The fall of the Mongol Ilkhanid dynasty in the mid-fourteenth century decentralized political power and led to the rise of different religious traditions in Iran, Iraq, and Anatolia. Up to this period, Sufism was largely associated with Sunnism, the branch of Islam followed by the majority of Muslims that recognizes the first four caliphs as the Prophet’s rightful heirs. The political and social uncertainty of the period encouraged many popular Sufi brotherhoods also to adopt Shi‘i beliefs and practices.

The Safavids were one of the many Sufi orders that originated in the fourteenth century. The founder, Shaykh Safi Ishraqi (d. 1334), built a modest khanaqa in the city of Ardabil, near Tabriz. In a late sixteenth-century copy of the shaykh’s biography, known as Safat al-Safa (Quintessence of Purity), a text that was composed in the fourteenth century by Isma‘il ibn Bazzaz, he is depicted in an ecstatic dance, illustrating his charismatic persona. By the end of the fifteenth century, the order had transformed from a spiritual group into a political entity and was particularly popular among the nearby rural and tribal communities of northwestern Iran and eastern Anatolia. With intermarriage into the Turkmen ruling family of western Iran, the Safavids integrated spiritual and temporal power into the order.

Shah Isma‘il’s spiritual character is best expressed in his Divan. He composed it in Turkmen Turkish, a language that was used by the tribes of Anatolia and northwestern Iran, under the pen name Khata’, literally, the “Sinner.” Many of the verses can be characterized as traditional Persian love poetry, which are open to both sacred and profane interpretation, others are clearly and fervently religious in content. Khata’i’s Divan, which takes many different poetic forms, integrates Sufi and Shi‘i concepts and underscores a profound reverence to Imam Ali, whom he addresses as his king and spiritual guide.

An early illustrated copy of the Divan in the National Museum of Asian Art also includes an idealized portrait of Shah Isma‘il on horseback. He is identified by the inscription above the doorway.

The verse below, from the Divan in the National Museum of Asian Art, exemplifies Shah Ismai’l’s devotion to Imam Ali:

Shah Isma‘il died in 1524 and is buried in a small mausoleum tower next to Shaykh Safi’s, immortalizing the relationship between Safavid secular and spiritual powers. Isma‘il’s successor, Shah Tahmasb (r. 1524–76), expanded the complex by adding new structures, such as the Dar al-hadith (Abode of Hadith)—a space for Qur’anic recitation—and the Jannat-sara (Abode of Paradise)—a prayer/reception hall, which may have been originally designed as a tomb chamber. Members of the elite, especially the Qizilbash tribes, financially supported these expansions as well as the shrine’s upkeep. Many patrons were also female members of the Qizilbash tribal aristocracy.

Shah Tahmasb and Safavid high-ranking officials also endowed priceless works of art to the shrine at Ardabil, emphasizing its growing religious importance. One of the most impressive such gifts is a pair of carpets, completed in 1539–40 to coincide with Tahmasb’s expansion of the sanctuary. Scholars have suggested that the carpets were displayed in the Jannat-sara, the large octagonal space reserved for prayers and other gatherings.

Shah Abbas regarded himself as a “Shadow of God on Earth” and continued to use Ardabil as a symbol of Safavid political and spiritual legitimacy. At the same time, he curtailed the power of the Qizilbash, countered popular Sufi-Shi‘i beliefs and practices, and executed several Sufi leaders he regarded as a growing threat to his authority. To limit the influence of Sufis further, the shah systematically dismantled their religious networks, which had taken root in Safavid popular culture and advocated for a more traditional form of Shi‘ism. Shah Abbas’s successors continued with these policies and further weakened the power of Sufi orders in Safavid Iran.

Still, Sufism survived and flourished in Iran in several different ways. While Safavid rulers had purged and banned most of the Sufi orders, many individual Sufis found support among the population. These figures also became common subject matter for painters and poets, whose artworks, even if idealized, celebrated the traditions and rituals associated with Sufis.

Another source of support for Sufism was the futuvvat, which professed allegiance to Imam Ali and followed Sufi traditions and practices, especially the master/pupil model. These associations were closely linked to artisan guilds and ensured that the Sufi codes of conduct were upheld and respected among the community.

Sufism also persevered in Iran thanks to the work of several powerful scholars and philosophers. These included Shaykh Bahai (d. 1621), Muhammad Taqi Majlesi (d. 1659), and especially Sadr al-Din Shirazi, better known as Mulla Sadra (d. 1636), who allegedly taught at the Madrasa-i Khan in Shiraz for some time. Mulla Sadra advocated for a more intellectual approach to mystical Islam in Iran, one that combined Sufi ideals and Shi‘i religious thought.

With the establishment of the Qajar dynasty (1789–1925) at the close of a tumultuous century in Iran, other Sufi orders such as the Nimatullahis also flourished. The Nimatullahi order was founded by the fifteenth-century Shaykh Nimatullah Vali (d. 1431), who is buried in Mahan, near the city of Kerman.