Ch. 28: Islamic

Empires of the Early

Modern Era

From 1300 to 1700, three “gunpowder empires” dominated parts of Europe, Africa, & Asia

The Ottoman Empire

The Safavid Empire The Mughal

Empire

These empires were unique, but shared some similarities:

All 3 empires were able to conquer neighboring people because they formed strong

armies using cannons & artillery

All 3 empires were Islamic & ruled by Muslim leaders with well-organized gov’ts

made up of loyal bureaucrats

All 3 empires blended their culture with

neighboring societies to create a high point of

Islamic culture

The Ottoman Empire

The Ottomans: Empire Builders

• Mongol invasions & fall of Abbasid Caliphate allowed Ottomans to build power base in Anatolia (Turkey)

• Osman—early leader, dominated other Turkic groups

• 1350s--Expansion into Europe!• Mehmed II –Conquered

Constantinople in 1453, w/ siege warfare, cannons– Then further into Europe—Greece,

Albania, Black & Caspian Seas– Invaded Italy & attempted to

capture Pope, but failed

Mehmed the Conqueror

Hagia Sophia after Ottoman Conquest

Ottoman Empire: A Military State?

• Ghazi--Muslim religious warriors; “sword of God”• Military leaders played prominent role in Ottoman

gov’t.• “Warrior aristocracy” competed w/ religious leaders

for control of bureaucracy• Janissaries--conscripted boys (Christians), military

slaves– received special training, learned Turkish language, &

converted to Islam– Janissaries pledged loyalty to sultan (became his

private army)—led to decline in role of aristocrats• A “Gunpowder Empire”—soldiers were outfitted

with primitive gunpowder weapons & cannons

Ottoman Sultans & their Court

• “Absolute” monarchs?? • Sultans dealt with many factions

– Ex.: Janissaries vs. religious scholars• Sultans were military leaders

& ran an org. bureaucracy• Suleyman the Magnificent

– Height of imperialism (conquered Baghdad & Belgrade)

– Put pressure on Habsburgs and European vessels in Mediterranean

• However, sultans grew distant/secluded; focused on large harems more than political and economic issues

Suleyman the Magnificent

Battle of Lepanto

(vs. Austrian Hapsburgs, 1571)• (

Flowering of Ottoman Culture • Constantinople—bad scene

immediately after 1453!• Mehmed began restoration;

converted Hagia Sophia to mosque (Aya Sofya); built new mosques, palaces, hospitals, gardens, etc.

• Adapted Byz ideas—aqueducts, concrete domes, markets, walls

• Suleymaniye mosque is considered a hallmark of Ottoman architecture

• Topkapi Palace housed gov’t offices, residence for sultan and his harem, pleasure pavilion, etc.

Suleiman Mosque

Inside the Topkapi Palace (Harem’s

den?)

• Cosmopolitan markets• Coffeehouses—place for men to

gather, smoke, talk politics; key for social & cultural life in Constantinople, poets, scholars

• Commerce regulated by Otto gov’t, inspectors, guilds controlled trade/quality/training

• Linguistic heritage—Arabic used for law & religion, Turkish preferred for arts & bureaucracy

• Artistic legacy—poetry, arabesque mosaics, ceramics, carpet, architecture

Flowering of Ottoman Culture

Ottoman Decline• Ottoman Empire lasted 600 years; long-lived• REASONS for DECLINE:

– Limits of expansion by late 17th C—no new conquests, started to lose landslost tax revenue

– Corruption among gov’t. officials; local officials kept revenues & squeezed peasants for more rebellions!

– Sultans became disconnected (focus on pleasure over governing)

– viziers & Janissaries gained more power (were less loyal)– CULTURAL CONSERVATISM—ignorance of European

advancements & resistance to printing press– Military technology fell by wayside (Ottomans continued to

use large cannons when Europeans adapted light artillery)• The Empire was officially dismantled after World War I

The Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire

The Safavids were Turks living in Persia who built a powerful gunpowder army

& created an empire in modern-day Iran

Unlike the Ottomans who were Sunni Muslims, the Safavids believed in Shi’a

Islam & strictly converted the people they conquered

Safavid rulers were called

shahs, using the Persian title for

king

the Safavid Empire: Shiite v. Sunni• Rose from Turkic nomads

(post-Mongols & Tamerlane)• “Frontier warriors”—Shi’ites• Differences over views on

caliph grew into doctrinal, ritual & legal differences conflict!

• Safi al-Din—a Sufi mystic; led campaign to purify & reform Islam) among Turks in early 1300s

• Isma’il—was proclaimed shah (emperor) by 1501; conquered most of Persia & waged war w/ Ottomans

the Safavid Empire: Shiite Rule

• Shah Isma’il proclaimed Twelver Shiism the offical religion of his realm

• Twelver Shi’ites believe there were 12 rightful imams after Muhammad (12th was driven into hiding)

• Believed he will return to lead them & spread the “true” religion

• Qizilbash-followers who wore “red hats” w/ 12 pleats to symbolize the 12 imams

• Battle of Chaldiran, 1514• battle w/Ottomans (Sunnis); driven by religious fervor• Safavids declined to use artillery, dismissing it as

“unmanly” and unreliable (they also believed the Shah could make them invincible)

• Safavid loss in the battle hindered growth of Shiite sect (Shiite rule became confined to Persia)

• Shah Abbas I– Encouraged trade (regionally &

even w/ Europeans)– Moved capital to Isfahan

(cultural center)– Promoted culture & the arts– Building projects: great

mosques, universities, gardens, bath houses

– Arts: miniatures, mosaics, carpets

• Society & Gender roles– Patriarchy (based on Sharia law)– Women had legal disadvantages– Seclusion & veiling, imposed on

all, but especially elites

the Safavid Empire: Shi’ite Rule

Safavid silk carpet

Persian Miniature

Shah MosqueIsfahan, 1611-1666

Decline & fall of Safavids– Shah Abbas I paranoid: blinded or killed

suitable successors– Practice of secluding princesweak leaders– Foreign threats--nomads, Ottomans, Mughals– March-Oct. 1722: Afghani attacks, Isfahan fell– Nadir Khan Afshar—winner of post-fall

struggles for control; self-proclaimed shah in 1736; short-lived

– Region became battleground for stronger neighbors

The Mughal Empire

Mughals in India • Babur

– Expulsion from steppes = motivation for conquest

– Turkic background– Used mobile artillery & cavalry

to defeat larger Lodi force; scared the elephants!

– outnumbered, defeated Hindu kings

– Character: military strategist, fighter, patron of arts & music, writer, musician, designer of gardens

– Capital at Delhi

Babur’s victory at Panipat, 1526

• Akbar– height of Mughal rule– Had a vision for unity in empire– Social reforms: reconciliation

w/Hindu princes, ended jizya, Hindus in bureaucracy, allowed widows to remarry, discouraged child marriages, made sati illegal, relief from purdah (seclusion)

– Tolerance & universal religion: “Divine Faith”

– Hindu warrior aristocrats controlled peasant villages; local controls left to support centralized gov’t

– Economy: collected income via tribute, taxes

Mughals in India

Taj MahalAgra, India1631-47

• Mughal Architecture– Red Fort, Taj Mahal (built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his

wife)– Blends Persian & Hindu traditions (domes, arches, minarets

w/ornamentation)– Symmetry, color, creativitycreate paradise on earth

– Peace & stability weakened by religious tensions between Muslims, Hindus, Sufis, and Sikhs

– Sikhism: new sect in NW India, tried to bridge diff bet Hinduism & Islam, but persecution of Sikhs led to a rise in anti-Muslim feelings

– From Shah Jahan’s reign on, rulers began to ignore admin., milit., & social needs for reform

– Econ production & standard of living declined– Rulers conquered new lands, but spent lots of money & did

not grow bureaucracy to govern them – Peasant uprisings, revolts of local Hindu princes– Local officials taking revenues from central gov’t– Invaders– Open to foreign influence—England waiting for economic

opportunity & colonization

                              

Decline of Mughal India

                                 

                              

Akbar riding an elephant

Siege attack on Rajput forces

Turkey commissioned by Jahangir

Madonna and Child

Shah Jahan’s elephant

Indian Bird