Response paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Response paper - Essay Example During the 1500s, this expansion continued the journey reaching its zenith in 1590 when the empire became truly gigantic and influential. The Ottomans were not only at the height of power at this point in the history of the empire, but they also became very progressive socioeconomically. Using the gunpowder technology, the Ottomans managed to thwart the Safavids establishing their influence on them. This technology helped a lot in facilitating the Ottoman successes and ensuring the empire’s dynamism and expansion. The empire also expanded due to growing influence of the Sultan because many rulers like the one of Algiers voluntarily submitted to Selim clearly intimidated by him. Growing expansion of the Ottoman empire and establishment of authority in different states helped the Ottomans in controlling the trade coming from those areas. This ability to control the trade and interact with a broad range of people from diverse cultural backgrounds helped the Ottoman empire to grow economically and socially. The empire reached its maximum size when benefiting from dynastic issues encountered by the Safavids, the Ottomans â€Å"in a war between 1578 and 1590, captured Safavid territory in the Caucasus and western Iran† (Imber, 2004). Like the Ottoman empire, the Safavids also made the empire economically strong by benefiting from their control on trade. The empire was based in what is modern day Iran. So, the strategic location between East and West promised the Safavid empire a fascinating stronghold on trade. General consensus is that the economic strength of the empire came from its highly strategic and valuable location â€Å"on the trade routes† (BBC, 2009). It was this control on trade between East and West that the Safavids became influential enough to challenge two strong empires, one from East called the Mughal empire and other from West known as the Ottoman empire. It is also agreed that during the period from 1501 to 1722,