b.s. r7 chapter 21: the muslim empires early modern period
TRANSCRIPT
B.S.R7
Chapter 21:
The Muslim EmpiresEarly Modern Period
Before Ottoman Dynasty
Turkic-speaking people from central Asia were soldiers and administrators in Islamic civilization. Usually, in the service of Abbasid caliphs.
Seljuk Turkic kingdom of Rum, located in eastern Anatolia in the Asia Minor, collapses due to the invasion by the Mongols in 1243. Mongols did not directly rule Anatolia, which fell into chaos
Turkic people, fleeing Mongols and in search of treasure, flooded the region in the last decades of the 13th century.
Osman Gaziعثمان سلطان
غازى
Born: 1258 in Anatolia
Died: 1326
Reign: 1299-1326
oWith the Byzantine Empire weakening to his west; to his east Seljuk Turks were distracted by the
Mongols, Anatolia was promising
oRecruited Ghazi warrior, fighters for the expansion and defense of Islam.
oDue to these defenders, an Empire’s
foundation was crafted.
o
The Ottomans
By the 1350s, Ottomans had
advanced from the Asia Minor across
the Bosporus straits into Europe.
In mid-14th century, they had
bypassed Constantinople, and entered into large portions of
the Balkans. Ottoman Empire, 1566
The Fall of Constantinopl
eBy the mid-15th century,
the Ottomans, the former ally and enemy of the Byzantines, was now strong enough to
capture the city.
For seven weeks in the spring of 1453, the forces of the sultan,
Mehmed II, numbering over 100,000, attacked
the walls of the city.
It was not until a gap was formed in the wall that the army was able to reach the city and
loot the treasures promised by the sultan.
The Continuing Expansion
Two centuries after the conquest of
Constantinople, Ottoman rulers extended into Syria and Egypt and across north Africa.
Expansion continued through the Balkans into Hungury and around the
Black and Red seas.
Ottomans became a naval power in the
Mediterranean Sea, and with the help of galley
fleets,
The Continuing Expansion
They also drove the Venetians and Genoese
from much of the eastern Mediterranean and often threatened
southern Italy.
The Ottomans had risen to become the protector of the Islamic heartlands
and avoided Christian Europe.
The Ottomans remained a major force in Europe
until the late 19th century
A State Geared to Warfare
Turkic cavalry, mainly responsible for earlier
conquest from 13th to 16th centuries, developed into a
warrior aristocracy
They were granted control over land and peasants.
After the 15th century, warrior classed members competed with religious leaders and
administrators for control of the Ottoman bureaucracy.
As the warrior aristocracy power shank, they formed regional and local bases
support.
These competed with the sultan and the central
bureaucracy for revenue and labor control.
Janissaries
In the mid-15th century, the imerial armies were
dominated by infantry troops called Janissaries.
With the control of the weaponry vital to Ottoman
success in warfare with adversaries, making them the most powerful force in
the Ottoman military.
By the late 15th century, they convert their military
service into political influence in court politics.
By the mid-16th century they had the power to overthrow sultans and
decide which of his sons will replace him.
The Sultans and Their Court
Supposedly, the Ottoman rulers were absolute
monarchs.
Ottoman rulers survived by playing off the competing factions within their state.
These included religious and legal scholars.
Muslim, Christian, and Jewish merchants were important.
large bureaucracy headed by a vizier had great power in
the state.
Vague principles of imperial succession led to protracted
strife and weakened the empire.
Constantinople Restored and the Flowering of Ottoman
Culture
The imperial capital at Constantinople combined
the disparate cultures under Ottoman rule beginning with
Mehmed II.
New rulers restored the city after the invasion.
Church St. Sophia became one of Islam's grandest
mosques.
Suleyman the Magnificent built the Suleymaniye
mosque in the 16th century.
Constantinople became the trade center dealing with products from Asia, Africa,
and Europe.
Most citizens were merchants or artisans and where closely regulated by
the government.
By the 17th century, Turkish became dominate language.
Suleymaniye Mosque
Sophia Mosque
The Problem of Ottoman Decline
The empire continued to be brutal until the late 17th century.
At this point, their empire was too extensive to be maintained from its available resource base and transport system.
The bureaucracy was corrupt, and regional officials used revenues for their own purposes.
Oppressed peasants and laborers fled the land or rebelled.
Sultans and their sons were confined to the palace; they became weak and idle rulers managed by court factions.
Conflict increased and military efficiency crumbled.
Military Reverses and the Ottoman Retreat
The Janissaries blocked needed military reform and allowed their state to lose ground to European
rivals.
A Spanish-Venetian victory at Lepanto in 1571 ended Turkish
control of the eastern Mediterranean.
By then, Portuguese had sailed around Africa into the Indian
Ocean.
Causing the braking of the Muslim dominance over Indian trade.
Problems worsened by inflation stimulated by New World gold and
treasures.
In the 17th century, a few able sultans attempted to counter the
empire's decline.
The collapse of the Safavids removed an important foe.
Major changes occurring within the European world were not matched
by the Ottomans.
The Janissaries and religious leaders blocked Western
innovation.
The Shi’a Challenge of the Safavids
The Safavids profited from the struggles of rival Turkic groups after Mongol invasions. (Sounds familiar)
The Safavids were Shi'a Muslims from a family of Sufi preachers and mystics.
In the early 14th century under Sail al-Din, they fought to purify and spread Islam to Turkic people.
After 1501, Ismâ'il seized Tabriz and was proclaimed shah.
His followers conquered most of Persia.
The loss meant that Shi'ism was blocked from further westward advance.
Shah Ismâ'ilBorn: 1487 in Ardabil, Iran
Died: 1524
Reign: 1501-1524
Goal was to make Shi’i Islam the official religion of Iran.
At age 14/15 he was placed Shah of Azerbaijan.
At age 23/24 he had conquered all of Iran.
In 1510, he moved against the Sunni Uzbeg tribe,
resulting in The Battle of Marv.
There he demolished the Uzbek forces, and crafted
Muhammad Shaybani’s skull into a fancy drinking goblet…
(That’s just nasty)
He had attempted to extinguish the Ottoman
Empire, but fail at The Battle of Chaldiran
Politics and War under the Safavid Shahs
Tasmaph I, became shah in 1534 and restored dynastic
power.
Under Abbas I (1587-1629), the empire reached its peak.
The rulers brought the Turkic warriors under control; they
were specified to villages and peasant labor.
Leaders gained important posts in the state and posed a
constant threat to the shahs.
Persians were recruited into the imperial bureaucracy for
stability.
The Safavids recruited captured slave youths into the army and
bureaucracy, and were very important during the reign of
Abbas I.
They became the backbone of his army and formed posts.
They controlled firearm use and received training from
European powers.
State and Religion
The Safavids originally wrote in Turkish, but later Persian,
after Chaldiran.
They adopted elaborate Persian traditions of court
custom.
The initial aggressive Shi’a ideology was modified as the
Safavids drew Persian religious scholars into the
bureaucracy.
Religious teachers received state support, and teaching in
mosque schools was supervised by religious
officials.
The empire gradually converted to Shi'a Islam,
which developed into an vital part of Iranian identity.
When the power of the dynasty declined, religious
leaders became more independent, but still served
their rulers.
Elite Affluence and Artistic Splendor
Abbas I attempted to make his empire a major center of international trade and Islamic culture.
Internal transport conditions were improved, and workshops were made for silk textiles and
carpets.
Iranian merchants were encouraged to trade.
Abbas devoted special attention to building projects in his capital of Isfahan.
Society and Gender Roles: Ottoman& Safavid
They initially were dominated by warrior aristocracies who shared power with the monarch
The warriors gradually left the rulers' courts for residence on rural estates where they exploited the peasantry
Both empires encouraged the growth of handicraft production and trade
Women endured the social disadvantages common to Islamic regimes
Women were subordinate to fathers and husbands and had few outlets for expression outside of the household
The Demise of the Safavid Empire
Abbas I, fearing plots, had removed all suitable
heirs.
The progression of a weak grandson began a
process of dynastic decline.
Internal strife and foreign invasions shook
the state.
In 1772, Isfahan fell to Afghani invaders.
An adventurer, Nadir Khan Afshar, emerged from the chaos as shah
in 1736.
Unfortunately, his dynasty and its
successors were unable to restore imperial
authority.
The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India
Turkic invaders, led by Babur, invaded India in 1526 after being
driven from Afghanistan.
They sought riches but remained when prevented from returning
northward.
Babur's forces, using similar military tactics and technology to the Ottomans, crushed the Muslim Lodi dynasty at Panipat in 1526.
In 1527, he defeated a Hindu confederation.
In two years, Babur held much of the Indus and Ganges plains.
The first Mughal ruler was a talented warrior who also
possessed a taste for art and music, but he was a weak
administrator.
His death in 1530 brought invasion from surrounding enemies.
Babur's successor, Humayan, fled to Persia, and led return invasions into India restoring control in the
north by 1556.
Akbar and the Basis for a Lasting Empire
Humayan's 13-year-old son Akbar took the throne and immediately had conflict with Mughal enemies.
Akbar defeated them, and the monarch became a ruler with great military and administrative talent.
His armies joined Mughal conquests in northern and central India.
Akbar crafted a policy of resolution with his Hindu subjects; he encouraged intermarriage, abolished head taxes, and respected Hindu customs.
Hindus rose to high ranks in the administration.
Akbar invented a new faith integrating Muslim and Hindu beliefs to join his subjects.
The Hindu and Muslim warrior aristocracy were granted land and labor for their loyalty.
Hindu local notables were left in place if taxes were paid.
Social Reform and Social Change
Akbar attempted to introduce social changes
that would benefit his subjects.
One was a reforms to regulate the
consumption of alcohol.
He strove to improve the position of women.
He encouraged widow remarriage and
discouraged child marriages.
He prohibited sati and attempted to break
isolation through creating special market
days for women.
Mughal Splendor and Early European Contacts
Even though most of his reforms were not successful, Akbar held a powerful empire by his death in 1605.
Not much territory was added by his successors, but the regime reached the peak of its luxury.
Most of the population lived in poverty, and India fell behind Europe in invention and the sciences.
By the late 17th century, the Mughals ruled over a major commercial and manufacturing empire.
Indian cotton textiles were world famous and gained a large market in Europe.
Artistic Achievement in the Mughal Era
The 17th-century rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan continued the policy of
tolerance toward Hindus along with other
elements of Akbar's administration.
Both preferred the good life over military
adventures.
They expanded painting workshops and built great architectural
works, including Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal, often
blending the best in Persian and Hindu
traditions.
Court Politics and the Position of Elite and Ordinary Women
Jahangir and Shah Jahan left the details of daily administration to
subordinates, allowing their wives to input influence.
Nur Jahan, Jahangir's wife, dominated the empire for a
time through her party.
Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan, also collected power.
While the life of court women improved, the position of
women elsewhere in society declined.
Child marriage was popularized, widow remarriage died out, and privacy for both Muslim and Hindus increased.
Sati spread among the upper classes.
The lack of opportunity for a productive role meant that the
birth of a girl became a discouraging event.
The Beginnings of Imperial Decline
Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan's successor, inherited a declining empire and unable
to reverse the process.
He pushed two goals: to control all of India and to rid Islam of Hindu
influences.
By 1707, he had conquered most of India, but the warfare had drained the treasury, the bureaucracy and military.
Internal revolt and the growing self-rule of local leaders were not dealt with.
Hindus in imperial service were kept from the highest posts, and measures
against Hinduism were begun.
The head tax was restored.
By the end of his rule, his large empire was plagued by internal conflicts.
The Marattas of Western India and the Sikhs in the northwest tense imperial
resources.
By the beginning of the 18th century, state revenues and power passed to
regional lords.
Causing a return to a pattern previously predominant in South Asia.