1501

Events in 1501 3

• 651 – 1501 Islamic Persia — caliphates, Seljuks and Mongols Centuries of Islamic rule and a Persian cultural flowering After the conquest, Persia was ruled successively by the Arab caliphates, Persian and Turkic dynasties, the Seljuk Turks, and — devastatingly — the Mongols under Genghis Khan and Hulagu in the 13th century. Yet this era produced a brilliant Persian cultural renaissance: the poetry of Ferdowsi, Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam, and advances in science and mathematics.
• 1501 – present Jerónimos Monastery Manueline Masterpiece A stunning example of Portuguese Gothic architecture built to commemorate Vasco da Gamas voyage.
• 1501 – 1736 Safavid Empire Iran reunified; Shia Islam made the state religion The Safavid dynasty, founded by Shah Ismail I in 1501, reunified Iran as an independent power after centuries of fragmentation and established Twelver Shia Islam as the state religion — a defining feature of Iranian identity to this day. The empire reached its height under Shah Abbas I and rivalled the Ottomans.