Shah Esma`il

The second earliest published contemporary account that mentions and discusses Shah Esmaʿil I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, his family, his rise to power, as well as his Qezelbash followers was a report published in Italian in 1506. This article offers a translation and an analysis of this report, plus four letters that are attached to this report which shed light on the role that the Sophy played in European anti-Ottoman politics