Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. © Copyright 2010 All rights reserved. The Mamluks, early Ottomans, and the Vision Daniel 11:14 In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success.      As indicated by this verse, the Mamluks held their position as “king of the South” for the next two-centuries while the north made several changes.  The “vision”  refers to the founder of the Ottoman Empire, which would later rule the Middle East for 400 years (verses 15-19).  However, the Ottoman’s first attempt to spread into the Middle East was unsuccessful, as the verse says.  Also, the Ottomans were Turkish and Sunni, the same as the Mamluks, which explains the reference to “your own people”       The well-known vision occurred around 1277, when Osman was 19 years old and spending the night at the home of his mentor, Sheik Edebali, an Islamic scholar and friend of his father.  Osman dreamt of a crescent moon that came out of Edebali’s chest and went into his chest.  After that, a huge tree sprang forth with roots that spread through three continents with foliage that covered distant lands.  Some report that the city of Constantinople appeared as a diamond, centered on a ring, which he was putting on his finger when he awoke.  Anyway, Edebali interpreted the crescent as being his daughter, who would marry Osman and their offspring would create a mighty empire.  Four years later, Osman became the leader of a small emirate on the eastern border of the Byzantine Empire (left).        The Byzantines were still clinging to a small kingdom in western Turkey while Osman’s emirate attracted a large number of Islamic warriors, seeking refuge from the Mongol Ilkhanate.  Osman proved to be an effective organizer of those warriors and led them on several conquests of Byzantine cities.  His last and greatest conquest was the city of Bursa, which became the capital of his emirate.  Osman died in 1324 and his grandson, Murad, is considered the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire.       Meanwhile, the Ilkhanate suffered a vacuum of power and divided into several territories but in 1383, Timur, a Mongol descendant, restored control (left).  The Timurid dynasty was characterized by exceptional brutality.  In 1400/1401, they defeated the Mamluks in Syria and massacred the inhabitants of Damascus.  They also destroyed Baghdad and massacred about 20,000.  In 1402, they scored a decisive victory over the Ottomans at Ankara, which deterred the Ottoman expansion into the Middle East for over a century.  The Timurid Empire remained in control of Persia until 1501.       From 1501-1722, the Safavid Empire took control of Persia and reasserted Iranian culture in the region and made a change that is significant to end times.  The founder, Shah Ismail I, changed Persia’s official religion to Shiite Muslim, which it remains today.  Perhaps, he just wanted to be different from the Turks but regardless of the reason, the change was huge.  According to research in 2009, Iran contains up to forty percent of the Shiites worldwide.  If the surrounding countries are included, that percentage is much higher.  The Shiites are critical to end times because of their deep-seeded rival with the Sunni.  Without the resurgence that the Safavids provided, that rival might not have the same vigor that it has today.  That is typical of how God works to achieve the outcome He desires.        In summary, many empires rose against the Mamluks in their two centuries as “king of the south”.  The Ottomans were not successful following the vision because they were defeated by Timur in 1402.  It took many decades for them to recover and they chose to expand into Europe rather than fighting with Timur.  Yet, the Ottoman’s vision would come true in the next verse. click to enlarge click to enlarge click to enlarge sitemap home
Timurid Empire 1405 Safavid Empire 1500's Emirates of Anatolia 1300 (notice Osman in the center) The Safavid Empire Next Page: The Ottomans (400+ yrs) Daniel 11: 15-19 this was: Page 8 on Daniel 11 click chart to enlarge
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