The theory or school of social deterrence, unlike the school of heroism, emphasizes the influence of social conditions and measures governing the economy and social product methods in the emergence and development of historical events. In its extreme form, this doctrine leads to ignoring the personalities and leaders’ contributions to the events. Historians of the Safavid reign influenced by the attitude of heroism in describing Shāh Ismā'il 's character and narrating the events in his time, have highlighted his role as a supernatural savior. This attitude has influenced contemporary researchers, among which some have analyzed the events of his period focusing on his leadership. Despite this attitude, the rise of Shāh Ismā'il can be explained based on the social theory, where Shāh Ismā'il's character is subject to social conditions and the role of tribal support forces that is his leadership is of less concern. The objective here is to assess the emergence of Shāh Ismā'il the I based on social deterrence theory, in a descriptive-analytical manner. The findings indicate that the pieces of evidence revealed in historical writings, where the conditions, contexts, and previous factors in the rise of Shāh Ismā'il under his personality and leadership are of concern. Contemporary researchers have assessed this issue in its social and economic sense, or resorting to the theory of social deterrence, thus, discounting his character as a leader.
