Political Portrait of Shah Ismail Safavi

Abstract

Throughout the history of our nation, there have been many figures who, by uniting hundreds of tribes and communities that lived in the same geographical area, spoke the same language, and shared spiritual values, called for unity and solidarity around a common ideal, gathering millions of people.

One of these historical figures is Shah Ismail. For scholars and historians, Shah Ismail remains a great statesman and a talented commander. In the eyes of Azerbaijanis, Shah Ismail is the person who unified the lands of Azerbaijan and established the central Azerbaijani state.

In the primary sources, numerous considerations about the founder of the Safevid state show his inherent ties with the Turks and Azerbaijan. Undoubtedly, the most notable and convincing of such facts are the words of Ismail Safevi when the Gulustan fortress in Shirvan was besieged. As the siege of the Gulustan fortress, one of the most strong fortifications of Shirvan, was prolonged, Ismail called the great emirs to him and said: “Do you need the Gulustan fortress or the throne of Azerbaijan?” Followers of the Holy Safavid dynasty answered “The throne of Azerbaijan”.

This historical discourse is important in the following ways: at first, Ismail saw his highest goal, which pushed him to military campaigns from an early age, to establish a new and powerful state. Secondly, Ismail declared this polity as the state of Azerbaijan. Thirdly, while Ismail moved from Gilan to Ardabil with his seven followers in 1499, he acted under the influence of his advisors, however, under the Gulustan fortress, he was already an independent personality who set great historical goals for his nobles and emirs.

The study of Shah Ismail’s political portrait is essential, first and foremost, for understanding his extraordinary personality. Shah Ismail managed to sustain the Safavid sectarian movement, mobilized Safavid followers around him despite his young age, initiated a movement with a small group that altered the political landscape of the region, successfully concluded this movement, and laid the foundations of a great and powerful state like the Safavid Empire, ensuring its longevity.