The Safavid Empire or Safavid Dynasty 1501-1722
The Safavids were one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled the greatest Iranian empire since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. This Shia dynasty was of mixed ancestry (Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Greek) and ruled Iran from 1501/1502 to 1722.
