PRESENTATION OUTLINE
1. They were the Turkish new troops that gained a reputation for esprit de corps, loyalty to the sultan, and readiness to employ new military technology. The ottomans outfitted their forces with gunpowder weapons and utilized them in their battles and sieges.
2. Suleyman was a powerful figure in Ottoman history who promoted the existence of the empire itself. He conquered major key points such as Baghdad, the Tigris and Euphrates valleys, Belgrade, etc. Among his notable military achievements, he killed the king of Hungary. Under his leadership, the Ottomans become a major naval power. With a powerful fleet, Suleyman was able to take control of certain bodies of water and secured portions of the Middle East and Asia.
3. Twelver Shiism stated that were twelve religious leaders after Muhammad, with the first one being his cousin. The last one had gone into hiding in order to escape persecution. The Twelver Shiites believed the last one was still alive and would be able to take power and spread the religion.
4. The Battle of Chaldiran was a critical battle that took place in 1514. The Ottoman army had deployed heavy artillery and thousands of Janissaries equipped with firearms being protected by a barrier of carts. The Ottomans fought against the Safavids (who had knowledge of gunpowder and firearms, but deemed it unmanly and unreliable) with the Ottoman Empire gaining the upper hand. However, the Ottoman Empire did not defeat the Safavids, but they did put their civilization in a fragile state. The two remained at an intermittent conflict for the next two centuries.
5. The Mughal Empire was created through Babur, which would expand to almost all of the Indian subcontinent. However, the real leader was Akbar, the grandson of the founder. He was a strong ruler and did not tolerate any form of oppression. Akbar had launched campaigns to the Hindu kingdom, which led to the expansion into Southern India. The Mughal Empire had reached its peak under the reign of Aurangzeb. He placed a strong emphasis on religion, even destroying temples of Hinduism and replacing them with mosques. He would break up resistance wherever it would be found within his land of power.
