| The Shiite Safavids ruled Iraq in the late 1500s and early 1600s under Shah Abbas. |
| The Safavids also rejected existing Shiite pockets, especially those surrounding Qom such as the Qyzyl Bash orders. |
| If the Safavids did retain a certain degree of independence, that independence was heavily prejudiced by a great deal of dependence. |
| The establishment of the Shi'a faith as the official religion brought the Safavids into conflict with the Sunni Ottomans. |
| As guardians of the ancient artistic traditions of Iran rather than innovators in their own right, the Safavids facilitated the emergence of a refined, sumptuous, courtly art in which poetry and literature flourished. |
| In specifically religious terms the Safavids not only persecuted Sunni Muslims, but Shi'ites with different views, and all other religions. |
