Battle of Shurer

At the close of the fifteenth century northwestern Persia and eastern Anatolia were dominated by the Aq Qoyunlu, or White Sheep Turkmen confederation. Out of the Safaviyya religious order based at Ardabil rose a young leader, Ismail, who commanded a devoted following of militant Shia warriors known as the Qizilbash.

In 1501 Ismail confronted the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Alvand at the Battle of Sharur, near Nakhchivan, and won a decisive victory. He then entered Tabriz and proclaimed himself shah, founding the Safavid dynasty and establishing Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion of his realm.

Ismail I went on to unite much of Persia under his rule, and his imposition of Shia Islam permanently distinguished Iran from its Sunni neighbours and shaped its national identity. His expansion soon brought conflict with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, culminating in his defeat at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, which checked Safavid westward advance.