Dashed left edge = started before this timeline ·
Dashed right edge = still ongoing
Events in 1736 1
1501 – 1736Safavid EmpireIran reunified; Shia Islam made the state religionThe 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.