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History of the Ottoman Empire In 1289, the Ottoman Empire was founded by Osman Bey, and the dynasty continued in unbroken succession for almost 700 years. Osman was the chief of a band of seminomadic Turks who migrated to northwestern Anatolia in the 13th century.
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In 1326, the Ottomans captured the city of Bursa that belonged to Anatolia. They made this the capital of Ottoman principality.
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The Ottomans continue their campaign by establishing a foothole in Europe when seizing the fortress of Galipoli. In this process, they aid a claimant to the Byzantine throne. Numerous ghazi, who were Muslim religious warriors, flocked to join the Ottoman Empire.
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In 1451, Mehmed the Conquerer took reign as the Ottoman leader. He was the leader of the historic capture of Constantinople. He also laid the foundations for a tightly centralized, absolute monarchy and dominated everyone he battled. He completed conquests of multiple lands including Serbia, Greece, Albania, Byzantines, and Venice. He reigns until 1481.
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In 1453, Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, helped lead the Ottomans to capture Constantinople, causing it to become the new capital. Mehmed II worked to create Constantinople into an influential commercial center.
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History of the Safavid Empire Young Ismail, at the age fourteen, enters Tabriz at the head of an army and lays claim to the ancient Persian imperial title of shah. He claims the official religion of his realm would be Twelver Shiism. Over the next decade, he seized control of the Iranian plateau and launched expeditions into the Caucasus, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and central Asia. He ruled until 1524.
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Selim the Grim continued the expansion of the Ottomans in the early sixteenth century when he took control of the empire. During his reign, he occupied Syria and Egypt. He ruled until the year 1520.
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In 1514, the Ottomans deployed heavy artillery and firearms in a battle against the Safavids. The Safavids refused to use this technology because they saw it as unmanly. They trusted in the charisma of Shah Ismail and fearlessly attacked the Ottomans and suffered extreme losses. Ismail slipped away and the Ottomans took his capital at Tabriz, but lacked the resources to completely destroy the Safavids.
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In 1520, Suleyman the Magnificent took over as the heir to Selim the Grim. He restlessly campaigned, expanding the Ottoman Empire. During his career, he conquered Belgrade, Hungary, Vienna, and Baghad. During his reign, they also became a large naval power. They had their own Aegean and Black Sea fleets and also inherited many navies. Through this naval combat, they were enabled to secure the islands of Rhodes, Malta, Yemen, Aden, and Diu.
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In 1521, under the leadership of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Ottomans captured Belgrade, keeping the rival empire known as Habsburg in defensive position and expanding on his European land.
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History of the MughalsIn 1523, Zahir al-Din Muhammad, known as Babur ("The Tiger"), appeared in northern India. He claimed descent from Chinggis Khan and Tamerlane. Unlike the Ottomans or Safavids, he did not focus himself around religion and was simply a soldier of fortune.
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In 1524, Shah Tahmasp succeeds Shah Ismail. He spent most of his reign fending off attacks from the Uzbeks and Ottomans. He also spent most of his reign dealing with low morale and economy issues. His main accomplishment was establishing the Peace of Amasya with the Ottomans in 1855.
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In 1526, under the leadership of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Ottomans defeated Hungary at the Battle of Mohacs. In this process, they killed the king.
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In 1526, Zahir Muhammad (Babur) led the Mughals to defeat a much larger army at Delhi, who was led by Sultan Ibraham Lodi. Babur's troops had a decisive advantage due to their advances in weaponry despite being outnumbered.
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In 1529, the Ottomans led by Suleyman the Magnificent sieged the prized Habsburg city of Vienna.
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In 1530, the creator of the Mughal Empire, Zahir al-Din Muhammad, died. However, he had built a loosely knit empire ranging from Kabul to the border of the Bengal, He had an elusive dream that he would build a vast Asian empire like Tamerlane.
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In 1534, under the leadership of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Ottomans captured Baghdad and added the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to their domain.
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In 1555, Shah Tahmasp of the Safavids and Suley the Magnificent of the Ottomans agreed to a peace treaty that ended their 32 year war. It defined the border between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and delivered twenty years of peace. This treaty divided the land of Armenia into two also.
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In 1561, Babur's grandson Akbar, took the reigns of power when he threw powerful figure Adham Khan out of a window, dragged him from the outside of the palace back inside, and threw him out again to ensure his death. Akbar went on to take control of the government create a centralized administrative structure with ministries regulating the various provinces of the Empire.
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In 1564, Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire abolished jizya. Jizya is a tax levied on non-Muslim citizens of the islamic state. This tax was brought back Aurangzeb some years later, but it was the beginning of empires beginning to abolish taxing outside peoples.
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Shah Abbas the Great begins his reign over the Safavids. During this time, he moved the capital to the more central location of Isfahan, encouraged trade with other lands, and reformed the military institutions of the empire. He also increased use of gunpowder weapons and reformed administrative and military institutions of the empire.
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In 1602, under the leadership of Shah Abbas, the Safavids dislodged the Portuguese from Bahrain using the new Persian character that he implied on his empire.
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Under the leadership of Shah Abbas, the Safavids use the aid of the English East India Company to capture the Portuguese garrison of Ormuz. The two sides signed an agreement to evenly split all spoils and custom dues of the port.
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In 1659, Aurangzeb took reign of the Mughals and was the key to the greatest land extent during their empire. During his long reign, he waged campaigns to push the Mughal authority deep into India. He faced many rebellions, but perservered as a great leader.
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In 1666, the heir of Shah Abbas I, Shah Abbas II's rule in the Safavid Empire ended. The significance of this event is that it marked the beginning of the end of the Safavid dynasty. The rulers who took over after him were very ineffective in their throne. For example, Soltan Hosein (1694–1722) in particular was known for his love of wine and disinterest in ruling the government.
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In 1717, Emperor Farrukhsiyar grants the British East India Company free trading rights for Bengal. This confirmed the British position in India.
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After a long decline, the Afghans finally conquer the Safavids in 1760. The Empire was repeatedly being raided for years up until its final day. The primary reason for their decline was their shift away from trade and commerce in the 17th century. This was due to trade routes shifting east and west away from Iran.
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Around 1804, after a long decline, the Mughal Empire finally succumbed to various outside forces that had been nagging at it for years. Among them are the outside invaders sacking at Delhi for extended periods of time. This was about 100 years after the death of Aurangzeb.
