Question

What was the religious difference of the ottoman and safavid empires ?

Answer 1

Religiously, there were at least two major differences between the Ottomans and the Safavids. First, the Ottomans were Sunni Muslims while the Safavids were Shi'ite. The Safavids were anti-Sunni to the extent that they would at times massacre Sunnis (as they did in Baghdad) when they conquered a Sunni area. Second, the Safavids were less tolerant of non-Muslims in their empire than the Ottomans were. They preferred to use Shi'ism as a unifying force in their empire.