Question

Choose one feature of the early Ottoman or Safavid Empires and highlight that feature. It could be anything from the origins of the founders of the empire, to the pattern of conquest, to the institutions or style of rule, to social or cultural history. discuss how the feature is significant in the development of this empire. How does the feature help or hurt the Ottomans or the Safavids to resist the challenges of the changing world balance of power at the time, especially the rise of European power?

Answer 1

• HIGLIGHTED FEATURES:-
• Ottoman Empire-The most long-lived of the post-Mongol Muslim empires. Grew from small empire in 1300 to encompass most of southeastern Europe by the late 15th century.
• The Ottomans used artillery during the reign of Bayazid I in the sieges of Constantinople in 1399 and 1402.
• The Ottoman Janissary corps became the best-trained infantry force in the world, and also the first gun corps to wear uniforms. Artillery and firearms were decisive in the battle of Varna against a Crusader force.
• By 1700, the Ottoman Empire extended across three-quarters of the Mediterranean Sea coast, controlled the Red Sea, almost the entire coast of the Black Sea, and had significant ports on the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, as well as many modern-day countries on three continents.
• Safavid Empire-An empire in Iran which initially supported its calvary by way of land grants. The empire was very focused on land power. Chieftains, scholars, and notables served as intermediaries between the government and the people.
• The Safavids learned the value of firearms and artillery early, from the neighboring Ottomans. After the battle of Chaldiran, Shah Ismail built a corps of musketeers, the tofangchi. By 1598 they had an artillery corp of cannons as well. They successfully battled the Uzbeks in 1528 using Janissary-like tactics against the Uzbek cavalry.
• As one of the powerful "gunpowder empires" of the age, the Safavids re-established Persia's place as a key player in economics and geopolitics at the intersection of the eastern and western worlds. It ruled over the western reaches of the late Silk Road, although the overland trade routes were quickly being supplanted by ocean-going trading vessels.
  
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