Ismail I (July 17; 1487 - May 23; 1524); known in Persian as Shah Isma?il (Persian: ??? ????????; full name: Abu l-Muzaffar bin Haydar as-Safavi); was Shah of Iran (1501-1524) and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Iranian Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya; a Twelver Shia militant religious order; and unified all of Iran by 1509.

The dynasty founded by Ismail I would rule for two centuries; it was one of the greatest Persian empires after the Muslim conquest of Persia. It also reasserted the Iranian identity in Greater Iran; the revival of Persia as an economic power; the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy; architectural innovation and their patronage for the fine arts.

Ismail played a key role in the rise of Twelver Islam; he converted much of Iran from Sunni to Shi'a Islam; importing religious authorities from the Levant. In Alevism; Shah Ismail remains revered as a spiritual guide.

Ismail was also a prolific poet who; under the pen name Khata'i (which means 'sinner' in Arabic) contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language. He also contributed to the literary development in Persian; though only a few specimens of his Persian verse have survived. Pictures From History