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Top: Society: Religion_and_Spirituality: Islam: History: Dynasties_and_Empires: Safavid

The longest-lasting Shia dynasty since the Arab conquest of Iran some eight hundred years earlier, established in northern Iran in 1501 by a Sufi master, Ismail Safavi.

Their rule lasted to 1765. In their early days, they successfully resisted pressure from the Ottoman (Sunni) Empire; later, they collapsed under the combined pressure of Russian and Ottoman power.

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