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Iran reunited and made Shia, and the wonder of Abbas the Great's Isfahan.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Safavid Empire · 1501-1736 AD
Shia Iran

The Safavid Empire

From Shah Ismail's reunification of Iran and the making of a Shia nation through the wars with the Ottomans, the golden age of Abbas the Great and the splendour of Isfahan, 'half the world,' to the long decline and the sudden Afghan sack that brought the dynasty down. Slide across the centuries to read the major events of the empire that made Iran Shia.

1501 AD
Shah Ismail I
1 / 9

The founding of Safavid Iran

Shah Ismail I unites Iran under his rule and makes Twelver Shiism the state religion, setting it apart from the Sunni world.

1501 AD

Shah Ismail I
  • Religious

    The founding of Safavid Iran

    Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    Shah Ismail I unites Iran under his rule and makes Twelver Shiism the state religion, setting it apart from the Sunni world.

9 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1501 AD

Full Chronicle

The Safavid Empire

From Shah Ismail's reunification of Iran and the making of a Shia nation through the wars with the Ottomans, the golden age of Abbas the Great and the splendour of Isfahan, 'half the world,' to the long decline and the sudden Afghan sack that brought the dynasty down. Slide across the centuries to read the major events of the empire that made Iran Shia.

  1. Shah Ismail I

    • The founding of Safavid Iran

      Shah Ismail I unites Iran under his rule and makes Twelver Shiism the state religion, setting it apart from the Sunni world.

  2. Shah Ismail I

    • Defeat at Chaldiran

      The Ottomans defeat Ismail at Chaldiran, checking Safavid expansion and beginning two centuries of war between the empires.

  3. Abbas the Great

    • The accession of Shah Abbas I

      Shah Abbas I takes the throne and begins to rebuild the empire, curbing the Qizilbash and forging a new army.

  4. Abbas the Great

    • Isfahan becomes the capital

      Abbas moves his capital to Isfahan and transforms it into one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

  5. Abbas the Great

    • The silk trade and European embassies

      Abbas builds a state silk monopoly and welcomes English and other European merchants and envoys to Iran.

  6. The Long Decline

    • The death of Abbas and the age of the harem

      After Abbas dies, later shahs are raised in the harem, and real power drifts to courtiers, eunuchs, and clerics.

  7. The Long Decline

    • The reign of Shah Suleiman

      Under a series of pleasure-loving and pious shahs, Safavid Iran drifts, its frontiers neglected and its army decayed.

  8. Fall of the Safavids

    • The Afghans sack Isfahan

      An Afghan army besieges and takes Isfahan, and the shah abdicates — the sudden collapse of the Safavid Empire.

  9. Fall of the Safavids

    • Nader Khan ends the dynasty

      The warlord Nader, having driven out the Afghans, deposes the last Safavid puppet and crowns himself shah.