Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective - "the Safavid state, which lasted at least until 1722, was essentially a "Turkish" dynasty, with Azerbaijani 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)."
