HOW DID IRAN BECOME MAJORITY SHIA? 🇮🇷 524 years ago today, Shah Ismail I founded the Safavid dynasty, officially declaring Twelver Shiism as the state religion of his empire. At its height, Safavid rule covered much of modern-day Iran and Azerbaijan, and at various points extended into parts of Iraq, Türkiye and Central Asia. Although Persia had historically produced some of the most celebrated Sunni Muslim scholars — including Imam al-Bukhari, al-Tabari and al-Ghazali — it was the Safavids wh