Isma'il I (July 17, 1487- May 23, 1524), also known as Isma'il I, had the full name Isma'il ibn Haidar. The founder of the Persian Safavid Empire, Sheikh of the Shia Safavid Order.

Ismail I (also known as Ismail I or Ismail I) was the sixth grandson of Safavi Din, a tribal chief of the Ardabil region in Persian Azerbaijan and a Sufi leader. His ancestors claimed to be descendants of the seventh generation Shia Imam, Musa Kazem. Ismail's father, Haidar, was a Sheikh of the Safavid Order in Kizilbash (red headscarf), and his mother was a princess of the Sultan of the White Sheep Dynasty.
After the Timurid conquest, the Safavid sect collaborated with the rising White Sheep dynasty to jointly attack another Black Sheep dynasty established by Turkmen people. However, after the founder of the Aries dynasty, Uzun Hassan, passed away, his son Yaqubai began to view the well-equipped Safavid Order as a major threat.
As a result, the alliance between the Aries dynasty and the Safavid cult quickly broke down. Yequbai dispatched four thousand troops to support the Hilvan king Farokhyashar, who was fighting against the Safavid Order at the time.
In 1488, his father was killed in battle with Farokh Yashar, and Ismail and his brother Ali were imprisoned. However, at this time, there was a civil war in the Aries dynasty, so another Aries monarch, Rustam, attempted to use the power of the Safavid Order for his own benefit, thus releasing the Ali brothers. But later on, Rustem quickly backed out and attempted to arrest them. Under the relentless pursuit of the Aries dynasty's pursuers, Ali designated his young brother Ismail as his successor in order to protect him. Afterwards, immediately order his subordinates to send Ismail to a safe place. Ali himself led seven hundred followers to fight to the death against the army of the White Sheep Dynasty that intercepted them, and ultimately all died on the battlefield. Ismail was protected by his followers and lived in seclusion in Kiran. At the age of 7, he received religious education from a teacher.

In 1497, he led his followers back to their hometown to inherit the inheritance, but was rejected by Turkman Sultan Ali Berg. They then went to Astara on the Caspian Sea and used it as a base to promote Shia teachings, reorganize the Safavid Sufi Order, and rebuild their own Red Headed Militia. These Red Headed Militia are followers and supporters of Shia Islam, and have gained more manpower and troops through the Ottoman Empire's ban on Shia Islam in the west. Ismail sent his assistants to seven Turkic Turkic Turkic Turkic Turkic tribes in Asia Minor to promote, develop followers, and organize military forces.
In 1499, he was adopted as the Sheikh of the Safavid Order and obtained a 1500 strong army in Azerbaijan.
In 1500, with the help of Kizilbashi people and exiles from eastern Türkiye, Gulistan defeated the successor King Hilfan, and dug up the body of Farohyashar and burned it to comfort his father's spirit in heaven.
After occupying Baku in 1501, it was blocked by the Baiyang dynasty's Arvand Mirza, who occupied Azerbaijan, Alania, and eastern Anatolia. The army sent by Ismail to confront it also suffered a disastrous defeat. Ismail moved to Azerbaijan and attacked Arvand Mirza, personally killing the flag bearer of Arvand Mirza's army. Arvand Mirza was defeated and fled.

In 1502, the Baiyang Dynasty was defeated, and the capital of the Baiyang Dynasty, Tabriz, was captured and occupied southern Azerbaijan. The capital was established in Tabriz, and he was crowned as the Persian "Shah" (Persian Emperor), establishing the Safavid Empire and declaring Shia as the state religion. He ordered his subjects to follow the teachings of the Shia Twelve Imams, and thus began the rule of the Safavid Empire in Persia (1502-1736). Due to historical reasons, Ismail not only carries the bloodline of the Shia founder, the fourth caliph Ali, but also has royal bloodline from the powerful Western Asian kingdoms of the Aries dynasty, the Byzantine Empire, and the northern Georgian kingdom through his mother. Due to the fervent religious atmosphere of Ismaili and the Safavid Order at that time, the Ottoman Empire felt at its back. The vigilance of the Safavid people led Osman to spare no effort in helping the White Sheep dynasty, which had once been his enemy.

From 1502 to 1509, they successively occupied most of Persia, Armenia, Kurdistan, and Iraq. After Ismail changed his title to Shah of Persia, the Red Headed Militia first defeated the last army of the White Sheep Dynasty in 1503, occupying Hamadan and Fars, and then captured Shiraz and Kerman in 1504. Continuing westward, they advanced into the Mesopotamian region and captured Najaf and Karbala in present-day Iraq in 1507. By 1509, Ismail's army had successfully entered the historic city of Baghdad. Many regions, including Kurdish and Armenian areas, also surrendered to him. Georgians who have always adhered to the Christian faith have also sworn to become vassals of the Safavid dynasty. Those militiamen with fanatical religious beliefs are often much more willing to fight than ordinary feudal fiefdoms, and have the opportunity to obtain more advanced weapons because of the support of militiamen from Türkiye. These advantages will lend a helping hand to the Persian army in the upcoming war.
Started fighting against the Bukhara Khanate in 1509. In the battle, Ismail rescued Babur, the successor of the Timurid Empire and the future founder of the Mughal Empire. Therefore, Ismail and Babur formed an alliance for a period of time.
In 1510, after defeating the Uzbek Khan in the Battle of Mouf, Shaybani was killed in action. Ismail captured Khorasan and extended his power to Central Asia, but his army sent to support Babur was defeated by the Uzbeks in the Battle of Gazdevan.

From 1510 to 1514, Ismail I's westward advance led to his conflict with the Ottoman Empire. At this time, the Portuguese who occupied Hormuz and paid tribute to Ismail expressed their willingness to provide the necessary artillery for fighting against the Ottoman Empire to support Ismail's cause. This promise can be said to be similar to the previous promise made by the Venetians to Uzun Hassan, as this promise has never been fulfilled. However, this was not a problem for the Portuguese, as they also lacked artillery at the time, and apart from Portugal, no other European country attached importance to the upcoming war in the Middle East.
In 1514, the Imperial Guard, along with Ottoman Sultan Selim I (reigned 1512-1520), was defeated by the Ottoman army in the Battle of Chaldilan, losing Kurdistan and western Armenia, and briefly losing Tabriz. Ismaili's failure was due to underestimating the power of Türkiye's artillery and belittling the enemy, so he delayed the battle plane, causing his proud regiment to be in a mess under the coverage of Ottoman artillery. A large number of loyal ministers who had always followed him, and even watched Ismail grow up like brothers and fathers, also died in this war. The common concern about the Turkish military power made him extend an olive branch to some European countries (including Venice, Spain and Hungary).
After the Battle of Chaldelan, Ismail gradually became depressed and drank heavily all day long. In May 1524, he passed away while visiting his hometown of Ardabil at the age of 38. After his death, Shia Muslims revered him as Sayyid (i.e. Holy), and historians referred to him as the "true creator of the Persian Islamic Shia state".

Ismail I devoted himself to national governance, paying attention to the development of the economy, protecting industry and commerce, encouraging the development of Islamic academic culture, protecting scholars, strengthening centralization, establishing administrative management systems, sending missionaries (dais) to various places to preside over academic affairs, holding religious schools, spreading Shia doctrine, and blessing Ali at mosque gatherings, thus establishing the dominant position of the Shia twelve imams in Persia.
Ismail I declared Shia Islam as the state religion and appointed himself as the leader of Shia Islam. He is still a knowledgeable and cultured person who can write poetry.