From the 1300s to 1700s, three powers dominated parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. These powers were the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires. The success of these three is contributed largely to their strong armies and mastery of advanced artillery. This leading weaponry allowed them to conquer neighboring peoples and expand their territory exponentially. Due to this common attribute, these three Empires are all referred to as “Gunpowder Empires”.
The longest lasting of these was the Ottoman Empire. In the fourteenth century, this empire began cultivating a mastery of advanced artillery such as muskets and cannons. The Empire had an army of 30,000 elite soldiers that the Ottoman rulers brought together by raisings slaves from the Christian …show more content…
Over the next three hundred years, the conquests continued, and the infantry even began using the new technology of cannons to aid in their battles. For example, in 1453, with eighty thousand troops, the Ottomans used massive cannons to break down the Byzantine Empire’s walls, enter the city, and take Constantinople within three days. By the later part of the 1600s, the empire had used their gunpowder army to expand all the way into Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The fall of this mighty empire began during the middle of the sixteenth century. After Suleiman 's death in 1566, rulers were too concerned with power and war, and executed their brothers and jailed their sons, leaving no other rulers. In addition, all following sultans were less involved in government and the ministers took control in the areas left by the sultans, leading to a corrupt power system and constant wars that drained the majority of the Empire’s money. The Empire took a break from its incessant battering and expansion to deal with internal disintegration inside the empire. However, by the second half of the seventeenth century, the Ottomans starting …show more content…
Just like the Ottomans, the Safavids were Muslim Turks that used their gunpowder army to create a powerful empire. Shah Abbas, the greatest ruler of the empire, designed a model of elite soldiers modeled of the Ottoman janissaries. Despite his strong army and Ottoman-inspired ideas used to build it, the Ottomans still had superior artillery and muskets that they implemented to win a battle near Tarbiz. So, Shah Abbas took time to strengthen his army and and trained them to use the latest weapons. This helped them gain back some of their territory taken by the Ottomans; however, the Ottoman army and weapons were still stronger, and the Safavids could not keep their gains. Fortunately for the Safavids, a peace treaty was reached between the two empires in 1612 that returned Azerbaijan to the Safavid Empire. The regular attacks from the Ottoman’s better army was one of the factors in the Safavid decline. Similar to the Ottoman Empire, the rulers in the Safavid Empire killed their brother to keep power, and these actions led to a weak s=ruling system. The final end to the empire was brought when the attacks from the Afghan people drove the Safavid ruling family to retreat, leaving Persia to descend to anarchy and the Safavid empire finally collapsing in 1747. Also similar to the Ottomans, the Safavids contributed new techniques of strengthening armies- like how Shah Abbas did. Shah Abbas led a strong
The longest lasting of these was the Ottoman Empire. In the fourteenth century, this empire began cultivating a mastery of advanced artillery such as muskets and cannons. The Empire had an army of 30,000 elite soldiers that the Ottoman rulers brought together by raisings slaves from the Christian …show more content…
Over the next three hundred years, the conquests continued, and the infantry even began using the new technology of cannons to aid in their battles. For example, in 1453, with eighty thousand troops, the Ottomans used massive cannons to break down the Byzantine Empire’s walls, enter the city, and take Constantinople within three days. By the later part of the 1600s, the empire had used their gunpowder army to expand all the way into Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The fall of this mighty empire began during the middle of the sixteenth century. After Suleiman 's death in 1566, rulers were too concerned with power and war, and executed their brothers and jailed their sons, leaving no other rulers. In addition, all following sultans were less involved in government and the ministers took control in the areas left by the sultans, leading to a corrupt power system and constant wars that drained the majority of the Empire’s money. The Empire took a break from its incessant battering and expansion to deal with internal disintegration inside the empire. However, by the second half of the seventeenth century, the Ottomans starting …show more content…
Just like the Ottomans, the Safavids were Muslim Turks that used their gunpowder army to create a powerful empire. Shah Abbas, the greatest ruler of the empire, designed a model of elite soldiers modeled of the Ottoman janissaries. Despite his strong army and Ottoman-inspired ideas used to build it, the Ottomans still had superior artillery and muskets that they implemented to win a battle near Tarbiz. So, Shah Abbas took time to strengthen his army and and trained them to use the latest weapons. This helped them gain back some of their territory taken by the Ottomans; however, the Ottoman army and weapons were still stronger, and the Safavids could not keep their gains. Fortunately for the Safavids, a peace treaty was reached between the two empires in 1612 that returned Azerbaijan to the Safavid Empire. The regular attacks from the Ottoman’s better army was one of the factors in the Safavid decline. Similar to the Ottoman Empire, the rulers in the Safavid Empire killed their brother to keep power, and these actions led to a weak s=ruling system. The final end to the empire was brought when the attacks from the Afghan people drove the Safavid ruling family to retreat, leaving Persia to descend to anarchy and the Safavid empire finally collapsing in 1747. Also similar to the Ottomans, the Safavids contributed new techniques of strengthening armies- like how Shah Abbas did. Shah Abbas led a strong