Editing Ismail I (section)

===Conquest of Iran and its surroundings===
{{Main|Campaigns of Ismail I}}
In the summer of 1500, Ismail rallied about 7,000 Qizilbash troops at [[Erzincan]], including members of the Ustajlu, Rumlu, Takkalu, Dhu'l-Qadar, [[Afshar (tribe)|Afshar]], [[Qajars (tribe)|Qajar]], and [[Varsak (tribe)|Varsaq]] tribes.{{sfn|Savory|Karamustafa|1998|pp=628–636}} Qizilbash forces passed over the [[Kura (Caspian Sea)|Kura River]] in December 1500 and [[Safavid conquest of Shirvan|marched towards]] the [[Shirvanshah]]'s state. They defeated the forces of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar near [[Cabanı]] (present-day [[Shamakhi Rayon]], [[Azerbaijan Republic]]){{sfn|Fisher|Avery|Hambly|Melville|1986|p=211}} or at Gulistan (present-day [[Gülüstan, Goranboy]], Azerbaijan),{{sfn|Roy|2014|page=44}}{{sfn|Sicker|2000|page=187}} and subsequently went on to conquer [[Baku]].{{sfn|Sicker|2000|page=187}}{{Sfn|Nesibli|2002|p=895}} Thus, Shirvan and its dependencies (up to southern [[Dagestan]] in the north) were now Ismail's. The Shirvanshah line nevertheless continued to rule Shirvan under Safavid suzerainty until 1538, when, during the reign of Ismail's son, [[Tahmasp I]] (r. 1524–1576), it was placed under the rule of a Safavid governor.{{sfn|Fisher|Avery|Hambly|Melville|1986|pp=212, 245}} After the conquest, Ismail had [[Alexander I of Kakheti]] send his son Demetre to Shirvan to negotiate a peace agreement.{{sfn|Rayfield|2013|page=164}}

The successful conquest alarmed the ruler of the [[Aq Qoyunlu]], Alvand, who subsequently proceeded north from [[Tabriz]] and crossed the [[Aras River]] in order to challenge the Safavid forces. Both sides met at the [[Battle of Sharur]], which Ismail's army won despite being outnumbered by four to one.{{sfn|Sicker|2000|page=187}} Shortly before his attack on Shirvan, Ismail had made the Georgian kings [[Constantine II of Georgia|Constantine II]] and Alexander I of the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Kartli|Kartli]] and [[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]], respectively, attack the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman]] possessions near Tabriz, on the promise that he would cancel the tribute that Constantine was forced to pay to the Aq Qoyunlu once Tabriz was captured.{{sfn|Rayfield|2013|page=164}} After eventually conquering Tabriz and [[Nakhchivan (city)|Nakhchivan]], Ismail broke the promise he had made to Constantine II and made the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti both his [[vassal]]s.{{sfn|Rayfield|2013|page=164}}

In July 1501, following his occupation of Tabriz, Ismail took the title ''Pādshāh-i Irān'' (King of Iran).<ref>{{harvnb|Dale|2020|p=74: "It was, first of all, an Iranian state. Ismāʽīl took the Iranian term ''Pādshāh-i Irān'', following his occupation of Tabriz in 1501, using a title that recognized Iran, a name revived by the Ilkhanid Mongols and used by the Aqqoyunlu."}}</ref> He appointed his former guardian and mentor [[Husayn Beg Shamlu]] as the ''vakil'' ([[vicegerent]]) of the empire and the commander-in-chief (''[[amir al-umara]]'') of the Qizilbash army.{{sfn|Bosworth|Savory|1989|pp=969–971}}{{sfn|Savory|2007|p=36}} His army was composed of tribal units, the majority of which were Turkmen from [[Anatolia]] and [[Syria]] with the remainder Kurds and [[Chagatai people|Chagatai]].{{Sfn|Haneda|1986}} He also appointed a former [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] [[vizier]] of the Aq Qoyunlu named Amir Zakariya as his vizier.{{sfn|Newman|2008|p=16}} After proclaiming himself Shah, Ismail also proclaimed Twelver Shi'ism to be the official and compulsory religion of Iran. He enforced this new standard by the sword, dissolving Sunni Brotherhoods and executing anyone who refused to comply to the newly implemented Shi'ism.{{Sfn|Cleveland|Bunton|2013|p=131}}

Qasim Beg Hayati Tabrizi ({{fl.|1554}}), a poet and bureaucrat of early Safavid era, states that he had heard from several witnesses that Shah Ismail's enthronement took place in Tabriz immediately after the [[Battle of Sharur]] on 1 Jumada al-Thani 907 / 22 December 1501, making Hayati's book entitled ''Tarikh'' (1554) the only known narrative source to give the exact date of Shah Ismail's ascent to the throne.{{sfn|Ghereghlou|2017|p=827}}

[[File:Map Safavid persia.png|thumb|250px|Shah Ismail's empire]]
After defeating an Aq Qoyunlu army in 1502, Ismail took the title of "Shah of Iran".<ref name="Bingham116">{{harvnb|Bingham|Conroy|Iklé|1974|p=116}}.</ref> In the same year he gained possession of [[Erzincan]] and [[Erzurum]],{{Sfn|Sinclair|1989|p=298}} while a year later, in 1503, he conquered [[Persian Iraq|Eraq-e Ajam]] and [[Fars province|Fars]] in the [[Battle of Hamadan (1503)]]. One year later he conquered [[Mazandaran]], [[Gorgan]], and [[Yazd]].

In 1507, he conquered [[Diyarbakır]]. During the same year, Ismail appointed the Iranian [[Amir Najm al-Din Mas'ud Gilani]] as the new ''vakil''. This was because Ismail had begun favoring the Iranians more than the Qizilbash, who, although they had played a crucial role in [[Campaigns of Ismail I|Ismail's campaigns]], possessed too much power and were no longer considered trustworthy.{{sfn|Savory|2007|p=50}}{{sfn|Mazzaoui|2002}} One year later, Ismail forced the rulers of [[Khuzestan]], [[Lorestan]], and [[Kurdistan province|Kurdistan]] to become his vassals. The same year, Ismail and Husayn Beg Shamlu seized [[Baghdad]], putting an end to the Aq Qoyunlu.{{sfn|Savory|Karamustafa|1998|pp=628–636}}{{sfn|Savory|2007|p=37}} Ismail then began destroying [[Sunni]] sites in Baghdad, including the tombs of [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid Caliphs]] and tombs of [[Abū Ḥanīfa|Imam Abu Hanifah]] and [[Abdul Qadir Gilani]].{{Sfn|Shaw|1976|p=95}}

By 1510, he had conquered the whole of Iran (including [[Shirvan]]), southern [[Dagestan]] (with its important city of [[Derbent]]), [[Mesopotamia]], [[Armenia]], [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], and [[Eastern Anatolia]], and had made the [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Kartli (1484–1762)|Kartli]] and [[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]] his vassals.{{Sfn|Ghasemi|2014}}{{sfn|Rayfield|2013|pp=165–166}} In the same year, Husayn Beg Shamlu lost his office as commander-in-chief in favor of a man of humble origins, Mohammad Beg Ustajlu.{{sfn|Savory|2007|p=50}} Ismail also appointed [[Najm-e Sani]] as the new ''vakil'' of the empire due to the death of Mas'ud Gilani.{{sfn|Mazzaoui|2002}}

Ismail I [[Persian–Uzbek wars|moved against the Uzbeks]]. In the [[Battle of Marv|battle near the city of Merv]], some 17,000 Qizilbash warriors trapped an Uzbek force. The Uzbek ruler, [[Muhammad Shaybani]], was caught and killed trying to escape the battle, and the shah had his skull made into a jewelled drinking goblet.<ref name="Eraly2007">{{harvnb|Eraly|2007|p=25}}.</ref> In 1512, Najm-e Sani was killed during a clash with the Uzbeks, which made Ismail appoint [[Abd al-Baqi Yazdi]] as the new ''vakil'' of the empire.{{sfn|Soucek|1982|pp=105–106}}