Safavid Occupation of Basra

Date: March 26, 1697 • Location: Al Başrah al Qadīmah, Iraq

The Safavid Empire began a four-year occupation of the Ottoman city of Basra on the Persian Gulf.

The Safavid dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Safavid Iran, and one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shah Ismail I established the Twelver denomination of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries; nevertheless, for practical purposes, they were not only Persian-speaking, but also Turkish-speaking and Turkified. From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran.