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Jan 1, 1258
Osman I is born
Osman eventually became the Bey (leader) of his tribe and formed a Ghazi Emirite loyal to the Sultanate of Rum. Over time, his Emirite expanded (it was in an excellent location; forces to both the east and west were weakened) and eventually became the Ottoman Empire. -
Period: Jul 27, 1299 to
Existence of the Ottoman Empire
This period began with Osman I's second coronation and the formation of the actual Ottoman Empire (which succeeded a Ghazi Emirate Osman I ruled). The empire ended hundreds of years later, after many years of Ottoman decline and decades of rebellion and other war. -
Jun 15, 1389
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo marked the Ottoman Empire's entry into Europe. Throughout the battle, many men on both sides were lost, and it eventually resulted in a draw. However, the Serbian army was completely decimated, while the Ottomans have surplus troops in back in the east, which paved the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe. It also led to the creation of the Serbian Despotate and its allying with the Ottomans (which greatly assisted with future Ottoman expansion). -
May 29, 1453
Fall of Constantinople
After slowly and steadily conquering Byzantine territory for years, Constantinople finally fell into Muslim hands (namely, the hands of the Ottoman Empire). The seige of the city itself occurred over the course of nearly two months (began on April 6), and despite the city's excellent defense (said to be one of the best in Europe at that time), fell victim to the extremely large Ottoman army. -
Feb 23, 1483
Babur is Born
Babur was a military adventurer from Central Asia that eventually managed to conquer Kabul and use it as a springboard to conquer much of India. He founded the Mughal Empire. -
Jul 17, 1487
Birth of Ismail I
Ismail, a descendent of the Grand Masters of the Safivayah Sufi order, went into hiding at the age of 12. Two years later, in 1501, he returned to Tabriz and conquered it, declaring himself Shah. This led to the founding of the Safavid Empire. -
Period: Jan 1, 1501 to
Existence of the Safavid Empire
The Safavid Empire began with 14 year old Shah Ismail's ascent to power in Persia in 1501 and ended with the Afghan conquest of Persia. Ultimately, the final Safavid Shah, Shah Hosein abdicated the throne. -
Aug 23, 1514
Battle of Chaldiran
(Source) Growing tensions between the Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shiite Safavid empire eventually resulted in the Battle of Chaldiran, in which the Ottomans invaded Safavid territory. The tiny Safavid army, which viewed firearms as unmanly and unreliable, was completely demolished by the much larger (1.5x - 5x larger) Ottoman army, which was armed primarily with firearms. It resulted in the Safavid's loss of vast amounts of land and in the retirement of Shah Ismal I. -
Sep 30, 1520
Suleiman the Magnificent is Coronated
During Suleiman's reign, he successfully conquered copius amounts of land in Southwest Asia and in Europe, including Baghdad and Belgrade. He also extended Ottoman rule across much of northern Africa. He even attacked areas as remote as Malta! Under his rule, Ottoman imperialism is said to have reached its apogee. -
Aug 28, 1521
Capture of Belgrade
A century after Suleiman first besieged Belgrade, he finally captured it. This made it the second largest Ottoman-owned city in Europe and represented one of the few obstacles in the way of further Ottoman expansion.Overall, it took the Ottoman Empire about 81 years to conquer it; they originally attacked the city in 1440, soon after the Serbian Despotate gave it up. -
May 23, 1525
Shah Tahmasp I is Coronated
During his early years as Shah (his childhood), the qizilbash fought over control of the empire. However, eventually he managed to assert control over it himself and began following a new foreign policy that involved scorched earth. Using this policy, he managed to deter foreign invaders (especially the Ottomans) a number of times. He also helped create the Peace of Amaysia, which regulated Ottoman and Persian interaction and he took in a couple of political refugees (most namely Babur's son). -
Period: Apr 21, 1526 to
Existence of the Mughal Empire
The Empire began with the Battle of Panipat in Northern India (during which Babur conquering Delhi) and ended with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company (in the mid to late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British gained near complete control of India, but the Mughal Emperors were still allowed to exist). -
Feb 14, 1556
Akbar is Coronated as Mughal Emperor
A charismatic and thoughtful ruler of the Mughal Empire, Akbar, was coronated on this date. During his rule, which ended in 1605, he expanded his empire and encouraged religious tolerance (he even created his own syncretic religion). -
Jan 27, 1571
Shah Abbas the Great Gains Control of the Safavid Empire
The beginning of Shah Abbas' reign (if one can even consider it a reign; he had nearly no power) was marked by extreme discord in the Safavid Empire. However, he soon consolidated his power by punishing qizilbash leaders that attacked the empire, killing high level government officials that sought to make him a figure head, and signing peace treaties with nations swallowing Safavid lands. He then began a long revitalization program that eventually managed to refurn the empire to its former glory -
Persians and English Recapture Hormuz
In 1622, the Safavid Shah Abbas I sought the help of the English in order to expel the Portuguese from Persia, most notably Hormuz, which they did not have the power to capture. After forming a fair pact with the English (the English get to keep some of the spoils, the silk trade would be developed to benefit England, the Safavids would pay part of the supply costs for the ships, etc.). Eventually, the Anglo-Persian forces managed to take Hormuz, resulting in a profound change in Eurasian trade. -
Completion of the Taj Mahal
(Source) When Shah Jahan's third wife died, he was overcome with immense grief and construction on her elaborate tomb, the Taj Mahal, began in 1632. After its completion, Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest by his son, Aurangzeb, and eventually placed next to wife. -
Coronation of Aurangzeb as Mughal Emperor
Though he greatly expanded Mughal rule like his ancestor Akbar (he pushed into the India's southern territories and managed to take over all but the southernmost tip of it), he also abandoned Akbar's policy of religious tolerance. His anti-Hindu policies helped promote rebellion and discontent among Hindu populations in India, making his reign troublesome. -
Shah Abbas II Dies
Shah Abbas II, the last capable ruler of the Safavid Empire before its collapse in 1722, dies. His short reign was marked by relative peace and occasional, effective military action. -
Period: to
War between Mughal and Maratha Empires
Beginning in 1681, the relatively new Maratha Empire declared war on the Mughal Empire. Eventually, in 1707, the Mughals were defeated and Aurangzeb died, sending the Mughal Empire into a long period of decline marked by Maratha expansion and poor leadership. -
Battle of Vienna
(Source) This battle began after the Ottoman's had laid seige on the city of Vienna for two months. During the battle, the Holy League (composed of the Holy Roman Empire and a few other European states) fought against the Ottomans and ultimately stopped their expansion in Europe. In the years following the battle, the Ottomans steadily lost much of their European holdings, including Hungary. -
Battle of Gulnabad
The Battle of Gulnabad took place between the declining Safavid Empire and Afghan miltary forces. Despite being greatly outnumbered and having much poorer supplies, the Afghans managed to win the battle and begin their conquest of Persia and other Safavid lands. During the battle, the Safavid Shah, Shah Hussein, was captured and the downfall of the Safavid Empire became guarenteed. -
Battle of Plassey
(Source) The Battle of Plassey occurred as a part of the 7 Years' War. During it, the British East India Company successfully defeated the Nawab of Bengal, the defacto leader of Begal, and gained a foothold in Southeast Asia. It was from here that they were able to extend their influence throughout India, eventually resulting in their near complete control of the Mughal Empire. -
Battle of Delhi
During the Battle of Delhi, the British successfully defeated the Maratha Empire and entered the city of Delhi. They then proceeded to put Shah Alam under their protection, which he formally accepted in 1804. This acceptance made him a puppet until his death in 1806 and made the British East India Company the dominant political force in India (they even went so far as to refer to the Mughal Emperors as the Kings of Delhi because of their lack of power). -
Janissary Revolt of 1807
The Ottoman Janissary Corps rebels against the Ottoman emperor Selim III because of how he began to reform the Ottoman military and modernize it. This reactionary movement led to to another, similiar rebellion only a year later, and eventually led to the massacre of the janissaries in 1826.
