Chapter 21

Review and Discussion

Islam Penetrates Europe

The Ottoman Empire

Ottoman and Safavid Empires 1453–1629

5

The End of the Byzantine Empire

• The Byzantine empire drew to a close in 1453 when forces from the Muslim Ottoman Empire surrounded and conquered Constantinople.

• renamed Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

expansion of the Ottoman Empire, beginning around 1300? • The three major factors were

– the shrewdness of the Ottoman founder Osman and his descendants– the control of the link between Europe and Asia– the creation of an army that combined the traditional skills of the Turkish

horseman with new technologies, particularly firearms. • Ottomans slowly expanded their rule across the region

– Brought at end to the Byzantine after capturing Constantinople in 1453– Became the longest lasting post-Mongol Muslim Empire – The conquests of Egypt, Syria, and other areas followed.

• Trade wars with Venice in the 15th century– pointed to the economic importance of the Ottoman trade empire in the

Mediterranean. • Balanced military

– Possessed a) a galley-equipped navy manned by Greek, Turkish, Algerian, and Tunisian sailors, b) a light cavalry (armed with bows) and c) foot soldiers, or Janissaries (Christian Prisoners of war equipped with firearms)

• Land Grant System– gave control and power to the cavalrymen, who dispensed justice, raised taxes,

and fought in the military.

Suleiman Ottoman Empire’s

Golden Age

•“Suleiman the Magnificent” to Westerners

•“The Lawgiver” to his own people

The Ottoman Empire and Suleiman

Poets produced works in the Turkish language. Painters produced detailed miniatures and illuminated manuscripts. The royal architect Sinan designed magnificent mosques and palaces.

Society was divided into four classes, with “men of the pen” and “men of the sword” at the top. Non-Muslims were organized into millets, or religious communities.

Suleiman had absolute power. Ottoman law was based on Sharia. The Ottomans recruited government and military officers from conquered people.

ARTSSOCIETYGOVERNMENT

Explain the economic and military crisis that had a severe impact on the Ottoman Empire.

• The essence of the crisis was– growing world economy and new military technologies made payment of part-

time soldiers by land grants economically unfeasible and obsolete. • Economy

– Inflation which resulted from New World silver flooding east from Europe.– The remaining landholders saw their fixed incomes from taxes decrease in the

face of rising inflation, Consequently, land returned to the state. Others on fixed incomes, such as scholars and holy men, also suffered financially.

• Military– Cannon and lighter-weight firearms altered military strategies. The Janissary corps

increased in size, raising the cost of government. – The role of the elite cavalry diminished correspondingly. The government reduced

the number of land grants to the cavalry, who became displaced and disgruntled. • The result

– was widespread rebellion – Deterioration in the quality of the growing Janissary corps—who often hired

substitutes– the continued evolution of military technology meant an increasing reliance on

supplemental and part-time troops.

Describe in detail the major similarities between the Safavid and Ottoman Empires and the differences that distinguished the Safavid

Empire.

• Similarities – included the military reliance on an elite cavalry paid through the

land-grant system; the Safavid orientation away from the sea and toward a large land-based empire; and the linguistic diversity of the people.

• The most significant difference – Safavid Empire’s embrace of Shi’ite Islam and its abandonment of

Sunnism. – Since it alone adopted that form of Islam, a deep chasm developed

between Safavid Iran and other nations. Consequently, Safavid Iran remained separate and distinct, even from its Islamic neighbors.

– The Persian language (second language of Islam), too, distinguished the Safavids, and it defined literary, architectural, theological, and other cultural differences.

Compare and contrast the two important cities, Istanbul and Isfahan, in terms of their culture and society.

• Cities– Istanbul was a great seaport; Isfahan was built well inland.– Both cities were designed for walking. Wheeled vehicles were rare in

Istanbul and nonexistent in Isfahan, as Isfahan was in an area dominated by camel transport.

• Women’s roles – were similar—and restricted—in both Istanbul and Isfahan. Women

were seldom seen in public and had special quarters in the home, called anderun in Iran and harem in Istanbul.

– Nevertheless, women were accepted in business and trade, although within certain well-defined and accepted boundaries.

• Cosmopolitan or not– Isfahan, the later capital of the Iranian empire, was located

geographically in the middle of the empire and was not very diverse socially or culturally.

– Istanbul, on the other hand, was a geographic crossroads and reflected the diversity of its many different peoples.

The Mughal The Mughal Empire Empire

(1526-1761)(1526-1761)

Illustration from a Mughal Manuscript

Illustration from a Mughal Manuscript

The Origins of Mughal EmpireThe Origins of Mughal Empire

• The Mughals descended from Mongol stock in Turkestan. They were, however, quite distant from their original ancestors. The Mughals were Muslim, for the Middle Eastern Mongol invaders had converted to Islam long before. They had also thoroughly absorbed Middle Eastern culture, especially Persian culture (the (the Persian word for Mongol is Persian word for Mongol is “Mughal”)“Mughal”)and their wars of invasion spread Persian culture throughout India.

A. Political Foundations

• The founder of the The founder of the Mughal dynasty was Mughal dynasty was Babur, who ruled Babur, who ruled from 1483 to 1530.from 1483 to 1530.

• Attacked and defeated the Dehli Sultanate in 1526.

What was the primary feature that distinguished the Mughal Empire from the Ottomans and Safavids?

• India (Mughal)– was first and foremost a Hindu land, although controlled by a Muslim minority. – Because India was geographically far from the Islamic homelands, distance

lessened Muslim dominance and power. – Centuries of separation and seclusion had consolidated Hindu culture, which did

not easily adapt to Islam. – The Mughals—their name taken from the Persian word for Mongol—also

patterned many of their institutions after their Mongol forebears. • Militarily (Mughal)

– were more concerned with the sea than the Ottomans or Safavids, and had closer links to the vast Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian trade network.

– had others fight most of their sea battles for them • Religion

– Differences between Muslim and Hindu were the defining factor. – The most successful of the Mughal emperors, Akbar, overcame those differences

by marrying into a Hindu family, elimination of tax on non-Muslims and effecting a reconciliation between the two groups.

Expanded Expanded boundaries boundaries through war.through war.

Akbar, r. 1556-1605 The most successful of The most successful of

the Mughal emperorsthe Mughal emperors Promoted religious Promoted religious

tolerancetolerance marrying into a Hindu marrying into a Hindu

family, eliminated a tax on family, eliminated a tax on non-Muslims and effecting non-Muslims and effecting a reconciliation between a reconciliation between the Hindu and Muslimsthe Hindu and Muslims

Akbar strives for Akbar strives for Social Social Harmony.Harmony.

Millennium Video Clip

Millennium Video Clip

Art flourishes, especially miniature paintings . . Art flourishes, especially miniature paintings . . ..

Regional powers Regional powers challenge Mughal challenge Mughal authorityauthority

Akbar’s Successors

• Akbar’s son, Jahangir, was weaker than Akbar. His wife Nur Jahan handled the details of the government. She was the most powerful women in India.

• Shah Jahan, Akbar’s grandson, built the Taj Mahal , one of the greatest monuments of the Mughal Empire. He built it for his wife and the mother of his 14 children after she died.

Decline

• In the late 1600’s Akbar’s great-grandson, Aurangzeb, resumed persecution of the Hindus, and raised taxes.

• These changes increased discontent among the people and sparked revolts around the empire.– Led to the rise of regional powers and princely states

• Europeans started mobilizing against the weakened empire.

Hinduism and Islam Clash and Blend

Why did the trade empires in the Indian Ocean region succeed and the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal

Empires decline?• changes in the world economy and military

– technologies undermined the land-grant system, which was the basis of the large land-based empires.

• In the seafaring empires– by contrast, improved technology in firearms, gunpowder, ship

design, and navigation • The influx of New World silver and the development of

joint-stock companies – provided an economic edge for Europeans.

• For non-European traders in the Indian Ocean– Islam created a common bond and cemented diverse peoples into

a cohesive trading network. – Islam also strengthened resistance and solidarity against the

Europeans.