| To promote Shi'ism the Safavids brought in scholars from Shi'ite countries to form a new religious elite. |
| It was completely devastated by Turkmen tribes, the hordes of Tamerlane, and the Persian Safavids. |
| In specifically religious terms the Safavids not only persecuted Sunni Muslims, but Shi'ites with different views, and all other religions. |
| 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. |
| The Shiite Safavids ruled Iraq in the late 1500s and early 1600s under Shah Abbas. |
