Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Empires: A Comparative Analysis of Millenial
Sovereignty and Political Legitimization
Well-known as the “Gunpowder Empires,” the Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid Empires
were strong Islamic nations that ruled over a third of the global population and unified the East
and West politically, economically, and culturally. Most commonly associated with longevity and
development, the stability of these empires can be attributed to the strong ideological foundation
of millennial sovereignty, which supported the consolidation of religious authority and political
legitimacy under one ruler who derived power from cosmic significance. However, the three
Gunpowder Empires varied in the religious foundation and justification for the ideology and the
degree to which sovereigns relied on cosmic knowledge for political legitimacy. Comparing and
contrasting the religious background of the aforementioned empires, the cosmic legitimization,
and essential individuals who embodied millennial sovereignty showcases the shared
characteristics between the Gunpowder Empires and their fundamental differences.
Although all considered Islamic civilizations, the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid Empires
varied greatly in their religious background. The “Turkicization of Anatolia” and “Shi’ization of
Sunnism” referenced in Chapter 15 were responsible for integrating Turkish cultural practices
and Shia veneration of ‘Ali and ritual practices with Sunni beliefs to craft religious traditions
unique to the Ottomans. This novel adaptation of religion became closely intertwined with
Ottoman rule as Sharia law was adopted as the foundation for legal rulings and the echo of Sunni
caliphates persisted. While the Ottomans leaned into their majority Sunni faith, the Safavids
introduced Twelver Shiism to Sunni Iran. The Shia Safavids did not think of ‘Ali as just a
symbol of faith and strongly emphasized their identity as descendants of ‘Ali. The combination
of religious shrines and royal mausoleums in places like Mashhad more closely aligned ‘Ali, the
original source of sovereignty, with ruling shahs (Salvatore 379).
Like the Safavids, the Mughals closely aligned saint shrines and royal mausoleums. Still,
unlike the Safavids and Ottomans, the Mughals developed reasoning for sovereignty independent
of caliphal lineage due to their diverse predominantly non-Muslim constituency. Ibn al-Arabi's
theory of the “Perfect Man” discussed in Chapter 18 could be attained by descent from ‘Ali or
association with the qutb, the axis of the cosmos, which appealed more to the Mughals, who did
not have the same solid Islamic convictions as their Safavid and Ottoman counterparts. Although
an Islamic empire, the Mughals could not exert religious lineage as a legitimate source of
authority while maintaining the religious tolerance their reign offered its subjects, so religion
took a backseat.
While justifications for millennial sovereignty came from diverse religious backgrounds,
all three empires utilized cosmic knowledge developed by the ulama, the scholarly community,
to varying degrees to justify the authority of their strong leaders. The Safavids, confronted with
the difficult task of balancing conversion to Shiism and justifying their political saint-king
actions, encouraged the immigration and ultimate creation of a Persian Shia ulama who were
“ritual specialist[s] of sacred kingship” (Salvatore 389). These scholars provided strong
justification for the departure from the ideology that rulers derived power exclusively from
religious lineage utilized in the Abbasid caliphate. Mughal emperors embraced this ideology
developed in the Safavid Empire when the Nuqtawi’s exodus to India brought it to them in the
16th century. Of the Gunpowder Empires, the Mughals relied most heavily on cosmic knowledge
to justify their empire because they did not have a strong religious identity to fall back on.
Instead, they fully embraced the platform of those who have since been labeled
“star-worshippers and reincarnationists” (Salvatore 368).
The Ottoman Empire’s millenarian arguments differed slightly from the Safavid and
Mughal arguments. The Ottoman sultans utilized the ulama and the occult sciences to engage
with the emulation of the Lord of Conjunction. However, they ultimately fell back to the
caliphate and saint-philosopher-king ideology of the Abbasids. This historical justification
integrated perfectly with the religious one already utilized by the Sunni Ottomans, and the sultan
embodied the caliphate and religious authority through his role as millennial sovereign.
The ideological differences between the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid Empires can be
observed best in the influential figureheads of each empire. Beginning with the Mughals,
Emperor Jalal al-Din Akbar is credited with embracing the millennial sovereign to the fullest
extent to make the Mughal Empire one of the wealthiest and most populated. Akbar's subject
enjoyed equality before the law due to his principle of Universal Harmony. His holy being
required worship from the imperial cult of Divine Religion, a doctrine centered around Emperor
Akbar’s divinity, and he fashioned himself as a reflection of the celestial realm (Salvatore 367).
Sultan Suleyman of the Ottomans was the only leader who came close to achieving Emperor
Akbar’s success as a millennial sovereign. However, unlike Akbar, Suleyman embraced his
millennial sovereignty as a Lawgiver who created an Ottoman imperial culture from the time's
chaotic and conflicting intellectual and social trends (Salvatore 370). This vast undertaking was
only successful because he could balance the seemingly contradictory political and religious
roles of the Lawgiver and champion of Sunnism through his identity as a transcendent millennial
sovereign.
Like the Mughal Emperor Akbar and Ottoman Sultan Suleyman, Safavid Shah Abbas
fully embraced the ideology of millennial sovereignty and the authority derived from cosmic
knowledge. The best-known example of this commitment was Shah Abbas’ response to the
Nutqawi warning that the ruler of Iran would lose his throne due to an impending planetary
conjunction. He was concerned enough to temporarily abdicate the throne and place a puppet
Shah on the throne, who was then killed and displayed as a signal of cosmic power (Salvatore
386). This event is a testament to the importance of cosmic knowledge and rituals to not just the
Safavid Empire but all the empires of the era who could not have fully legitimized their rule
without the integration of cosmic support.
Historically, the Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid Empires have been lumped together as
stable and durable Islamic empires. However, it is integral to recognize the nuanced differences
between the empires, such as religious and cultural justifications for millennial sovereignty,
which defined the remarkable era. Acknowledging and exploring these differences alongside the
overarching similarities, which prompts people to initially group them together, provides a more
detailed understanding of each empire and its individual religious, political, and cultural
motivations.