Chapter 21: Muslim Empires Summary notes
- 1. The Muslim Empires Chapter 21: Summary and Review
- 2. Foundation and Overview • Mongol conquests of the 13th and 14th centuries destroyed remaining Muslim unity in southern Asia • Three new empires emerged: Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal • All had strong militaries and gunpowder technology • All had absolute monarchies and agrarian economies
- 3. • Nomadic Turks who came to power Ottoman Empire: Beginning following the Mongol defeat of the Seljuks • 1453- Defeat Constantinople • Eventually spread throughout Anatolia, Balkans, Eastern Europe (up to Vienna), Arabia, and Northern Africa
- 4. Ottoman Military Might • Society was heavily geared for warfare • Turkic horsemen became the warrior aristocracy ruling the empire controlling land and peasants they conquered • Janissaries- elite gunpowder troops made up of boys conscripted from conquered Christian peoples come to dominate the military by the mid 16th century
- 5. Ottoman Government • Absolute monarchy, loses touch with people over time • Lacked clear rules for succession political turmoil and eventual decline of empire • Sultans advised by viziers, rule huge bureaucracy • Kept factions fighting against each other
- 6. Ottoman Culture • Religiously tolerant: Christians and Jews considered “People of the Book” • Merchants came to hold great power • Istanbul become important international center of trade • Sultans beginning with Suleyman the Magnificent, build mosques and other public works to beautify city and leave their mark
- 7. Ottoman Problems Decline • Empire grows to big to be maintained • Problems with succession weaken government, made worse by series of poor rulers • Siege of Vienna weakens military and drains treasury • Oppressed peasants begin to revolt or flee empire • Janissaries, hoping to maintain power block attempts at reform
- 8. Ottoman Military Defeats • 1571- Battle of Lepanto, lose control of Indian Ocean trade to joint Spanish- Portuguese fleet • 1688- Siege of Vienna, Ottoman repelled, beginning of the end
- 9. Safavid Empire Formed • 1501- Isma’il as Sufi mysitic and descendant of Sail al-Din established capital at Tabriz and names himself Shah • Begin expanding • 1514- Battle of Chaldiran- defeated by Ottoman, stops westward expansion of shi’ism
- 10. Safavid Politics and War • Absolute monarchy, restored by Tasmaph I in 1534 • Abbas the Great- – rules during golden Age (1589-1627) – brought some Turkic warriors under control – recruited Persians into bureaucracy – created elite gunpowder troops made up of conquered Russian peoples (similar to Janissaries)
- 11. Safavid Culture • Originally wrote in Turkish, but changed to Persian following the Battle of Chaldiran • Create elaborate court based on Persian traditions • Religious leaders and teachers grow in power and importance as Shi’ism spreads through empire • Produced beautiful silk textiles • New capital built in Isfahan
- 12. Decline of the Safavid • Abbas I kills his successors series of weak leaders • Internal power struggles more weakness • 1722- Isfahan falls to Afghan raiders • 1736- Even Nadir Shah Afshar unable to rally the empire
- 13. Ottoman and Safavid Compared Similarities Differences • Initially dominated by warrior • Ottoman more aristocracy market driven • Oppression and turmoil • Safavid land caused peasants to flee and locked, limits trade rebel • Encouraged trade and domestic production • Women subordinate to men, lose power over time
- 14. Mughals Establish an Empire in India • Babur descendant of Tamerlain invades India in 1526 seeking wealth, get stuck and decide to stay • by 1528 control most of the Indus and Ganges region
- 15. Akbar the Great • Worked to reconcile problems with Hindu majority, religious toleration – Encouraged intermarriage – Ended special tax on Hindus – Respected most Hindu traditions – Granted land to Hindu and Muslim warriors in return for loyalty • Din-i-ilahi- Universal faith, encourages respect of all peoples’ beliefs
- 16. • Encourages social reforms like limiting alcohol • Encourages widow remarriage while discouraging child marriage, tries to ban Sati, even tries to create special market day for women • Most reforms not lasting, peasants continue to live in poverty, later rulers reverse religious toleration, women lose rights (daughters unlucky, child marriage resumes)
- 17. Mughal Achievements • Many rulers were patrons of the arts – Painting workshops for miniatures – Textile and rug production – Great architectural works (Taj Mahal)
- 18. Mughal Decline • 1707- Aurangzeb reverses religious toleration, drains treasury and weakens military and government bureaucracy • Marattas and Sikh rebellions • Regional lords gain power as central government declines • Foreign powers step in to gain land as Mughal empire declines
- 19. Gunpowder Empires • All three empires gain power with help of nomadic warriors • Firearms became decisive in battle, ie) Chaldiran • Governments used military technology to change the organization of their empires, warrior aristocray lose power as governments build professional armies
- 20. • All three empires ignored the growing threat of European expansion and military might • Ignored or blocked European innovations • Lost international trade routes to Europeans • European gold inflation