Iranian expansion in Iraq and its impact on the ottomans from the first half of the 16th century until the end of the 18th century

Abstract

In the first half of the sixteenth century AD, several political changes occurred in three regional regions: Iran, Iraq, and Anatolia, which contributed to the occurrence of major historical events that demonstrated to the Islamic world the extent of their danger to Muslim countries in general, and Iraq in particular. It was represented by the fall of Turkmen rule in Iran, Iraq, and southern Anatolia, the establishment of the Shiite Safavid state in Iran, Iraq falling prey to it in its border and interior regions, and Anatolia being exposed to Shiite waves that caused many rebellions and revolutions against the Sunni Ottoman Empire. This in turn led to a change in tactics. The Ottoman war from the western front to the eastern front, which became in danger in the face of the Shiite expansion that took advantage of the Ottoman reconciliation policy. But as soon as this danger began to knock on its eastern and southern eastern doors, it changed its peaceful stance and entered into wars with the Safavids in Iran and Iraq throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, until it ended with the confirmation of Iraq’s liberation from Safavid rule in many instances. The history in which it became an Ottoman state despite being exposed to many Iranian wars, but with the unity of its people, especially the people of Basra, and its surroundings contributed to their getting rid of the Shiite presence in the end.