Akhilesh Pillalamarri article “This 16th Century Battle Created the Modern Middle East” focuses on the Battle of Chaldiran and its consequences. The battle played a large role in shaping the Middle East and continues to have a significant impact today. The Battle of Chaldiran was a pivotal conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. It was the result of the Safavid Empire gaining power and expanding, which threatened the Ottoman Empire. The two empires fought for the land in eastern Turkey and control over the nomadic tribes in the area. Although expansion was one of the primary reasons for the battle, religion also played a large role. The Ottoman Empire was made up of Sunni Muslims and the sultan was deemed the caliph, while the Safavid Empire had a Shi’a Muslim majority. The tensions …show more content…
The Turkish Ottoman Empire had a Turkish and Christian majority, yet as a result of the tension they began promote Sunni beliefs and expanded into primarily Muslim areas. This resulted in Sunni Muslims eventually becoming the majority in the empire. The Safavid Empire also experienced a revival as they attempted to influence nomadic tribes and used Shi’a beliefs to consolidate their land and their strength; it became a unifying force used to separate them from their enemies. The Battle of Chaldiran displays the important role that gunpowder had begun to play in the expansion of empires and warfare. The Safavid Empire relied on warriors and combat during the war, and although they had a strong army, they could not compete with the guns of the Ottoman Empire. This shows the important role that guns began to play, which led to the prevalence of gunpowder empires. Similar tactics were used by the Mughal Empire in India, which allowed them to consolidate a large fraction of India whereas the Gupta Empire and Delhi Sultanate had previously been unable