Italy / Iran - Venice / Persia: A diplomatic meeting between the Persian envoy and the Doge Marino Grimani in 1595 as depicted in the Doge's Palace. Carlo Caliari and Gabriele Calliari, c. 1600

Shāh 'Abbās the Great (or Shāh 'Abbās I) (Persian: شاه عباس بزرگ) (January 27, 1571 - January 19, 1629) was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves.<br/><br/><br/>The Qizilbash army was a group of soldiers who had been killed by the Qizilbash. In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and the Qizilbash. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals.