The Safavid Empire transformed Iran by establishing Twelver Shi'a Islam as the state religion, creating the cultural and religious identity of modern Iran and setting up the enduring Sunni-Shia geopolitical divide with the Ottoman Empire.
Collapsed after the Afghan Hotaki dynasty under Mahmud Hotaki invaded and captured Isfahan in 1722 CE, forcing Shah Sultan Husayn to abdicate, though Safavid claimants held out until the dynasty was formally extinguished in 1736 CE by Nader Shah.
The atlas holds 5 border frames for Safavid Empire — the shape you scrub through changes in 1501 · 1565 · 1625 · 1675 · 1708.
The leading scholarly monograph on the Safavid state, its Shi'a transformation of Iran, and its cultural legacy.
The standard single-volume history of the Safavid period, covering the dynasty's establishment of Twelver Shi'a Islam as Iran's state religion and its rivalry with the Ottomans.