Safavids

The main group that contributed to bringing the Safavids to power, due to making up the bulk of the Safavid army, were the Qizilbash (lit. 'red-heads'), who consisted of Turkoman tribes. Meanwhile, ethnic Iranians, including the Shahs, held the positions in bureaucracy and cultural affairs, leading the empire politically as the administrative and religious elite. In the 17th century, Armenian, Georgian, and Circassiangholams (slave-soldiers) emerged as the "Third Force" and became the primary military authority until the fall of the Safavids.