ABSTRACT
The chronological proximity and tactical similarity of the Ottoman victories at Chaldiran, Turna Dag, Marj Dabik, Raydaniyya, and Mohacs, the Safavid triumph at Jam, and Babur's victories at the first Panipat, Khanua, and Gogra contributed to the impression of similarity. All three empires defeated their rivals on the battlefield with a combination of artillery, infantry firearms, and cavalry, employed in a wagon fortress. The Ottoman and Mughal empires escaped the post-Abbasid impasse in part by escaping the Arid Zone, but that circumstance did not in itself guarantee success. Muslim rulers had, after all, reigned over virtually all of the territory that the Mughal Empire ruled, but never achieved either their durable power or enduring legitimacy. The Safavids escaped temporally rather than geographically. The Safavid Empire collapsed because the regime failed to maintain enough military power to survive a threat that a few decades earlier would have been minor.
