire · Sunni Islam · Umayyad Caliphate · Wahhabism · Saudi Arabia