In 1488, the father of Ismail was killed in a battle at Tabasaran against the forces of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar and his overlord, the Aq Qoyunlu, a Turkic tribal federation which controlled most of Iran.
En 1488 seu pai morreulle nunha batalla en Derbent contra das forzas do shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar e dos Aq Qoyunlu, unha federación tribal turcófona que controlaba a maior parte de Irán.