ABSTRACT
H i s great imperative was to create an army both loyal to him and capable of prolonged campaigning. Traditionally, the Persians relied on tribal levies, and the army was composed almost entirely of cavalry, usually ill-disciplined and loyal only to their tribal chieftains. It was this pattern of Persian army which the Turkish Janissaries had shattered at Chaldiran (1515). Abbas's first task was to build up a sound basis of taxation to pay for his reforms. Thereafter, he constructed an army with a professional infantry and a 'tribe' of skilled cavalry:
many of his reforms used the experience of the Turks , but for his artillery he had a team of expert English advisers, led by Sir Robert Shirley : their advice was also instrumental in the creation of a skilled force of musketeers. By 1600 he had the nucleus of a professional army, dependent solely on h im for its support and able to undertake sustained campaigning far from home. Abbas soon threw back the Turks , extending his frontiers on the northern border into Uzbek and Turcoman territory. In 1606 he repulsed a major T u r k i s h assault, under Sultan Ahmed II, at Sis, where his skilled and disciplined nucleus routed the Turks , who left 20,000 dead on the battlefield. Thereafter, although peace was made, war with Turkey was endemic throughout his reign. Turk ish and Persian interests coincided too closely for any lasting peace to be possible.
