may 1, 1514 - The Battle of Chaldiran

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Shah Ismail made conversion to Twelver Shiism mandatory for the largely Sunni population of Persia and the Ottomans feared the spread of Safavid propoganda into their own territory. Selim Grim launched a full scale persecution of Shiites in the Ottoman Empire and then prepared for an invasion of the Safavid empire.. At the Battle of Chaldiran, the Ottomans employed the use of heavy artillery and gunpowder weapons along with thousands of Janisarries equipped with firearms. The Safavids had knowledge about gunpowder weapons but had declined to use such devices up to that point, partially due to complete faith in Shah Ismail. The Safavids suffered devastating casualties and the Ottomans temporarily occupued their capital at Tabriz. Later Safavid shahs recovered from the disaster and came to rely heavily on Persian administrative methods while also abandoning extreme Safavid ideology in favor of more conventional Twelver Shiism.

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