Ismail Ier

Shah Ismaïl I^er (Ardabil July 17th 1487 - Tabriz May 23rd 1524) Azeri conqueror and founder of the dynasty of the Séfévides which reigned on the Perse.

The origin of the dynasty

Chah Ismail was considered Seyyid, more exactly going down from the Musa Imam Kazim. The name of the dynasty comes from the sheik Aldine Safi Ardabili (1252 - 1334), spiritual leader and main Soufi of the town of Ardebil in current the Province of Ardabil in Iran.

In fact Sheik Aldine Safi goes down from Firuzshah, Turkish of Central Asia, which would have immigrant in Azerbaïdjan at the 12th century. Sheik Aldine Safi was very influential in Aldine Azerbaïdjan and also on Rachid, the top dog of Oldjaytu, the small son of Houlagou Khan.

With Sultan Ali, his small son, the influence of the brotherhood exceeds the borders of Azerbaïdjan and is propagated in Anatolia and with the Khorasan, the faithful ones are called Qizilbash because of their bonnet of red color to 12 folds (symbolizing the 12 Imams). The back grandson, Haydar, married the girl of the Shah Uzun Hassan Akkoyunlu (1441-1478), who will give him in 1487 a Ismail son, the future founder of Séfévides.

The Sheiks soufi Séfévides are:

Aldine Safi (1252-1335)
Sadr Aldine (1312-1392)
Khodja Ali (1392-1429)
Ibrahim (1429-1448)
Djunayt (1448-1460)
Haydar (1460-1487)
Ismail (1487-1524)

The Shah

Anxious of the power and the rising popularity of Djunayt, the grandson of Khodja Ali, the Akkoyunlu sovereigns drives out them of Ardabil. In 1500, a Qurultay (meeting of the armies) is organized with Erzincan, city of Anatolia of the East. There meet the Turkish tribes of Anatolia and Azerbaïdjan: Shamlu, Ustadjlu, Tekelü, Dzulqadir, Çepni, Rumlu, Varsak, Bayats, Qadjars, Karamanlu, Afshars, Karadaĝlu etc

In spring 1501, Ismail returns in force to the head of its army, demolishes the armies of the last Souverain Akkoyunlu, and is made crown Chah with Tabriz, Capitale of Azerbaïdjan, its native land.

After the Bataille Qizilbashs are joined by Akkoyunlus and Karakoyunlus of Azerbaïdjan which will form the tribe “Turkmen” which will play a big role thereafter.

The Alevisme then the Shiism

The first thing which Ismail makes when it seizes Tabriz, is to declare the alevism, which is already well established in Azerbaïdjan, Religion of state. It was a major political act which was going to create a crack within the Islamic world and so to change the face of the world. But after the death of Ismail Shah, for reasons Political S, the state will slip towards the Shiism.

Conquests

From 1503 to 1508, Shah Ismail I fact the conquest of central Iran (1503), provinces of the south of the Caspian (1504) and of Iraq (1505-1508).

In 1506, the Uzbek destroy the last Timourides and threatens the Séfévides which decide to go against them. The meeting with place in 1510 and it is a total victory, Khorasan returns to the séfévides.

Anxious of the Victoire S of Shah Ismail, Sélim, the Othoman sultan takes drastic measures in particular by massacring 40000 Qizilbashs in the Ottoman Empire. The meeting with place on August 23rd, 1514 with Tchaldiran: the Othomans crush - thanks to their heavy Artillerie - the Séfévide army. But they must stop there: Ismail shah the force to be turned over in Anatolia, and they give up their artillery with Tabriz besides.

After this battle, Chah Ismail decides to reinforce his Empire which went from the Euphrate to the Amou Darya. He dies the May 23rd 1524 in Azerbaïdjan.

Empire

The Empire rested by Chah Ismail was called Qizilbash memleketi , the country of Qizilbashs, the name of the Turkish tribes which had brought it to the capacity. It was also called Qizilbash-Media by some Européens because after the Mèdes it was the second time that an empire having for center was formed the Azerbaïdjan.

Personality

To include/understand Ismail Shah, it is necessary to seize the three facets of its personality: the Shah of Azerbaïdjan, the Dede of the Islam Alevi, the Poet of Turkish Language.

He has as a shah, reigned on several Pays of which he changed the Histoire definitively but the most important change especially took place in its country of origin, the center of sound Empire, the Azerbaïdjan. One can say without hesitating that it forged the Azerbaijani nation. It is not a chance if Turkish of Azerbaidjan gave the nickname of " shah baba" with Chah Ismail. Its first decision was to transform the language of the people into a language of state and civilization. It is the proof that Chah Ismail wanted to found the Azerbaijani state.

The Azerbaijani Civilization, under the reign of Ismail Shah, reached an unequalled level since. The Azerbaijanis know very well that without Chah Ismail it N y' would ever have had of Fuzuli, Qurbani, Muhammed Sultan, Sadiq Bey Afshar and nor of rewriting of Dede Qorqud.

Before being Shah, it was Sheik i.e. Dede alevi. The empire of Qizilbashs was alevi at the beginning, this is why the qizilbashs have Titer S religious alevi like halife, Dede, Abdal etc Chah Ismail institutionalized the Alevisme by giving him new a erkan in particular by propagating the Buyruk of sheik safi, his ancestor. Its Nefes and Deyish S is still sung in the Djem S and other religious ceremonies alevi.

The field in which he was the most admired it is the Poésie. It signed its poems under the name of Khatai . Khatai renewed the traditional topics of the Turkish Lyrisme. The very personal accents on bravery, the martyrs and the combatants of the Foi were worth a great reputation to him. In addition to sound “ Couch ”, one owes him a long poem epic “ Dehname ” and a philosophical mesnevi “ Nasihatname ”. Its success is with its use of the language of the Peuple.

The following extract, drawn from the art of the saz of Jean During, shows the impact of the character in the Azerbaijani culture:

… Chah Ismail was also an excellent instrumentalist and especially it left us many mystical poems which are the masterpieces of the Turkish language. Its concept of nation azerbajanaise served also art of the ashiks, bards Azerbaijani. Under its reign the poetic forms bayati, gerayli, varsaĝi, qoshma, divani, mokhamma , as well as the repertory of the melodies of saz, the rule of narration of the dastan and the semantic system of the accounts epic and lyric arrived to their form perfect. … In one of his poem, Chah Ismail evokes his passion for the lute:

one day, of my saz I did not play

the following day my voice was tied

It y' has four thing essential to any man

the knowledge and the good mannerss, the breath and an instrument… "

The patron

Chah Ismail is also large a Mécène. At its court are joined together largest Miniaturistes world ic Islam in particular Kemaleddin Behzad, Sultan Mehemmed Tabrizi, Shah Mahmud Nishaburi etc These Masters will give rise to the school of Tabriz which will train talentieux miniaturists in particular Mir Əli Xəttat, Mir Seyyid Ali Müsəvvir, Sadiq bey Afshar (also large writer) and Aga Mirək Khan (also large Architecte).

As Chah Ismail is a large poet he likes to be surrounded of people of Poésie in particular Süruri, Şahi, Matəmi, Tüfeyli, Qasımi and Həbibi. The Azerbaijani Civilization knew its golden age during the reign of Ismail Shah.

External bonds

official Page of Shah Ismail
Another site on Shah Ismail

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