Once the Ottomans had secured Anatolia they were always likely to come into conflict with the Safavid Empire and through the centuries numerous wars were fought for territory albeit with some religious elements. Both empires claimed modern day Iraq as well as periodically attacking each others homelands. Ben plays a pivotal role in the Iranian liberation of the city of Tabriz from the Ottomans.
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans are one of a number of Turkic peoples that have eminated from Central Asia. Other prominent peoples include the Huns, Bulgars and the infamous Mongols.
Following the lightening expansion of Islam and the Arab invasions, the increasingly weak Byzantine Empire reached a turning point when in 1071 they were defeated in battle by the Seljuk Turk, Alp Arslan. This opened up Anatolia to waves of Turkic nomads who formed small Beyliks. The Ottomans became the dominant power and on May 29th 1453 Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. The Ottomans contributed hugely to the modern world and even inadvertently contributed to the discovery of America.
Devshirme - From 1430 A.D, a levy of Christian boys recruited into state service and the military to be raised as Muslims. Starting pay level was 1 Asper per day and increased depending on skills. These became the Janissary or new army.
Consequently The Ottoman Empire became in many ways the successor to the Roman Empire and led the world in architecture, law, military strength and religious tolerance. Under Sulayman The Magnificent, the empire reached its apogee which at times stretched from the walls of Vienna to Arabia and North Africa before its eventual defeat in World War 1 and its resulting disbandment.
The Saffavid Empire
Millenia before the rise of Islam, Iran had known numerous empires and civilisations and as such it was uniquely positioned to retain some of its Pre-Islamic culture even after the Sassanian Empire was overrun by the unstoppable force emerging from Arabia.
Centuries later the land was once more overrun by The Mongols who devastated much of the country (and indeed neighbouring Khurusan) and for several centuries a weak state allowed innumerable nomadic incursions.
It was not until Shah Abbas II that the Safavid Empire truly made Iran great again wherein it became a wondrous centre of the arts and with a modernised military and society became a major world power. For centuries the Safavids and Ottomans fought over Kurdistan and modern day Iraq and it was perhaps unfortunate that the two superpowers of their day were in such close proximity spurred on by their rival brands of Islam.
Like their Turkish neighbours, the Safavids helped ensure that their people never were colonised by the European powers unlike the so much of the rest of the world.
