From Arabic (āyat Ullāh), lit. Sign of God; a title used by the Imami Twelver Shi‘is. The rank of Ayatollah is believed to have been established in the Safawid period (1501–1722 CE). The Ayatollah usually heads the hierarchy amongst the Twelver Shi‘i mujtahids. The holder of the title in today’s Islamic Republic of Iran has two main roles: on the administrative level, the Ayatollah regulates religious dues (taxes) and heads various centres of learning; on the intellectual and spiritual levels, he is considered as a primary source for religious learning.
