الأوضاع السياسية والدينية في إيران قبيل قيام الدولة الصفوية

Before the establishment of the Safavid dynasty in Iran there were social and political conditions, which ensured the success of this dynasty and appearing on the political scene in the Islamic East. This country was founded on a religious basis, where taken from the Twelver school of Shi'a as the official religion of their empire. However, this was not surprising. As after the Mongol invasion of the Islamic homeland in the seventh century Hijri and multiplicity the ruling nations in Iran and the collapse of the Iranian society, there was a stream of mysticism, which flourished as a shelter for soul and spirit to this community, who has injury concerns due to acts of brutality and cruelty.
Some of these movements marked by moderation, others marked by extremism, fanaticism and mixing between mysticism and extremist Shi'a.
These movements spread with great influence, particularly in the areas of Iran and Anatolia. The absence of official religious institutions played a major role in the prosperity of these Sufi movements. Some of these Sufi movements take a political dimension not only asceticism. Some of these movements has been revolted on the local rulers as the Alserbdarien movement in Khorasan, and established state for them. 
In addition, there was the Ilkhanid dynasty -that preceded it- and its ruler “Mohammed Khuddabandh” (Oljeitu) announced Shi'ism as the official religion of their empire, but the people of Isfahan rejected this decision, so he obliged to back again to the Sunni doctrine.
As well as the State of Mar'ashi in Mazandaran was on the basis of Twelver Shi'ism, and the State of Musha'sha'iyyah in Khuzestan.
If we review the sectarian map of Iran before the establishment of the Safavid dynasty, we will find the predominance of the Sunni doctrine on Iranian regions, and the presence of Shi'a minorities only in some cities. However, this does not deny the link between Shiism and Iran in this period, where Shiism tried to enter Iran through the many ways in which the most important was the 'mysticism'.