The Near and Middle East (1396–1539 CE)

Timur’s Shadow, Ottoman Rise, and the Safavid–Mamluk Eclipse

Geography & Environmental Context

The Near and Middle East stretched from the Nile and Red Sea to the Tigris–Euphrates, the Iranian Plateau, and the Persian Gulf, spanning the holy cities of Mecca and Jerusalem, the imperial capitals of Cairo, Baghdad, and Isfahan, and the trading ports of Aden, Hormuz, and Muscat.
Highland belts—the Zagros, Caucasus, and Yemeni terraces—bordered steppe, desert, and floodplain worlds. This vast region, joining the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Central Asian corridors, formed the hinge between Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

The Little Ice Age introduced harsher winters and irregular rainfall:

• In Mesopotamia, fluctuating river courses alternated between prosperity and famine.

• On the Iranian Plateau, drought decades strained qanat irrigation and transhumant flocks.

• Across the Caucasus, heavy snows caused floods that replenished vineyards and orchards.

• The Nile Valley and Yemeni terraces maintained productivity through hydraulic control.

• The Persian Gulf and Red Sea saw storms and shifting monsoons that tested coastal settlements.

Subsistence & Settlement

Agriculture, trade, and pastoralism overlapped:

• Nile Valley & Delta: Wheat, barley, sugarcane, flax, and dates fed the Mamluk metropolises.

• Mesopotamia & Iran: Wheat, barley, cotton, and rice (in Khuzestan, Gilan); orchards in the uplands.

• Yemen & Hejaz: Sorghum, wheat, fruit, and qat; date groves and oasis farming along pilgrimage routes.

• Caucasus & Anatolia: Vines, olives, and cereals thrived beside pastoral uplands.

• Nomadic worlds: Turkoman, Kurdish, Arab, and Lur herders grazed mixed flocks across seasonal pastures.

• Urban centers: Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Aleppo, and Hormuz served as nodes of scholarship, trade, and craft.

Technology & Material Culture

• Hydraulic systems: Qanats, canals, and terrace walls sustained agriculture; norias turned on the Euphrates.

• Crafts: Persian carpets (Tabriz, Kashan), glasswork, textiles, and metalware.

• Architecture: Timurid domes, tile mosaics, and madrasas in Herat and Samarkand; Ottoman mosque architecture in Aleppo and Damascus; coral-stone mosques in Yemen.

• Military: Composite bows and cavalry remained dominant; firearms and cannon spread after Ottoman adoption.

• Navigation: Dhows and lateen-sailed ships from Hormuz to Aden connected with Indian Ocean monsoon circuits.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Caravan routes: Linked Tabriz to Anatolia, Baghdad, and the Caucasus; Isfahan and Shiraz to Hormuz.

• Persian Gulf trade: Hormuz, Muscat, and Basra handled Indian Ocean commerce in textiles, spices, and horses.

• Silk routes: Crossed Gilan, Shirvan, and the Caucasus, reaching Black Sea markets.

• Pilgrimage: Caravans to Najaf, Karbala, Mashhad, Mecca, and Medina reinforced religious networks.

• Ottoman conquests: Redirected Syria and Iraq’s caravan trade to Istanbul after 1517.

• Portuguese intrusion: Raids on Hormuz (1507) and the Red Sea disrupted long-standing routes.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Timurid legacy: Centered in Herat and Samarkand, radiating Persianate art, literature, and architecture.

• Safavid transformation: Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) unified Iran under Shiʿism, reshaping identity through shrines, mosques, and processions.

• Ottoman Islam: Extended Sunni orthodoxy across Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, building mosques and tekke (Sufi lodges).

• Caucasian Christianity: Armenian and Georgian monasteries survived amid imperial flux.

• Sufism: Orders like the Naqshbandiyya and Qadiriyya linked countryside to city, crossing sectarian lines.

• Yemen & Oman: Scholars and merchants blended trade, piety, and maritime expansion; Socotra’s hybrid traditions bridged worlds.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Irrigation management: Collective upkeep of qanats, terrace walls, and flood canals sustained agriculture.

• Nomadic mobility: Seasonal herding buffered climatic extremes; shifting routes mitigated drought loss.

• Urban import systems: Grain shipments from fertile belts fed capitals through caravan and river transport.

• Long-lived crops: Date palms, vineyards, and olive groves stabilized regional economies across drought cycles.

Technology & Power Shifts (Conflict Dynamics)

• Timur’s conquests (late 1300s–early 1400s): Ravaged Syria, Iraq, and Iran, yet catalyzed a Persianate artistic renaissance.

• Turkoman confederations: The Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu dominated Iran and Iraq before the Safavids.

• Safavid ascendance: Shah Ismail I established a Shiʿi state; defeat at Chaldiran (1514) by Ottoman firearms defined imperial frontiers.

• Ottoman triumphs: Selim I conquered Syria and Egypt (1516–1517); Süleyman the Magnificent annexed Iraq (1534).

• Mamluk collapse: Ended centuries of rule; Cairo became an Ottoman provincial capital.

• Caucasian buffer wars: Armenia and Georgia alternated between Ottoman and Safavid control.

• Portuguese footholds: Hormuz, Socotra, and Red Sea raids marked Europe’s first sustained intrusion into the region’s trade.

Transition (to 1539 CE)

By 1539, the Near and Middle East had entered an age of imperial duality:
The Ottoman Empire held Syria, Iraq, and Egypt, commanding the holy cities and Mediterranean gateways; the Safavid Empire ruled Iran and the Caucasus, anchoring Shiʿi identity; and the Portuguese dominated Hormuz, diverting Indian Ocean trade.
Across deserts, deltas, and highlands, caravan roads and monsoon ports endured, sustaining a cosmopolitan world born from Timur’s devastation, renewed by Safavid charisma, and unified—if uneasily—under the expanding Ottoman crescent.

The Safavis, under their leader Ismail, seize power in Tabriz, which becomes their capital, in 1501.

Ismail is proclaimed shah of Iran.

The rise of the Safavis marks the reemergence in Iran of a powerful central authority within geographical boundaries attained by former Iranian empires.

The Safavis declare Shia Islam the state religion and use proselytizing and force to convert the large majority of Muslims in Iran to the Shia sect.

Iran is a theocracy under the early Safavis.

Ismail's followers venerate him as the murshid-kamil, the perfect guide, who combines in his person both temporal and spiritual authority.

In the new state, he is represented in both these functions by the vakil, an official who acts as a kind of alter ego.

The sadr heads the powerful religious organization; the vizier, the bureaucracy; and the amir alumara, the fighting forces.

These forces, the Qizilbash, come primarily from the seven Turkic-speaking tribes that had supported the Safavi bid for power.

The Ottomans, based in present-day Turkey, are Sunnis: as rivals for the religious allegiance of Muslims in eastern Anatolia and Iraq, they press territorial claims in both these areas and in the Caucasus.

The Safavi Empire receives a blow that is to prove fatal in 1524, when the Ottoman sultan Selim I defeats Safavi forces at Chaldiran and occupies the Safavi capital, Tabriz.

He is forced to withdraw because of the harsh winter and the Safavis' scorched-earth policy.

Safavi rulers continue to assert claims to spiritual leadership, but the defeat shatters belief in the shah as a semi-divine figure and weakens his hold on the Qizilbash chiefs.

The Safavis also face external challenges from the Uzbeks to the northeast and the Ottoman Empire to the west.

The Uzbeks are an unstable element who raid into Khorasan, particularly when the central government is weak, and block the Safavi advance northward into Transoxiana.

Timur's regime is characterized by its inclusion of Iranians in administrative roles and its promotion of architecture and poetry.

His empire disintegrates rapidly after his death in 1405, however, and Mongol tribes, Uzbeks, and Turkmens rule an area roughly coterminus with present-day Iran until the rise of the Safavi dynasty, the first native Iranian dynasty in almost a thousand years.

The Safavis, who come to power in 1501, are leaders of a militant Sufi order of Islamic mystics.

The Safavis trace their ancestry to Sheikh Safi ad Din (died circa 1334), the founder of the Sufis, who claimed descent from Shia Islam's Seventh Imam, Musa al Kazim.

From their home base in Ardabil, the Safavis recruit followers among the Turkmen tribesmen of Anatolia and forge them into an effective fighting force and an instrument for territorial expansion.

The Safavis adopt Shia Islam in the mid-fifteenth century, and their movement becomes highly millenarian in character.

Abu Sa'id Mirza fights an inconclusive war with Babur of Khorasan in 1454, when the latter invades Transoxiana in retaliation for the latter's seizure of Balkh and quickly lays siege to Samarkand.

The conflict between the two soon ends, however, with the Oxus River agreed to as the border.

This will remain in effect until Babur's death in 1457.

The Middle East: 1456–1467 CE

Shifts in Power and Intellectual Flourishing

Ottoman Consolidation and Expansion

Following the decisive victory at Varna, Mehmed II, son of Murad II, consolidates Ottoman power and initiates a period of vigorous territorial expansion. In 1458, the Ottomans capture Athens, reinforcing their dominance in southeastern Europe. Mehmed's efforts significantly enhance the empire's military strength and administrative cohesion, preparing the stage for further conquests, including future ambitions towards Constantinople.

Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu Rivalries

The stability of the Kara Koyunlu under Jahan Shah begins to show signs of strain due to emerging rivalries with the Aq Qoyunlu, another Turkmen confederation. These conflicts foreshadow significant shifts in regional power dynamics. Despite these challenges, Jahan Shah continues his patronage of Persian culture, ensuring Tabriz remains a vibrant cultural hub amid growing political tensions.

Georgian Cultural Continuity Amid Challenges

The Kingdom of Georgia faces mounting external pressures, yet maintains its cultural resilience. Although intermittent conflicts with neighboring Muslim states create instability, Georgian society continues to produce significant works of literature, religious art, and architecture, preserving its status as a crucial cultural nexus in the region.

Timurid Decline and Intellectual Achievement

In Samarkand, the intellectual legacy of Ulugh Beg endures even as political instability marks the decline of Timurid power. Astronomical and scholarly pursuits initiated during Ulugh Beg's reign continue to influence scientific thought across the Islamic world. Despite weakened central authority, the scholarly achievements fostered by Ulugh Beg persist, underscoring the lasting cultural impact of the Timurids.

Legacy of the Era

The era from 1456 to 1467 witnesses significant shifts in regional power, with Ottoman expansionism under Mehmed II, emerging rivalries among Turkmen dynasties, continued Georgian cultural vitality, and the intellectual legacy of Timurid scholarship. These developments collectively highlight the Middle East's dynamic political landscape and enduring intellectual resilience during a time of significant transformation

Mehmed II, called the Conqueror, had set his target on other campaigns after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.

In Anatolia, the Greek Trebizond is still resisting the Ottomans, and to the East the White Sheep Turkomans of Uzun Hasan, together with other smaller states, threaten the Sublime Porte, a metonym for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.

In the West, Skanderbeg in Albania continues to trouble the Sultan, while Bosnia is sometimes reluctant in paying tribute.

Wallachia controls her side of the Danube and Mehmed wants to have control over the river, as naval attacks could be launched against his empire all the way from the Holy Roman Empire.

To counter the power of the Turkish aristocracy, Mehmed has continued his father's policy of expanding the Janissary infantry corps, composed of young Christians recruited through the "devshirme" system, who are given salaries rather than fiefdoms to keep them loyal to and dependent on the sultan.

Mehmed authorizes autonomous religious communities to give his subjects religious freedom and gain the support of their religious leaders.

He creates equitable tax and administrative systems, and emphasizes justice for all.

Trebizond, at the southeast corner of the Black Sea, is the capital of the last remnant of Greek empire.

Although subject to brief periods of domination by the neighboring Seljuq Turks, Mongols, and the Greeks of Nicaea or Constantinople, the Empire of Trebizond had been largely bypassed by both the Seljuqs and the Mongols because of its relative isolation, difficulties of access, and conflict among its enemies.

Its prosperity lies partly in export of its own products—silver, iron, alum, cloth, and black wine—and partly from taxes on transit trade to western Iran.

After the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II in 1453, Trebizond and the Morea were left as the last remnants of the Greek imperial tradition.

Mehmed II had immediately summoned Emperor John IV of Trebizond to pay tribute in Constantinople and imposed heavy tolls on Trapezuntine and Venetian shipping through the straits.

John had apparently failed to cooperate, and in 1456 the Sultan dispatched his governor of Amasya, Hizir Bey, to attack Trebizond by both land and sea.

According to the contemporary historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles of Athens, Hizir raided the countryside, even penetrating into the marketplace of Trebizond, capturing altogether about two thousand people.

The city, deserted due to plague, is likely to fall; John makes his submission and agrees to pay an annual tribute of two thousand gold pieces in return for the return the captives Hizir had taken.

Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, the Timurid ruler in Khurasan, had in 1454 invaded Transoxiana, then under the control of Abu Sa'id Mirza, in retaliation for the latter's seizure of Balkh.

He had quickly laid siege to Samarkand.

The conflict between the two soon ended, however, with the Oxus River agreed to as the border.

This has remained in effect until Babur's death in 1457.

Babur's son Mirza Shah Mahmud succeeds him but, as he is still a boy, his hold on power is weak.

Weeks after Babur's death, Ibrahim Mirza bin Ala-ud-Daulah overthrows Shah Mahmud and therefore becomes the ruler of Khurasan.

However, Abu Sa'id Mirza, invades in July 1457 and occupies Balkh but is unable to conquer Herat.

Ibrahim's troubles increase when Jahan Shah of the Black Sheep Turkmen invades as well.

After occupying Gurgan, he defeats Ibrahim outside Astarabad.

Ibrahim's father Ala-ud-Daulah Mirza bin Baysonqor meets up with him in Herat to offer assistance, but in the end they both flee from the region.