Born 1 RamażÄn 978/27 January 1571 Abbas was the son of Mohammed Khudabanda, the Safavid Shahanshah of Iran. In 1587 Abbas I was installed as Shahanshah of Iran in a coup backed my Murshid Quli Khan to depose Mohammad Khudabanda who was nearly blind and having difficulty ruling and managing a losing war with the Ottomans. Attacked by the Ottomans, Moguls, and Uzbeks Abbas made peace with the Ottomans in 1590 and allowed the Moguls to occupy Kandahar so he could focus his attention on the Uzbeks and rebuilding Iran and reforming the military and government, ending autonomus rule in Mazendaran and establishing direct rule over all Iranian territories. He was ultimately victorious against the Uzbeks in 1597 and reclaimed much of central Asia for Iran. He them declared war on the Ottomans, using his new military to successfully defeat the Ottomans, and by 1623 reclaimed Mesopotamia, including Baghdad and Basra, for Iran. Abbas also reclaimed Hormuz from Spanish/Portuguese rule in 1622 and founded Bandar Abbas to serve as Iran's main Naval base and seaport, which it continues to be to this day, and reclaimed Kandahar from the Moguls.
In addition to founding Bandar Abbas Abbas turned his capital Ishfahan into one of the most important cities in Iran and the World, buildin gthe Ali Qapu and Chehel Souton palaces and the Masjid-e-Shah and Masjid-e-Sheykh Loftallah. During his reign Abbas made use of the Sherley brothers to assist him in building foundries for cannons and firearms and to assist in making diplomatic ties with the Holy Roman Empire, England, and other European nations. Abbas died on JomÄdÄ I 1038/19 January 1629 in Mazendaran. He is remembered as Abbas-e-Bozorg for all his reforms and for making Iran a superpower.
