Safavid Dynasty

State · 1502–1737 CE · at its largest around 1512 CE

Shah Ismail's dynasty made Iran a Twelver Shi'a land, shaping its identity to this day. Under Shah Abbas, Isfahan became one of the world's great cities, famed for its vast square, tiled mosques, miniature painting, carpets and silk trade with Europe.

On its lands while it lasted

Ecbatana (c. 550 BCE – c. 1800 CE): Capital of Achaemenid Empire (550 BCE–330 BCE).
Palmyra (c. 261–1929 CE): Capital of Palmyrene Empire (261–269).
Khanate of Bukhara (1500–1785 CE): Uzbek state established by the Shaybanids after they took Bukhara and Samarkand from the Timurids.
Khanate of Khiva (1511–1920 CE): Uzbek state in Khwarazm with its capital at Khiva, which became a Russian protectorate in 1873.
Battle of Chaldiran (1514 CE): The Ottoman army of Selim I, using artillery and firearms, defeated Shah Ismail I, securing eastern Anatolia for the Ottomans.
Abbas the Great (1571 CE – 1629 CE): Safavid shah who reformed the army, recovered lost territories from the Ottomans and Uzbeks, and made Isfahan a splendid capital.
Naqsh-e Jahan Square (c. 1598 CE): A vast public square laid out by Shah Abbas I in his new capital Isfahan, surrounded by the Shah Mosque, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the Ali Qapu palace.
Nader Shah (1688 CE – 1747 CE): A Turkoman commander who founded Iran's Afsharid dynasty, reunited the country and sacked Delhi in 1739.
Kandahar (c. 1709 CE): Capital of Hotaki Dynasty (1709–1737), Durrani Empire (1748–1776).
Ahmad Shah Durrani (c. 1722 CE – 1772 CE): Founder of the Durrani Empire, the basis of modern Afghanistan, who repeatedly invaded northern India.