What Happened at Qabbalah Changed Everything Again

Valinasser: Battle of Qabbalah was huge because it gave the Shia something to rally around. The most important date on the Shia calendar quickly became a day called Ashura. Valinasser: Up until the Safavids arrived, Iran was almost entirely sunny. He says once the Safavid took over, they began to declare Iran as Shia. And that sets the stage for the divisions we see today in Arab-Sunni politics.