Sultan Selim I had expanded the borders of the Ottoman Empire toward the Arab region with his famous expeditions in 1516-1517 after defeating the Safavid Persians in the Battle of Chaldiran. In a twist of fate, the regions Selim took over through war were also the first regions that broke away from the Ottoman Empire when it started to weaken. First areas of Persia, then – during the era of Muhammad Ali Pasha of Kavala, physically, even if not officially – Egypt, followed by the Arabian Peninsula.