Three Muslim Empires: Part 1

Chapter 21

#1 The Ottomans Turkish Muslim nomads from central Asia

Ottomans moved into region to escape Mongols

Began in 1280 with Osman I

State Geared to Warfare

Expansion played dominant role in early Ottoman politics, economy “Gunpowder Empire” Powerful galley fleets conquered islands in Mediterranean. Best navy until late

1500s Sultan Mehmed II- conquered Constantinople Later N. Africa, Europe, Romania Suleiman the Magnificient- Romania, Hungary, Holy Roman

Empire

Cavalry responsible for conquering territories became aristocracy granted lands and control of peasants- like encomiendas? eventually competed with religious leaders and Janissaries for

political influence

***Janissaries-conscripted or volunteer Christians that converted to Islam were educated, fought for the Sultan; gained influence, power in court of Sultan Similar to what position in Chinese culture?

Constantinople Restored

Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, then rebuilt, restored ancient glory- ISTANBUL Built new mosques, palaces, aqueducts; population

grew, markets reopened public schools, hospitals Coffeehouses- sources of poetry, scholarship, debate

Most of Constantinople’s population merchants, artisans, centered around grand bazaars but commerce closely regulated with guilds, inspectors

Sultans & Their Court Ottoman sultans were absolute monarch,

similar to those in Europe, maintained position by playing competing parties against each other

As sultans retreated into luxury, ritual similar to Umayyad and Abbasid, Viziers (Wazirs) took control of imperial administration

Succession problem- Ottoman sultans also had no clear political

succession, led to warfare among sons Successor would often strangle his brothers

Religion

Large empire- Diverse Languages- Turkish, Arabic, Persian ‘ Religion- Sunni, Shiite, Catholic, Protestant,

Jewish Fairly tolerant stance

No forced conversion Head tax No military service allowed

Women

Women usually not seen outside

Could own property

Sultan’s Harems Musicians Tailors Advisors Had some influence over

Problems of Ottoman Decline

Dynasty endured for more than 600 years, longest dynasty in world history

Ultimately empire too large to maintain

Local officials keep revenue for their own purposes

Weak Sultans

Rampant growth of corruption in administration, oppressive demand led to rebellions

Luxury, seclusion of sultans led to successors unable to rule

Ottoman Retreat Rise of the West

Ottoman success with large siege guns, Janissaries led to belief they didn’t need to adopt new technology, also Muslims not accustomed to West having superior technology

Lose control of Indian Ocean trade to Portuguese Ottomans falling behind in trade, warfare, technology,

tax collection and insistence on isolation kept them from resurgence

#2 Safavids Safavids also Turkish nomads fleeing Mongols

Isma’il led Safavids to conquer Tabriz took title of Shah conquered most of Persia Goal: convert to Shiite

1514 Safavid’s drive ended at Chaldiran against better armed Ottomans, stopped the spread of Safavids and Shi’a limited to modern Iran, southern Iraq

Politics and War under the Shahs

Tahmasp I restored power of the dynasty, successors brought tribal chiefs under control by turning them into warrior nobility with grants of land, villages, peasants Similar to what we’ve studied?

To counter nobility, shahs appointed Persian to court, imperial bureaucracy, recruited Russian slave boys for armies Who were the counterparts in Ottoman

Empire?

State & Religion Mullahs were local mosque officials and prayer

leaders, taught as public schools, ensured majority of population converted to Shi’a Islam

Abbas the Great secured political position with military victories

established empire as center of international trade and Islamic culture

Built network of road, resthouses to facilitate trade, encouraged trade with other Muslims, India, China

Not much trade with Western/European Nations

promoted manufacturing of silk, textiles, carpets (Persian Rugs)

Ottoman & Safavid Comparison

Both dominated by warrior aristocracy, absolute monarch with prestige, luxury

Life difficult for peasants, Foreign invasion, civil strife, misery of people

Both empires encouraged artistic manufacturing, growth of trade, patronized public works; Safavids less advanced than Ottomans

Women lost independence, stringent cultural guidelines enforced by religious doctrine

Rapid Decline succession issues

Foreign threats emerged due to wealth and prestige in empire

Afghani forces besieged Safavids in 1722, followed by waves of nomadic raiders.

#2 Mughal India Founded by Mongol warlord-

Babur

Mughal- Persian for Mongol

Babur and his descendants conquered much of India

Military strategist- Army of 12000 defeated army 10X its size

200 year dynasty

Babur occupied territory but did little to reform inefficient bureaucracy

http://www.nndb.com/people/515/000092239/

Akbar conquered new territory built efficient military and administrative systems Used gunpowder patronized the arts, philosophy attempted to unite Hindu, Muslim with new

religion, Din-i-Ilahi Encouraged intermarriage of Hindu Muslim,

abolished Jizya, Hindu head tax Political structure provided by warrior aristocrats

granted peasant, villages with tribute paid by military service and taxes (cut and paste from yesterday?)

Din-i-Ilahi

Tried to blend faiths (Hindu and Muslim) to bring peace between the groups

When Akbar died- both Hindus and Muslim rejected this idea

Mughal Splendor Size of great Mughal cities, Delhi, Agra, Lahore,

impressed European merchants with massive elephant, artillery corps

Contrast with massive poverty among people, lack of discipline in military, technology fallen far behind European counterparts

Indian production of cotton and textiles created huge Western demand that led to economic ties into the 20th century

Artistic Achievement Akbar’s successors,

Jahangir and Shah Jahan retained tolerance

Both increasing fond of luxury, court ceremonies, animal battles

Focused tremendous resources in monumental architecture, blending Persian and Hindu tradition with domes, arches, minarets and ornamentation

Taj Mahal- Shah Jahan built for his wife

Women in the Mughal Sati legal- burning of high caste women in

husband funeral pyre

Toward end of dynasty, child marriage at age nine remerged, Widow remarriage died out, seclusion more enforced

Dwindling roles for women and cost of dowry made the birth of daughter and unfortunate event

Beginnings of Decline Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s successor

strict adherence to Islam

ignored needs for administrative, military, social reform

Living standards fell, endless warfare with tribal nomad drained treasury, diverting his attention from growing power among local nobility

Also created greater internal division by persecuting Hindus and new Sikh religion, creating greater instability in region

Vasco da Gama arrived during the year that is called 1498

Asian Transitions in an Age of

Global Change

Chapter 22

Yuan Dynasty

What do you remember?

Ming China- Kicking out the Yuan

New Emperor

Hongwu Established Ming dynasty in

1368 defeating Mongols &

Chinese rivals Another Scholar

Revival Viewed Scholar Gentry with

suspicion but still . . . Subsidized

academies,improved civil service examinations

Ming Age of Growth

Ming known for cultural strengths Literature, porcelain, architecture Oceanic trade of Zheng He

Growth in arts fueled by Scholar Gentry Depictions of ordinary life in

traditional style

Europe Arrives

Increase in trade and population growth due to outside contacts New food crops from Americas

lead to population growth in Yangtze region

Trade ran in China’s favor due to quality of goods

Controlled trade -only permitted at Macao & Canton

Missionaries allowed in Ming court due to scientific knowledge and technical skills

New wealth invested in land, not commerce

Chinese Retreat

1390 Imperial order to limit overseas contact

Chinese military, scientific knowledge outmatched by Europeans

Stop voyages of Zheng He- see previous notes

Ming Decline The Usual Reasons: weak gov,

revolution and war Influx of silver from Spanish –

INFLATION Population growing too fast Conquered by Manchus- But that’s

another story . . .

III. Japan’s Reunification Japan had undergone years of civil war

(Daimyos and their Samurai) 1467= anarchy and chaos Onin War

lasted until 1477 100 years of chaos followed “Era of

Independent Lords”

Unification

chaos ended in 1573 under Nobunaga with use of . . .

Firearms

He was killed. Replaced by another “unifier”- Hideyoshi in 1582

Hideyoshi and the European Challenge

1543 Portuguese shipwrecked-brought Japan into trade network Japanese interested in firearms,

printing, European devices

Nobunaga had encouraged Missionaries. Why? to counter power of Buddhists,

enjoyed western traditions

Hideyoshi reluctant, Buddhists crushed

The Tokugawa Shogunate and Isolation

Ieyasu (1603 becomes Shogun)- the successor of Hideyoshi

Tokugawa Shogunate – 1603-1868 Japanese cultural revival Kabuki theater- emphasized violence , action,

and music. Criticized for corrupting effects on morality

Isolationism Ieyasu ordered Christian missionaries out,

active persecution, banned 1614 confined traders to specific cities 1616, 1630s

Japanese forbidden to trade 1640s Limited amount of Dutch & Chinese

merchants allowed- Only in city of Nagasaki Removed influence of west to focus on

consolidating Tokugawa power