One salient theme in the military, political and social history of the eastern Islamic world of the late Middle Ages and early modern period is the alteration and even tension between nomadic and standing armies. By the first mentioned, I am referring to armies that are based primarily on soldiers who normally live as pastoral nomads and can be called up to serve at need, as opposed to the latter, armies based in cities, composed of more-or-less professional soldiers. The former mainly receive their livelihood from their pastoral occupations while the latter draw either salaries or revenues derived directly from land allocations under their control. This chapter will revolve around this alternating military situation in various regimes and territories, looking also at the way armies were paid or otherwise supported.

Geographically, Iran – more-or-less defined as the country within the boundaries of the present Islamic Republic, but also including a wide swathe of northern modern Afghanistan and all of Turkmenistan – is at the heart of our discussion. At the same time, the effective influence (and thus the arena for the activities of the military) of these states based in Iran could extend much further to the east, north or west.