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In 1289, Osman Bey becomes the cheif of a band of semi-nomadic Turks in northwestern Anatolia. They seek to become muslim religious warriors called ghazi, in order to spread the Islamic religion.
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The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1289 until 1923.
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The Ottoman's first great success was the capture of Bursa, a city in Anatolia. It then became the empire's capital city. Bursa
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In 1451, Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, becomes the leader of the Ottoman Empire. As can be seen by his name, he gained many new lands for the Ottoman Empire. He also created a tightly centralized absolute monarchy throughout the entire empire. Mehmed the Conqueror
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Capture of ConstantinopleOn April 6, 1453, the Ottoman army, led by Mehmed II, led a siege on the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. The siege was conducted from the sea, with a fleet of about 125 Ottoman ships. They also planned to attack the Theodosian Walls on the west side of Constantinople, the only side not surrounded by water. The siege finally came to an end on May 29, 1453, and the Ottomans gained control of Constantinople. It was renamed Istanbul and made the new capital of the empire.
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The Safavid Empire was founded by Shah Ismail in 1501, when he marched to Tabriz with an army and claimed the Persian title of shah.
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The Safavid Empire was founded in 1501 and lasted until 1736.
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Selim the Grim took control over the Ottoman Empire in 1512. He was the first Ottoman sultan to take the title of Caliph of Islam. The empire mainly expanded into the Middle East under his reign, which included the capture of the Holy Cities in 1517. He was most likely called "the Grim" because of his tendency to have his viziers executed. Selim the Grim
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The Battle of Chaldiran resulted from the Ottoman's fear that the Safavid would spread their religion to the nomadic Turks in Anatolia.Therefore, the Ottoman ruler, Selim the Grim, launced an attack against the Safavids. The Ottoman forces were vastly superior to those of the Safavids'. They used advanced muskets and cannons, which they Safavids did not know how to defeat. Therefore, the Safavids were soundly defeated.
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In 1520, Suleyman the Magnificent came to power in the Ottoman Empire. The empire reached its greatest size during his reign, due to vigorous expansion in southwest Asia and Europe. The Ottomans also became a great naval power at this time.
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The Mughal Empire was founded in 1523 by Zahir al-Din Muhammad, also known as Babur (the Tiger). He claimed to be the descendent of both Chinggis Khan and Tamerlane, and simply sought to create a great Asian empire.
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The Mughal Empire lasted from 1523 to 1858.
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In 1525, Shah Tahmasp took over the Safavid empire when his fatehr died. He had the longest reign of the Safavid sultans, ruling for 51 years. During his reign, he established peace between his empire and the Ottomans, which lasted for 30 years. He also founded a close relationship with the Mughal Empire. The Persian rug industry flourished at this time, due to Tahmasp's encouragement.
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The Ottoman-Safavid War began over territorial disputes between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. The Safavids were not able to repal the Ottomans, who captured Baghdad in 1534. They were also succussful in gaining many more territories from the Safavid Empire, including lower Mesopotamia, the mouths of the Tigirs and Euphrates Rivers, and part of the Persian Gulf's coast.
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In 1556, Akbar, Babur's grandson, came to power in the Mughal Empire when his father died. During his reign, he established a bureacracy and a system of autonomy for the lands he conquered. He also developed a tax system that taxed each citizen equally. Akbar was very tolerant of other religions, even promoting the "Divine Faith", which combined Islam and Hinduism. [Akbar](www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MUGHAL/AKBAR.HTM)
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Reza Abbasi was a very important artist in the Safaivd Empire. His patron was Shah Abbas, who greatly enjoyed Abbasi's work.
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Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Empire began his reign in 1588.
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In 1631, the School of Isfahan is founded by Mir Damad. The School taught Islamic philosophy, which become very important to the Safavid Empire.
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In 1632, Shah Jahan of the Mughal Empire ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife. It took 16 years to build the tomb, and was not finished until 1648.
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In 1659, Aurangzeb began his rule of the Mughal Empire. He came to power after a struggle with his brothers. Aurangzeb's campaigns to gain land wer very agressive, but also very successful. He expanded into Southern India, reaching the empire's fullest extent. About halfway through his reign, he began to be very hostile towards Hindus. He reinstituted the jizya, or poll-tax against non-Muslims. Hindu temples were also destroyed in replaced with Islamic mosques.
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In 1671, the Mughal Empire launched an attack on the Ahom Kingdom in an attempt to extend their authority into Assam. At the Battle of Saraighat, Mughal and Ahom forces fought both on land and in the water. On land, the Ahom army had the upper hand, but the Mughal ships easily beat the Ahom fleet. The Mughals gained Guwahati from this battle
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The Mughal Emire was constantly at war with Hindi clans known as the Marathas. Shah Aurangzeb wished to rid the Mughal dynasty of the Hindu religion, and therefore sougth to extinguish these clans. He never succeeded in his endeavors, however. Eventually, the Marathas contributed to the downfall of the empire.
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The Safavid Empire began to decline in the 17th century. Trade routes had begun to move away from the empire, which caused a loss of commerce and trade. After Shah Abbas the Great, the rulers of the empire lost interest in governing the empire, prefering to live in luxury, depleting the treasury. The empire also endured many raids. The Safavid empire was finally extinguished when the Afghans invaded the empire and Tahmasp II crowned himself sultan in 1736
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The British East India Company disbanded the Mughal army in 1805 so that they would not be a threat to British power.
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The British East India Company exiled the last Mughal sultan in 1857, taking complete control of the empire.
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Many factors led to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. First, their economy was decreasing because of competition in trade from the Americas and in products form India. The Ottoman government was also becoming less centralized. They were having difficulty organizing such a large amount of land, and the stucture was falling apart. In the end, other European nations expanded into Ottoman territories and divided up the long-lasting empire.
