The Safavids are regarded as the greatest Persian dynasty since the Arab conquest of Iran some eight hundred years earlier. The Safavid Empire was established in northern Iran in 1501.

Safavid kings ruled over Iran (frequently called Persia in European languages) 1501-1722, though puppet rulers nominally reigned until 1736. The dynasty was founded by the Sufi master Ismail Safavi, a descendant of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn (1252-1334) of Ardebil. Shaikh safî was a disciple of the famed Sufi grand master Shaikh Zahîd Gîlânî (1216 - 1301) of Lahijan . Spiritual Heir to Shaikh Zahîd, Safî ad-Dîn transformed the inherited Zahediyeh Sufi Order into the Safaviyeh, which attained military and political power.

Over the almost 170 years following the death of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn, his Sufi Order was to acquire a formidable army and established political force. His descendant, Shah Ismail I, the first native Persian ruler since the fall of the Sassanian Empire to the Arab onslought, established his capital in Tabriz in 1501. Shah Ismail I embraced Shi'a Islam, which he made mandatory for the whole nation, upon the penalty of death. This ignited lengthy struggles with the neighbouring Sunni Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Turks and Safavids fought over the fertile plains of Iraq for more than 150 years. After the capture of Baghdad by Ismail I, Suleiman I (called "The Magnificent") regained this city in 1534. After several campaigns, Safavids recaptured Baghdad in 1623 and lost it again to Murad IV in 1638, during which time a permanent border was established by treaties, which is still valid between present Turkey and Iran.

Gradually declining in the 17th and early 18th centuries, effective Safavid rule ended in 1722 after the execution of Shah Soltan Hosein by an Afghan rebel army led by Mir Mahmud , who opposed conversion from Sunni Islam to Shi'a Islam.

After an interregnum, Nadir Shah prevented the occupation of Iran by Ottoman and Russian armies. The empire finally collapsed after his assassination in 1747 and, subsequent to an interregnum by the Zand Dynasty, was to be replaced by the Qajar dynasty in 1794.

Safavid Shahs Iran

• Ismail I 1502-1524
• Tahmasp I 1524-1576
• Ismail II 1576-1578
• Mohammed Khodabanda 1578-1587
• Abbas I 1587-1629
• Safi 1629-1642
• Abbas II 1642-1667
• Suleiman I 1667-1694
• Soltan Hoseyn I 1694-1722
• Tahmasp II 1722-1732
• Abbas III 1732-1736
• Suleiman II 1749-1750
• Ismail III 1750-1765