The Growth of the Ottoman Empire (29 May 1453 – 11 November 1606) is the period followed after the Rise of the Ottoman Empire in which the Ottoman state reached the Pax Ottomana. In this period, the Ottoman Empire expanded southwestwards into North Africa and battled with the re-emergent Persian Shi'ia Safavid Empire to the east. The growth period was followed by the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire.