When Ismail laid claim to the ancient Persian imperial title of shah, he also proclaimed that the official religion of his realm would be Twelver Shiism. Ismail proceeded to impose it, by force when necessary, on the former Sunni population of parts of Southwest Asia as his tribe conquered major parts of Persia and the Middle East.  For propaganda purposes Shah Abbas (reigned 1501-24) traced his ancestry back to a famed Sufi religious leader, Safi al-Din and applied a religious belief that became popular with local Turkish nomadic tribes.

Twelver Shiism held that there had been twelve infallible imams (religious leaders) after Muhammad, beginning with the prophet’s son-in-law and cousin Ali.  Shiites believe that Ali was the rightful successor (Caliph) to Muhammad as the spiritual and political leader of the umma.  After Ali’s assassination, he followed by a number of subsequent imams until the twelfth.  Twelver Shiites believe that the twelfth or “hidden” imam had gone into hiding around 874 to escape persecution but that he is alive and one day will take power and spread his true religion.

Safavid propaganda also suggested the Ismail was himself the hidden imam, or even the incarnation of Allah. Twelver Shiite clergy will become and are still instrumental and powerful members of the Persian/Iranian state and community.

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(far left) Artist depiction of Shah Ismail