The Safavid's had a good chance at becoming a Great Power

Contention I: Internal Strength of the Safavid DynastyThe Safavids created a great empire, built on the fundation of a strong monarch. But to fully understand what made the Safavids internally strong, we need to break up their strengths into a series of points....(1) The Safavids were united by a sense of old Persian nationalism. The original Persian empires, had conquered kingdoms of vastly different religions, cultures, and ethnic groups. The old world Persian empires made it much easier to unite the various cultures and tribes that the Safavids retained at the edges of their borders. Turkish and Armenian peoples also often viewed themselves as Persians. [1](2) The Persians were strengthened by the Shia' religion. If you quickly anaylze the religious sects of the current Arab nations, then you will realize that Shia' areas were also once a part of the Safavid Empire. Often, in the other Arab nations, people would be killed or persecuted for the Shia' faith. Shiites fled within the borders of the empire. Its the main reason why the Ottomans and British were never able to gain any influence in Mesopotamia. The Shiite peasents would quickly dispose of the governors. Which is why Iran was never directly colonized. [2](3) The Safavids had developed a great system of beauracracies. The Safavids were known for creating a complex and sophisticated system of beauracracies. Something that was the envy of most of the west, mostly the Ottomans. Every part of the state was under control, which led to prosperity and wealth. During the early 1700's, nations were mostly under developed and divided into feudal serfdom. The Persians on the other hand, had used the complex administration to their advantage, developing farmland for most of Iran's peasents. [3](4) A philosophy that applied well to the Safavids, is that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. The Safavid Dynasty was strengthened by the disdain and failing administration of its neighbors. The Uzbeks, Indians, and Iraqi peoples all rose up in revolt over their respective rulers. They found much better homes among the Persians. [4] [5]Contention II: Relative Strength Among Neighboring PowersPeople generally agree that the Ottomans and Mughals, although failing, were still great powers. They both had extremely wealthy economies and large militarys. Despite this, the Safavid Dynasty was able to conquer large masses of lands from all its neighbors. Lets have a quick examination....(1) Its intresting to note, that the Persians beat the Ottomans in 4 wars. They fought much more, but almost all of these were fought during the Ottoman height. The Persians carved an empire from the mesopotamian delta to Georgian Caucasus. Reaching the very border of the Ottoman homeland, Anatolia. These wars were so humiliating for the Ottomans, that many view the loss of Mesopotamia to the eventual decline of the empire. [6](2) The Safavids had a reputation of brutally taking Uzbek dynastic territory, in great shows of military strength. The once strong Uzbek empire had over half of its land under realpolitk control by the Safavids. The claims of the Uzbek dynasty hardly did anything to curve the massive Persian support in the region. [7](3) Perhaps in the greatest show of strength by the Safavids, was their campaign against the Mughals. The Safavid Dynasty paved through the Mughal armies, taking land all the way from the Persian strip (Area next to the caspian along the Meso-Persian Coast), all the way through Afghanistan to the Indo-Kush border (Nepal). The Mughals at the time, were not only at their height, but the wealhiest nation in the world. Another thing, was by the time of the Maratha rebbelion and European colonialism of India, scholars believe the Safavids had the power to destroy the Ottomans or the Mughals entirely. [8]Conention 3: Cultural Powerhouse of the SafavidsWhen most scholars talk of the Safavids, they are ussually refering to its culture. Here are a couple points on Safavid learning and understanding.The Safavids, were home to the largest and most prestigious universities in the world. This is how the world functioned in the 1600-1700's. Most Europeans left to the middle east to study philosophy and science. Persia had one of the highest literacy rates in the world at the time. Persia was renowned as a place where theology, philosophy, and science could be freely talked about. [9]Even during the reformation, people were still persecuted on a regular basis for disscussing radical topics like these. Under the Safavids, such discourse was encouraged. The Safavids also built a culture based around artistry and mercantile creativity.Under the European structure, poets, artists, and writers were not always accepted. In fact, capitalism was not even fully developed in Europe until the late 1700's. Persia was a home to the greatest artists in the world. Temples, palaces, and homes were adorned with unique and valuable gold and art. Anyways, I'm definitely running out of space, so I will argue the economic potential next round. [10]Good luck Romanii!!![1] http://www.metmuseum.org...[2] http://www.presstv.com...[3] http://www.iranchamber.com...[4] http://wps.ablongman.com...[5] http://www.flowofhistory.com...[6] http://www.worldology.com...[7] http://books.google.com...[8] http://historymedren.about.com...[9] http://www.brill.com...[10] http://www.metmuseum.org...