ABSTRACT
The period from the early sixteenth through the early eighteenth centuries C.E. was marked by the military and political ascendancy of three Muslim empires: the Ottomans of Turkey, the Safavids of Iran, and the Moguls of India. There were, of course, other regional Muslim powers, such as the Shaybanids of Central Asia, the Sa‘dids of Morocco, the Muslim dynasties of the Indonesian Archipelago, and so on. However, their influence on the lands beyond their immediate control was relatively minor compared to the wide reach of the three Muslim superpowers. In global terms, Muslim power achieved its peak in the sixteenth century not only in the lands once controlled by the ‘Abbásid caliphate but also well beyond. It began to decline in the early eighteenth century with the collapse of the Mogul and Safavid Empires in the East and a progressive decline of the Ottoman state in the West. As their names clearly indicate, these were dynastic powers named after their founders’ ancestors (the Great Moguls/Mongols,1 shaykh Safí al-Din, and Osman, respectively). The complex political, economic, military, and social history of these imperial giants lies outside the scope of this book. We shall, therefore, limit ourselves to a brief summary of the religious doctrines and institutions prevalent in their societies.
