The problem with trying to associate historical figures and empires with ethnic groups is that the ancient world did not care or obsess over ethnic groups. This is a modern concept that seems to have begun with the rise of the ethno-nationalism in the world. Men such as Shah Ismail and Babur would not really have cared about whether they were Turks or Iranians. What mattered most to them was their lineage. This is what was truly important to them.
Note: This is a long answer. Skip to the very end for the summary.
Origin of the Safavid Order
The origin of the Safavid Order was not Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid Empire. The founder of the Safavid Order was Safi-ad-din Ardabili.
A statue of Safi-ad-din Ardabili
Safi-ad-din Ardabili was a man of Kurdish origins. The Safvat as-Safa, a biography of Safi-ad-din Ardabili written a two decades after his death, describes his origins and ancestry.
Safi-ad-din Ardabili was the son of Sheikh Amin al-din Jebrail, son of al-Saaleh Qutb al-Din Abu Bakr, son of Salaah al-Din Rashid, son of Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Kalaam Alla, son of Javaad, son of Firuz Shah Zarrin Kolah. Firuz was also known as Firuz al-Kurdi al-Sanjari, which means Firuz the Kurd from Sanjar.
Firuz Shah is originally believed to be from Kurdistan. Sanjar was located in the Kurdish part of modern-day Turkey. He migrated to Ardabil around the 11th century after he was awarded territory by the local kings.
The location of the city of Ardabil
Safi-ad-din Ardabili himself was born in Ardabil, a city in North-West Iran that lies close to the border with Azerbaijan. The most common ethnic group in the region today is Azeri, a Turkic group of people.
However at the time of Safi-ad-din Ardabili, the region had not yet become Turkified and so the locals in the region would not have spoken Azerbaijani, a Turkic language belonging to the Oghuz branch, that is spoken today. The language spoken by Safi-ad-din Ardabili was not any Turkic language at all. Rather an Iranic one. The poetry of Safi-ad-din Ardabili suggests that the languages he used were Persian and the Old Azeri language. The Old Azeri language was the language spoken in this region before the Turkification of the region. It belonged to the North-Western Iranian group of languages.
The tomb of Safi-ad-din Ardabili
Shah Ismail
Now let’s look at Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid Empire. Shah Ismail was the son of Sheikh Haydar, son of Sheikh Junaid, son of Sheikh Ibrahim, son of Sheikh Khoja Ali, son of Sheikh Sadr Al-Din Musa, son of Safi-ad-din Ardabili. This means that Shah Ismail was the great-great-great-great grandson of Safi-ad-din Ardabili, the founder of the Safavid Order.
Shah Ismail was also born in Ardabil. He was the result of a marriage between Sheikh Haydar and Halima Begum (Martha). Halima was the daughter of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Ak Koyunlu, and Theodora Megale Komnene, daughter of Emperor John IV of Trebizond. This shows just how mixed the genealogy of the Safavids was.
This is not the only example of the mixed genealogy of the Safavids. Shah Ismail’s father, Sheikh Haydar, was the result of a marriage between Sheikh Junaid and Khadija Khatun. Khadija was the sister of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu. Khadija was the daughter of Theodora of Trebizond, daughter of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and Ali Beyg of the Ak Koyunlu.
This should help understand just how mixed the genealogy of the Safavid Dynasty was, even before Shah Ismail. If we look at the genealogy of Shah Ismail to determine whether he was a Turk or and Iranian, it does us little good. We cannot call the Safavids as either purely Iranic or Turkic based on ancestry. The genealogy of Shah Ismail was extremely mixed. It consisted of members that were Pontic Greeks, Georgian, Kurds and Turkmens.
Shah Ismail
By the time of Shah Ismail’s birth, the region had become quite Turkified. This included the Safavid Dynasty itself. The Safavids no longer spoke the Old Azeri language as Safi-ad-din Ardabili had. Shah Ismail is believed to have spoken two languages. These being Persian and Azerbaijani, a Turkic language belonging to the Oghuz branch. This is evident from his poetry in the Persian and Azerbaijani languages.
An ethnic map of Iran
Upon taking the throne and forming the Safavid Empire, Shah Ismail took the title Padishah-i-Iran. So it seems that Shah Ismail saw himself as the ruler of Iran. Not ruler of Turks. However, this does not really tell us much because such titles were commonly taken by Turkic rulers. For example, Uzun Hasan of the Ak Koyunlu also used the title Padishah-i-Iran and Shahanshah of Iran.
Let’s view how foreign emperors saw Shah Ismail. The Ottomans referred to him as “King of Iranian lands and the heir to Jamshid and Kai Khosrow”. This indicates that they saw him as the Emperor of Iran. However, once again this does not mean all that much. Uzun Hassan had also taken such titles before, linking himself to great Persian heroes and mythical men from the past. For example, “Powerful like Jamshid, flag of Fereydun and wise like Darius”. So once again, we have a ruler of a Turkic confederation claiming to be heir to the Iranians and Persians kings of old.
Remember how I said at the beginning that ethnicity was not important to people in the past. This is a perfectly good example of that. To people in the modern world, association by ethnicity might mean everything. To men like Shah Ismail, this would have seemed ridiculous.
A depiction of Uzun Hassan, leader of the Ak Koyunlu the white sheep empire in turkey and iran
The Safavid Empire
Initially within the Safavid Empire, there seems to have been a divide. There was the Qizilbash Turkic military and an administration that was mostly Persian. This was a system that seems similar to the Seljuk system. However, changes were introduced by Shah Tahmasp I. These changes would be carried on by the future Safavid Emperors as well.
Shah Tahmasp introduced changes to try to break this divide within the newly forged empire. Turkic nobles were taught Persian to take part within the administration. At the same time, the power of the Turkic military force was reduced. This was done by the introduction of Muslim-convert slaves/migrants from the Caucasus region. This system seemed similar to the Janissary system of the Ottomans. These slaves/migrants had no connections to either the local Persians or the Turkic tribes. As such their power depended solely on the Safavids. These men would take part in both the military and administration.
As for the Safavid Empire itself, it was undoubtedly an Iranian Empire. Not a Turkic one. The official language of the court and administration was always Persian. After the first few emperors, the use of Azerbaijani Turkish by the Safavids seems to have died out. The language of the Safavids was now Persian.
Shah Tahmasp I
Ethnic identity of the Safavids
The Safavid Empire itself was an Iranian Empire. About that there is no doubt. The official language of the court and administration was Persian. The capital was even moved to Isfahan. Even the Safavid Emperors, after the first few, spoke Persian as their primary language.
As for the Safavid Dynasty. It is hard to say whether they were Turkic or Iranians. It should be kind of obvious by now why this is a complicated case.
Safi-ad-din Ardabili was an Iranian man of Kurdish origins. I do not think that this can really be debated. On the other hand, Shah Ismail was not. He was for all intents and purposes a Turkic man.
Now some might say that because Safi-ad-din Ardabili was an Iranian man, this means that his descendant Shah Ismail must also be the same. I disagree with this line of thinking. As the idea that a person must be the same ethnic group as their earliest descendant is a murky one. I mean, where do we draw the line. Remember that if we go back far enough, we all came from Africa.
Look at the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar for example. If we are to say that Bahadur Shah belongs to the same ethnic group as his earliest traceable ancestor, then this means that Bahadur Shah Zafar was a Mongol. Or a proto-Mongol. However, calling Bahadur Shah Zafar as a Mongol is ridiculous to the point that it becomes kind of comical. Look at the pictures below as to why this is so.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor. He did not speak the Mongolian language at all. He had no idea about the Mongolian culture or religion. He probably did not even know much about what Mongolia was. It would be ridiculous to call such a man a Mongol, just because his ancestor centuries ago was one.
Here is a photo of his sons. Should they also be considered as ethnic Mongols.
The President of Mongolia. Does anyone see a reason why Bahadur Shah should be considered as an ethnic Mongolian?
Let’s not forget that a person has many different lines of ancestry. When we trace Bahadur Shah to Bodonchar Munkhag, we are just focusing on a single one. The line of royalty. Similarly, Shah Ismail also had many different lines of ancestry. When we connect him to Safi-ad-din Ardabili, we are just looking at his royal line and ignoring the rest of his ancestry.
The ethnic of a person is largely determined by the collective identity. Let’s not forget that the Turkic and Iranic groups are ethno-linguistic groups. The identity seems to mostly be determined by the language that one speaks. If we consider all of this, it becomes hard to deny that Shah Ismail was anything but a Turk. Yes, his ancestors had been Iranians. But the region where he lived become Turkified before he was even born. This resulted in the Safavids changing from the speakers of an Iranian language (Old Azeri) to a Turkic one (Azeri Turkish). It is no different than the transition of the Anatolian people into Turkic people. All of this points to Shah Ismail himself was a Turk.
Now if we keep on going, the Safavids stopped being anything like the Turks as well. Instead they became as Persian as a person could possibly be. By the time of the last Safavid Shahs, the dynasty was completely Persian in culture and language. The later Safavid Emperors were pretty much ethnic Persians.
So now we have settled on a few things.
- Firuz Shah – Kurdish
- Safi-ad-din Ardabili – Iranian (speaker of Old Azeri)
- Shah Ismail – Turkic (speaker of Azerbaijani)
- Later Safavids – Persians
Sultan Husayn, the last Safavid Shah with any real power
Were the Safavid Turkic or Iranic?
Now that we have settled on the ethnic identity of some of the important figures of the Safavid Dynasty, let’s focus on the dynasty itself. The problem with the determination of the ethnicity of the Safavid Dynasty is the origin of the dynasty. The ethnicity of a dynasty is usually based upon the origin of the dynasty. In this case, a case can be made for either.
For those that consider the Safavid as a dynasty of Turkic origins, can point to Shah Ismail as being the true founder of the dynasty. As it was Shah Ismail, that founded the Safavid Empire. Without him or the formation of the Safavid Empire, the Safavids would have probably disappeared into obscurity. So if one considers Shah Ismail as the origin of the Safavid Dynasty, it was a dynasty of Turkic origins.
For those that consider the Safavid as a dynasty of Iranian origins, can point to Safi-ad-din Ardabili as being the true founder of the dynasty. As it was Safi-ad-din Ardabili, that founded the Safavid Order. Without him or the Safavid Order, the future leaders of this order would have no importance or legitimacy. So if one considers Safi-ad-din Ardabili as the origin of the Safavid Dynasty, it was a dynasty of Iranian origins.
For those that consider the Safavid as a dynasty of Kurdish origins (also an Iranic group), can point to Firuz Shah Zarrin Kolah as being the true founder of the dynasty. As it was Firuz Shah that moved to Ardabil and established the family there. Without him, the family would have been an anonymous family living in Kurdistan. So if one considers Firuz Shah as the origin of the Safavid Dynasty, it was a dynasty of Kurdish origins.
This is why both sides can make a case for the Safavids. Shah Ismail’s contribution to the Safavid order is no less than that of Safi-ad-din Ardabili. Let’s not forget that Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s Safavid Order was originally a Sunni one belonging to the Shafiʽi school of thought. Not the Twelver branch of Shia Islam that it is known for today.
In my opinion, the Safavid Dynasty was a mixed one of Iranian origins. More specifically of Azeri Iranian origins. I consider Safi-ad-din Ardabili as the founder of the Safavid Dynasty, as he founded the Safavid Order. Even if was one of Sunni Islam at the time. The Safavids drew legitimacy based on this order and Safi-ad-din Ardabili. Even the name of the dynasty is even based on him.
At the same time, I understand why others might consider the Safavid Dynasty as a Turkic or Kurdish dynasty. It really just depends on who you consider to be the origin of the Safavid Dynasty.
The Safavid Flag
Summary
To summarize the whole thing. Firuz Shah was a Kurdish man and the earliest known member of this family tree. Safi-ad-din Ardabili was an Iranian man (speaker of Old Azeri) and the founder of the Safavid Order. Shah Ismail was a Turkic man (speaker of Azerbaijani) and the man who formed the Safavid Empire.
All three of these men can be considered to be the origin of the Safavid Dynasty. As all three were extremely important in the history of the Safavid Dynasty. Based on which one you consider to be the origin of the Safavid Dynasty, a case can be made for each one. If you consider Firuz Shah as the origin of the dynasty, then the Safavids were a dynasty of Kurdish origins. If you consider Safi-ad-din Ardabili as the origin of the dynasty, then the Safavids were a dynasty of Iranian origins (Azeri). If you consider Shah Ismail as the origin of the dynasty, then the Safavids were a dynasty of Turkic origins.
Let’s not forget that the Safavid Dynasty was an extremely mixed one genealogically. With mixed ancestry including Georgians, Greeks, Kurds and Turkomans, even at the time of Shah Ismail.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the Safavid Dynasty was a mixed dynasty of Iranian (Azeri) origins. As I consider Safi-ad-din Ardabili as the origin of the dynasty. The reason behind this being that the Safavid Order and dynasty was named after him and always drew legitimacy from him. Even if they deviated away from his exact teachings.
While the Safavid Dynasty may be considered as either Iranian or Turkic, the Safavid Empire itself was an Iranian Empire. It was the Safavid Empire of Persia.
Safavid Empire at its greatest extent