It was noted that the Safavid kings have done great services and repairs to the holy shrines in Iraq from time to time, whether when Iraq was under their authority or under the influence of the Ottomans.
Shah Tahmasib was one of those kings, he is the son of Shah Ismail al-Sufi and was born on 919 Hijri in the village of "Shehababad" of the city of Isfahan, his rule lasted for (54) years from 931 Hijri until his death in 984 Hijri.
On the holy month of Ramadan at 936 Hijri, Shah Tahmasib entered Baghdad, while the ruler of Iraq "Zulfikar" has barricaded himself using the wall of Baghdad, but during the Islamic month of Shawal of the same year, some of the Shah's followers were able to kill him, and that's when Tahmasib managed to enter Baghdad after a long siege where his first act was a pilgrimage to the holy shrines in Kadhimiya city, and to the rest of the holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf.
During 54 years of his rule, Shah Tahmasib was very philanthropist and kind-hearted to the people of Iraq, as one of his deeds in 943 Hijri was the opening of the Hilla River stretching from Hilla city to the village of Nimrod aka "Tel Bress" for the purpose of delivering pure water to Karbala and Najaf, where the river was named later as "Tahamis" after the good king.
Source: Al-Hussein City: by Mohammed Hassan Mustafa al-Kalidar al-To'meh, [Vol. 3, p. 30-32]
