Tahmasp I, Iranian shah (d. 1576)
Tahmasp I (Persian: تهماسب یکم, romanized: Ṭahmāsp; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second Shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I with his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum.
Ascending the throne after the death of his father on 23 May 1524, the first years of Tahmasp's reign included civil wars between the Qizilbash leaders until 1532, when he asserted his authority and began an absolute monarchy. He soon faced a longstanding war with the Ottoman Empire, which had three phases. The Ottomans, under Suleiman the Magnificent, tried to put their favoured candidates on the Safavid throne. The war ended with the Peace of Amasya, with the Ottomans gaining sovereignty of Baghdad, much of Kurdistan and western Georgia. Tahmasp also had conflicts with the Uzbeks over Khorasan, with them repeatedly raiding Herat. He led an army in 1528 (when he was fourteen), and defeated the Uzbeks in the Battle of Jam; he used artillery, unknown to the other side.
Tahmasp was a patron of the arts, building a royal house of arts for painters, calligraphers and poets and painting himself. Later in his reign He despised poets, shunning many and exiling them to India and the Mughal court. Tahmasp is known for his religious bias, allowing the clergy to participate in legal and administrative matters. An example was when he demanded that fugitive Mughal emperor Humayun convert to Shi'ism to receive military assistance to reclaim his throne in India. Tahmasp became a diplomat, however, negotiating alliances with the Republic of Venice and the Habsburg Monarchy.
His succession was disputed before his death. When Tahmasp died on 14 May 1576, a civil war led to the death of most of the royal family. Tahmasp reigned nearly fifty-two years, the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty. Although contemporary Western accounts were critical, modern historians describe him as a courageous and able commander who maintained and expanded his father's empire.