Shah Ismail I (Khatai)

Ismail was born in Ardabil in 1487 into the family of the Safavid sheikhs. In 1501, aged 14, he was proclaimed shah in Tabriz and founded the Safavid state, soon uniting Azerbaijan, Iran and neighbouring lands.

Azerbaijani Turkic was the main language of his court and army. Under the pen name Khatai he wrote a divan, the poem Dahnameh and syllabic goshmas in that language — poems close to ashiq verse.

Khatai holds a special place in the history of Azerbaijani statehood and literature as both ruler and poet. He died in 1524 and is buried in the Sheikh Safi shrine in Ardabil.