↑ Mazzaoui Michel B. Islamic Culture and Literature in Iran and Central Asia in the early modern period // Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective. — Cambridge University Press, 2002. — P. 86-87. — ISBN 0-521-52291-9, ISBN 978-0-521-52291-5 Safavid power with its distinctive Persian-Shi’i culture, however, remained a middle ground between its two mighty Turkish neighbors. The Safavid state, which lasted at least until 1722, was essentially a «Turkish» dynasty, with Azeri Turkish (Azerbaijan being the family’s home base) as the language of the rulers and the court as well as the Qizilbash military establishment. Shah Ismail wrote poetry in Turkish. The administration nevertheless was Persian, and the Persian language was the vehicle of diplomatic correspondence (insha'), of belles-lettres (adab), and of history (tarikh).