1. The Ottoman Empire was formed in the late medieval period by conquerors who unified under firearms and was led by a hereditary sultan. 2. Ottoman society was divided into social classes and religiously tolerant, though non-Muslims paid additional taxes. The empire began losing territory in the late 1600s due to financial problems and corruption. 3. The Safavid dynasty rose to power in the early 1500s in Persia and surrounding areas, establishing Shi'ite Islam as the dominant religion and creating a golden age of architecture, art, and culture under the rule of Shah Abbas in the late 1500s-early 1600s.