Persians III

1501-1629 CE

From 1501 to 1629 CE, the Persians rose reborn under the Safavid sword — Ismail proclaiming Twelver Shiism with fire and steel, transforming Iran's religious identity in a generation, his successors battling Ottomans and Uzbeks on every frontier. Shah Abbas the Great built Isfahan into a wonder of the world, its bridges and mosques proclaiming that Persia had found its answer to Ottoman might. When he died, the empire's zenith had already passed.