Ismail II

Ismail II (1576–1578) was third Safavid Shah of Persia.

Although often referred to as the successor of his father, Tahmasp I, Ismail did not succeed his father immediately after his death. Instead it was his younger brother, Heydar Mirza, who used the tension and disagreement among the army leaders and declared himself the new Shah. However, shortly after, Heydar Mirza was assassinated and upon his assassination the Afshar tribe, who favored his older brother, Ismail, rescued the prince from his prison and chose him as the new shah. Ismail is believed to have been an unsuccessful, not to mention cruel, ruler whose short reign was marked by much cruelty toward his subjects. He is said to have ordered the death of all the Safavid princes including his own brother Mohammed Mirza who was living in Shiraz at the time; however, before the orders were carried out, Ismail died and his brother succeeded to the throne of Persia.