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Foreign. Five hundred years ago, a teenage boy rode into a city and forcibly rewrote the soul of a nation. His actions still shape Iran's politics, its identity, and why it even has a supreme leader today. In 1501, a warlord named Ismail, described as a fair skinned redhead, captured Tabriz with an elite fighting force, declared himself Shah of Iran, and did something far more radical than conquering territory. He changed what Iranians believed, not gradually, not organically, by force. Ismail was not just a ruler. He was something far stranger than that. He was only around 14 or 15 when he took Tabriz. Born in Ardabil, historically a region of Azerbaijan but now part of northwestern Iran, he stood at the head of a Sufi religious movement, part of the mystical tradition within Islam focused on spiritual discipline and the purification of the heart. But by the time Ismail emerged, it was no longer just a spiritual brotherhood. It had become a military and political force, increasingly shaped by Shia ideas about sacred leadership. His followers, the Turkic Qizilbash, drawn from tribal networks across Anatolia and Azerbaijan, were, weren't just soldiers. They were believers in him. And they wore distinctive red headgear with 12 folds, each symbolizing the 12 Imams of Shia Islam. Their loyalty was not merely political either. It was devotional, and in some cases, it bordered on the sacred. In his own poetry, Ismail describes himself as a divine incarnation, and we know that some of his followers believed him. This is not orthodox Islam. It is a fusion of mysticism, messianism and political power. A ruler who is not simply king, but who occupies a space that feels, to his followers at least, cosmically significant. And his own origins deepen that sense of myth. He inherited leadership of the Safavid order as a child from his older brother, who had taken over after their father was killed in battle. Ismail then spent years in hiding, protected by loyal followers, as the last surviving heir of a movement that its enemies were trying to destroy. Then he re emerges, gathers followers, and within a remarkably short period, takes power. Around him is a structure of elite advisors helping guide the movement. But the narrative that takes hold is a hidden child returning, conquering, destined, revealing himself. And then comes the decision that defines Iran for the next 500 years. Ismail declares 12 ashi', ism, the official religion of Iran, or Safavid Persia, as it was then. When Ismail imposes 12 ashiism, people are not ready for it. The country is largely Sunni. 12 Ashiism exists only in scattered communities, and there aren't enough scholars, there's not enough infrastructure, and there's insufficient embedded tradition to sustain it. As A state religion. So Sunni institutions are dismantled. Sunni scholars are removed, sometimes violently, and Shia clerics are brought in from Arab regions to build a new religious order. Conversion is enforced from above, disobedience punishable by death. This is one of the most rapid and dramatic state driven religious transformations in history. And through coercion and violence, it works over time. The religion does not remain a political imposition. It becomes embedded in culture, law, education, social life. Its doctrines shape everything from legal systems to public rituals. But Ismail's decision was not purely theological. It was strategic because Iran was surrounded by Sunni powers, most notably back then, the Ottoman Empire. By defining Iran as Shia, Ismail created a civilizational boundary. Religious difference became political identity. The Sunni Shia divide, which already existed, became territorialized and institutionalised. Iran, or Safavid Persia, was now more distinct. Ismail's authority was intensely personal. It relied on charisma, belief and a perception among some of his followers that he is divinely chosen. But that kind of authority is always unstable and that aura of invincibility fractured. On 23 August 1514 at the Battle of Shaldiran, a defining moment in Safavid history. Ismail was wounded, his army defeated by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. The Ottoman army was equipped with cannons and muskets, advanced artillery, while the Safavid army relied almost entirely on traditional cavalry, leading to this massive one sided loss. Ismail withdrew, descended into depression and excessive drinking, according to some research articles I found. And the system that he created began to evolve beyond him. Over time, the Safavid state became less dependent on personal mystique and more structured bureaucracy, strengthened military power. Centralised governance became institutional rather than charismatic. But one thing did not change. The territory of Iran. It was larger back then, remained Shia. By the time the Safavid dynasty established by Ismail ends, the transformation is complete. 12 Shi' ISM is a key part of Iranian identity. To understand why this matters to modern Iran, we need to understand the belief system imposed by the first half of the Shah. It's very important to note of course, as Iranians that I know and people in the comments always remind me that the actual beliefs that people hold in Iran are very tough to grasp today because of access and state pressure. But a large number are increasingly secular and supportive of a secular state. 12 Shi' ISM is the largest branch of Shia Islam. And Shia Islam has over 200 million adherents globally and forms majorities in countries like Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan. In Iran today, Shia Muslims constitute between 90 and 95% of the Muslim population. At its core is A dispute over succession. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Twelvers believed that leadership did not pass through the early caliphs, but through Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son in law, and then through 11 of his direct descendants. These 12 figures, known as Imams, are not simply political leaders. They are understood as divinely guided authorities, guardians of religious truth and legitimate leadership. And this belief shapes everything, theology, law, political identity. But the defining moment comes with the twelfth Imam in the ninth century, and his name is Muhammad Al Mahdi. According to Twelver belief, he does not die. He disappears and enters what is known as occultation, hidden by God, divinely cloaked for now over 1000 years, believed to be still alive and still the rightful leader. His return is expected, timing unknown. And when he does return, believers hold that he will establish a universal order of justice, a political and spiritual transformation of the world. And he's not seen as just a Messiah in a religious sense, but a ruler and one who will restore both true Islam and governance in the lead up to the Day of Judgment, when it's believed that he will team up with Jesus too, in the eschatological drama. So this creates a fundamental tension. If the true leader, the Hidden Imam, exists but is absent, who governs in the meantime? For centuries, the answer is cautious. Twelver communities rely on scholars who interpret religious law, who are seen as deputies of the Hidden Imam, but obviously not his replacement. They guide, they interpret, but they don't claim full political authority. There isn't a single pope like figure. Authority in Iran was distributed among learned scholars. But over time, Twelver thought develops a more expansive answer to this theological problem. The true leader may be absent, but scholars are more than just interpreters. They're representatives acting in a limited sense on behalf of the Hidden Imam. Over time, this idea evolves into a more assertive doctrine, that a qualified jurist should exercise political authority during the Imam's absence. And this became formalized in the 20th century, particularly under the first supreme leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini. So after the 1979 revolution, Iran rewrote its constitution to reflect 12 Ashir legal and theological principles. Central to this doctrine is the absolute guardianship of the jurist. Under this system, the state's major decisions must be supervised and confirmed by a high ranking 12 Ashir jurist, the Supreme Leader who sits at the apex of the system. He is not divine, obviously, but he is understood to act as the general representative of the Hidden Imam, who remains the true head of both religion and polity. This structure formalizes what had once been an abstract theological idea that in the absence of the rightful ruler, authority can be exercised by those most capable of of interpreting divine law. This is not just theory. It is embedded in the constitution, the legal system, and the structure of the Iranian state. Five centuries after Ismail rode into Tabriz, Iranians are still living inside that act, in a state built on the idea that true authority is divine, hidden for now and exercised in the meantime through its earthly representative, the Supreme Leader. Thank you for watching. Let me know in the comments if there are any other topical things that you want the history of explained.