Ismail II

Ismail II (Persian: اسماعیل دوم) was born on 31 May 1537 in Qom as the second son of Tahmasp I and consort Sultanum Begum, an Aq Qoyunlu princess of the Mawsillu clan. Ismail spent his childhood in court; since his older brother and heir apparent Mohammad Khodabanda was appointed as the governor of Herat, as a child, Ismail learned horse riding, archery, reading and writing. In summer 1547, Ismail was appointed governor of Shirvan, he faced a rebellion by his cousin pretender Burhan Ali, he was supported by the Ottomans; he was defeated by an army under the command of Ismail's Lala, in winter 1552, Ismail with 8,000 men raided Erzurum and destroyed the Ottoman fortification near the city.  

The Ottoman commander Iskandar Pasha, decided to fight Ismail army before they reached the city. Ismael retreated into the west, Iskandar followed Ismael and faced a new Safavid army, he was defeated with heavy casualties, in autumn 1555, Ismail married his cousin, Safieh Soltan Khanum, the wedding ceremony took place in north Tabriz, the couple were settled in Qazvin and were given the house previously owned by Bahram Mirza. In Qazvin, Ismail spent many of his nights with male lovers, and his homosexuality was an open secret. This contrasted with Tahmasp's zealotry; however, he did not try to stop Ismail until the winter of 1555, when it was reported that Ismail had broken a leg during an outing with his male companion. 

Tahmasp ordered Ismael arrested in Saveh because of Ismail's popularity; Ismail attacks on Turkish borders and Tahmasp's outrage on Ismail's homosexuality and addiction to drugs, the Shah ordered the imprisonment of Ismail in the Qahqaheh Castle, in 1557 he remained imprisoned for 19 years. Tahmasp seems to be influenced by his grand vizier, Ma'sum Beg Safavi. Tahmasp I died on 14 May 1576 from accidental poisoning; Haydar Mirza immediately proclaimed himself the new king and wore Tahmasp's crown. However, he did not have time to assert his authority, the next day, the loyal bodyguards who supported Ismail, isolated him from his supporters and killed Haydar Mirza. 

On 1 September 1576, Ismail ascended the throne, his coronation was held in Chehel Sotoun, the khutbah of the accession was read by Makhdum Sharifi Shirazi, a Sunni clergyman chosen by Pari Khan Khanum (minister of the religion). 

Category:1537 births