Safavid Revolt in Ardabil

1500

A thirteen-year-old mystic named Ismail, last heir of a Sufi brotherhood steeped in martyrdom, emerged from hiding in the forests of Gilan with seven loyal horsemen. Within months his red-capped Qizilbash warriors were sweeping across Azerbaijan, preparing to remake Persia into a militant Shia state. His Qizilbash followers believed Ismail divine, and their fanatical devotion gave his small army fearlessness that terrified larger forces.