Among the Qizilbash, Turcoman tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan who had helped Shah Ismail I defeat the Aq Qoyunlu tribe were by far the most important – in number and influence. Therefore the name Kizilbash is usually applied to them only. Shāmlu (Ghiabi) was the most powerful clan during the reign of Shah Ismail I.
- Ahmad Sultan Shamlu
- Abdu Beg Shamlu (Father-in-law of Ismail I)
- Husein Khan Shamlu (The most powerful Qizilbash Khan, executed by Shah Tahmasp in 1534)
- Hossein Khan Shamlu (Governor of Lors Pushtkuh- Province of Lorestan)
- Hasan Khan Shamlu
- Mirza Vali Khan Shamlu (Governor)
- Ali Gholi Khan Shamlu (aka Haji Ali Qizilbash Mazandarani Governor of Khorassan and chief of the armies under Shah Abbas)
- Jāni Beg Khan Bigdeli Shāmlu, ishik-āqāsi-bāshi (master of ceremony) and qurchi-bāshi (head of the tribal guards) under the Safavid Shah Ṣafi I (r. 1629-42) and Shah ʿAbbās II
- Sinan Khan Shamlu (Ambassador of Shah AbbasI to Emperor Rudolph II of Habsburg)
- Muhamad Gholi Khan Bigdili-e Shamlu
- Dormish Khan Shamlu (Brother in law of Shah Ismail I and Governor of Isfahan)
- Murteza Gulu Khan Shamlu-Ardabili (invented a style of calligraphy called “Shikasta Nastaʿlīq“)
- Abbas Gholi Khan Shamlu-Shahsevan (Governor of Herat)
- Mu’min Khan Shamlu (1699–1707, Grand Vizier)
- Mohammed Zaman Khan Shamlu
- Muhamad Ali Khan Bigdili-e Shamlu (c.1722, Grand Vizier)
- Zaynal Khan Shamlu (Ambassador of Shah Abbas I to the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II)
- Murshid Gholi Khan Ustajlu-e Shamlu
- Heydar Gholi Khan Ghiaï-e Chamlou I
- Mirza Mohammad Hossein Khan Ghiyabi-e Chamlou
- Ali Akbar Khan Ghiabi
- Manouchehr Ghiaie-e Shamloo (Governor of Tehran)
- Heydar Gholi Khan Ghiaï-e Chamlou II (Architect and Aide de Camp of the Impériale Court of Iran)
The dynasty continued its evolution. Today, there are three family branches in the US, France, and Iran.