Relationship Between Safavid And Mughal Dynasties

The Ottoman and Mughal empires were two of the greatest and most successful empires to ever form in history. However, they both had some similarities as well as differences. Both empires went through tough periods of time, but at some point they also went through times of growth and prosperity. Although the Ottoman and Mughal Empire both did not force conversions into Islam, the Ottoman’s development relied on their tough military force, while the decline of the Mughal Empire was caused by Aurangzeb’s policy of religious persecution and high taxes.

On the Political side, the Ottoman Turks were the best at keeping up control for a more extended time. It could get by to the point that advanced circumstances. The two different realms crumbled by the seventeenth century. The pioneer of the Ottoman Turks was known as the Sultan which was like a ruler. Islamic Law was connected to all Muslims. With respect to Safavid realm politically, the Shahs strolled around the boulevards in mask keeping in mind the end goal to discover the genuineness of the nationals. The high positions were given by justifying and regularly were nonnatives. In the Mughal Empire politically, Even,

The inclusion of the architectural notations were quite elaborate, offering the contributions to society due to engineering design brought about by the desire to have these beautiful places to celebrate God. They seemed to indicate that the Islamic Empire was the center of the scientific world at the time with all the noted scholars and scientists coming to join together to brainstorm. Much of it had to deal with documentation and the recording of events, but without proper counterpoint it is hard to say if it was in fact as critical as it appears.

Safavid empire reached peak under this ruler, ruled from 1588 to 1629. He increased the size of the millitary and brought the empire out of their fall.

Throughout time empires have risen and fallen and taken various approaches in doing so. Some of these society were warlike, while others focused on intellectual discovery. Among these various societies were great empires like the Ottoman, the Mughal, the Spanish, and the Ming. All four of these great empire ruled at overlapping times but all eventually fell for different reasons. All had strengths and weakness and can be used as a learning opportunity for an empire that came after them. From the Ming and the Ottoman you can learn strength such as religious tolerance and government structure. On the other hand, the Mughal and the Spanish teach us the dangers of over taxing and over centralizing government. In order for an empire to successfully function they must have an accepting culture, a balanced economy, and manageable size.

The Safavids, Mughals, and Ottomans were powerful islamic empires that were able to rise to great influence and power, becoming main rivals to other European states in the process. This rise into power was possible because of their prodigious investment and development of their militaries, government operation under a fair, merit-based system, and tolerance for various religions; however, these societies faced their demise after crippling government corruption through negligent leadership and ever increasing social tension began to materialize.

The Mughal empire was founded by leader Zahir al-Din Muhammad, known as Babur (the tiger) in 1526. When he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Afghan Lodi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat, where they used gunpowder for the first time in India. The Mughal Empire is known as a “gunpowder empire.” With the help of gunpowder weapons Babur took Delhi in 1526. When Babur died in 1530 he left a “loosely knit empire” he called Mughal. The word "Mughal" was the Persian term for "Mongol."

The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughals were all gunpowder empires. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the differences between all of these empires mentioned. Each fall into five different categories.

The Mughal Empire: Zahir al-Din, also known as Babur, was a Chagatai Turk that, unlike the Ottoman and Safavids, was just a soldier of fortune not fighting on behalf of Islam. He wanted to use his fortune to transform a glorious central Asian empire. Although, he did not succeed at that goal he then focused on India. Babur took Delhi in 1526. He did not like the land that he had conquered, it was a hot and humid climate but, Babur decided to stay. By the time of his death he had embraced most of the Indian subcontinent. The height of the Mughal power and influence came from Babur’s grandson Akbar. He gained power in Gujarat and Bengal, destroyed the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar in order to later expand in southern India. He was a thoughtful man who tolerated the religious differences in

Abbas, and Mehmed II (re)built their capitals to strategically place themselves in a position of power. Abbas changed the the capital of the Safavid Empire from Qavin to Isfahans due to the lurking threat of the Uzebek invasion. Isfahan was a more centralized and secure location Safavid Empire since territories and boundaries were consistently changing in the early early pre-modern era. As for Mehmed II, his lands spread form lower eastern Europe to Anatolia to the borders of the Safavid Empire. Thus, it was necessary for him to place himself in position where he could manage his newly claimed territories, and establish a stronghold to launch future Ottoman wars into Europe. In contrast to the Abbas the Great and  Mehmed II Akbar the Great,

It is the intention of this paper to take an insightful look at two significantly major historical empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. According to Quataert, “the Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest, long lasting and most extensive empires in the history of the world” (3). At its height, the Ottoman Empire had a reign of 600 years and during the 15th and 16th century was recognized as one of the most powerful states on the world’s stage. The Ottoman Empire shared its place of significance with several other places of influence, England, Spain, Rome, France and the Dutch Empire to the west and the Safavid state and the Moghul Empire to the east.

Similarity, the Ottoman and Safavid empires had one highly recognized and strong leader each, where they both ruled a Monarch. For the Ottomans, the strongest leader was Suleiman, who came to power around 1520 and ended his reign in 1566. On the other side, for the Safavids, the greatest leader was Abbas I, who came to the throne in the year 1588 at the young but determining age of sixteen. During Suleiman’s power in the Ottoman Empire, he created a Uniform System of Law and welcomed variety forms of art and literature (History.com). Suleiman, also nicknamed Suleiman the Magnificent, also advocated for

Ever since man began building structures and settling land, art has manifested itself in our architectural creations. Whether it be to celebrate or worship a God or Gods, a grand sculpture to bury a powerful leader or remember them by, or to show a culture’s dedication to specific values, our architectural constructions have led to some of the finest art this Earth has ever seen. The Taj Mahal and Palace of Versailles are two great examples of such art. By examining each of these individually, and then comparing and contrasting them, it will become clear that no matter how different looking these buildings may be, they still serve the same purpose to the civilizations that erected them.

The Safavid Empire began in Azerbaijan. The empire continued to expand during Shah Abbas's reign but after his death, the dynasty gradually lost its vigor. At first, Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, tried to convert members of the Ottoman Empire into Shiites. This resulted in massacre of the Sunni Muslims in 1508. Alarmed, the Ottomans fought back and won a major battle. However, after a few years, Ismail regained the land. Many years later, the Ottomans attacked back and forced the new shah, Abbas, to sign a treaty. It was Abbas who led the Safavids to their highest point. The political and social structure was strong. Senior positions in the bureaucracy were by merit rather than by birth. Religious tolerance was practiced. Abbas hired foreigners from neighboring countries for positions in his government to avoid religious competition. The shahs also took a direct interest in the economy, playing an active part in trade and manufacturing. The artistic excellence was

As a political tactic, rulers often portray themselves in a certain way in order to stabilize their reign and rule more effectively. Some take the approach of uniqueness by setting themselves apart from their subject population while others take the approach of sameness by emphasizing the similarities in which they share with the people. Not exclusively limited to apartness or sameness, some rulers have shown to employ a mix of both ruling styles. It is these versatile rulers who have experienced more successes in their reign because they are not compelled to only one ruling style, allowing them to better adapt to the needs of their ruling population. The apartness ruling style is best seen in the Safavid Empire under the rule of Shah Ismail. Shah Ismail uses religion as a political tool to control his state and does so by declaring Shi’ism, a smaller branch of Islam, as the state religion (#). After separating himself & his people from those who are not willing to abide to his ideologies, Shah Ismail can now demand the absolute loyalties from his subjects and persecute those who are deviant. This radical act further creates a deep chasm between Shi’ite Muslims and nearby Sunni Muslims neighbors. As a result, cultural flow and the exchange of beliefs between Sunni & Shi’ite states are essentially hindered. Ismail’s apartness ruling approach is taken to the extreme with social, religious, and legal systems being strictly confined to Shi’ite doctrines (@). It is noted that