The Power of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World – the sequel to Prisoners of Geography

by Tim Marshall

The Safavids are a key turning point in history. In 1501 King Ismail announced that Shia Islam was the official religion. The origins of the Sunni–Shia split within Islam go back to the dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad following his death in 632 CE and the Battle of Karbala in 680. Many historians argue that King Ismail’s motivation was mostly political. Just as Henry VIII needed to define his kingdom in opposition to Rome and created the Church of England, as we’ll see in the UK chapter, so Ismail needed the Safavids to be defined in opposition to their arch-rival – the Sunni Ottoman Empire.

Its conversion to Shi’ism created deep hostility towards Persia, which helped form a nationalist identity, a strong central government and a suspicion of minorities which has been passed down through the centuries.

It helped Iran become the country it is and contributes to the tensions in Lebanon, the wars in Yemen and Syria, and has been a factor in the clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. This is not to say that political state rivalries can be dismissed in these events, but the religious split was funda...