Safavid Empire

Safavid dynasty
دودمان صفوی Dudmān e Safavi
1501–1736
Flag[1] Emblem[2]
The Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas the Great
Capital		Tabriz (1501–1555) Qazvin (1555–1598) Isfahan (1598–1736)
Languages		Persian (official, coinage, civil administration, court (since Isfahan became capital), high literature, literary, theological discourse, diplomatic correspondence, belles-lettres (adab), historiography, court-based religious posts) Azerbaijani (court, religious dignitaries, military) Georgian/Circassian/Armenian (court)
Religion		Twelver Shia Islam
Government		Theocratic Monarchy
Shahanshah
•	1501–1524	Ismail I (first)
•	1732–1736	Abbas III (last)
Vizier
•	1501–?	Muhammad Zakariya Kujuji (first)
•	1729–1736	Nader Qoli Beg (last)
Legislature		Council of State
History
•	Establishment of the Safaviyya by Safi-ad-din Ardabili	1301
•	Established	1501
•	Hotaki Invasion	1722
•	Reconquest under Nader Shah	1726–29
•	Disestablished	March 1736
•	Nader Shah crowned	1 October 1736
Area		2,850,000 km² (1,100,391 sq mi)
Currency		Tuman, Abbasi (incl. Abazi), Shahi. 1 Tuman = 50 Abbasi. 1 Tuman = 50 French Livre. 1 Tuman = £3 6s 8d.
Preceded by Succeeded by Timurid Empire Ak Koyunlu Shirvanshah Marashiyan Paduspanids Mihrabanids Afrasiab dynasty Kingdom of Ormus Hotaki dynasty Afsharid dynasty Russian Empire Ottoman Empire
Today part of		Countries today  Afghanistan  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Georgia  Iran  Iraq  Kuwait  Pakistan  Russia  Syria  Turkey  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan
a State religion.

The Safavid dynasty (/ˈsɑːfəvɪd/; Persian: دودمان صفوی‎‎ Dudmān e Safavi, Azerbaijani: صفويلر سولاله‌سى‎ Səfəvilər sülaləsi) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid shahs ruled over one of the so-called gunpowder empires. They ruled one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Iran, and established the Twelver school of Shia Islam as the official religion of the empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history.

The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Kurdish and Azerbaijani, which included intermarriages with Georgian,Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries). From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a unified Iranian state.