The Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism made Iran the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam against the onslaughts of Sunni Islam, and the repository of Persian cultural traditions and self-awareness of Iranianhood, acting as a bridge to modern Iran.
The Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and made Iran the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam against the onslaughts of Sunni Islam. It made Iran the repository of Persian cultural traditions and self-awareness of Iranianhood, acting as a bridge to modern Iran.