Abbas needs to reform the army before…

Abbas needs to reform the army before he can hope to confront the Ottoman and Uzbek invaders.

He has also used military reorganization as another way of sidelining the Qizilbash.

Instead, he has created a standing army of forty thousand ghulams and Iranians to fight alongside the traditional, feudal force provided by the Qizilbash.

The new army regiments, who have no loyalty but to the shah, consist often thousand to fifteen thousand cavalry armed with muskets and other weapons, a corps of musketeers (twelve thousand strong) and one of artillery (also twelev thousand strong).

In addition, Abbas has a personal bodyguard of three thousand ghulams.

Abbas also greatly increased the amount of cannons at his disposal, permitting him to field five hundfed in a single battle.

Ruthless discipline is enforced and looting is severely punished.