What Were The Major Challenges Facing The Safavid Empires

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The Turkish dynasty rulers established the Ottoman Empire through a series of conquest that took place in the early 14th and late 16th centuries. The Ottoman Empire was made up of a monarchy government, which lost touch with people after some time. History shows that when a leader of a monarchy government dies, a power vacuum and political turmoil occurs. One of the major challenges that faced the Ottoman Empire was weak leadership and social constructions. The leaders were supported by a bureaucracy and advised by the vizier. They extended their power through trade dominance, which led to instability due to the rapidly expanding territorial border. The empire reached its peak under the rule of Sultan Suleiman, but signs of weakness begin …show more content…

After a century, the group became stronger by having political marriages and joining local warlords. In the 15th century, the Brotherhood group changed to a military group despite having a religious background. The group became more military oriented and waged an Islamic holy war (Jihad) against the modern Georgia and Turkey. The major challenges that faced the Safavid empires were weak leadership and social constructions, and persistence of the rule of religion (Duiker and Spielvogel 56). In the early years, Safavid Empire was held together by conquering new territories and the need to defend its empire from the aggressive Ottoman Empire. However, when the threat from the Ottoman Empire was over, the leaders of the Safavid Empire became relaxed and corrupt. They passed their power to a religious council of wise men namely the Shi’a ulama. In the 18th century, the religious council proclaimed the first Islamic Republic in the world. It was declared that only a Mujahidin (a person well conversant with Quran law) could become a leader. However, in 1726, the Afghan group overthrew the ruling dynasty after conquering the Shi’a ulama. The group introduced foreign policies and made secular laws such as levying of taxes (Duiker and Spielvogel