the muslim empires, 1450-1800

7/30/2019 THE MUSLIM EMPIRES, 1450-1800

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The OttomanEmpire

The Rule of theSafavids

The Grandeur ofthe Moguls

THE MUSLIM EMPIRES,

1450-1800

The Ottoman Empire

Objectives:

1. Discuss how theOttoman Turks usedfirearms to expand theirlands and appointed localrulers to administerconquered regions

2. Characterize thecreation of a strongOttoman Empire withreligious tolerance andartistic achievements


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Rise of the Ottoman

Turks

A new leader, Osman, built anew power in the

*Anatolian Peninsula

The Osman Turks wereoriginally peaceful

pastoralists

When the Seljuk Empirebegan to decline in the 14thcentury, the Osman Turks

expanded creating the*Ottoman Empire

Eventually, they controlledthe *Bosporus and the

Dardanellestwo straitsseparated by the *Sea of

Marmara

By the 14th century, TheOttoman Turks expanded

into the *Balkans

The ruler took the titlesultan and created a

strong military and an eliteguard called *janissaries

Expansion of the

Empire

The Fall of Constantinople

Under *Mehmet II, theOttomans moved to end theByzantine Empire and laid

siege to Constantinople

The Ottomans used massivecannons (26 foot barrels

launching stone balls

weighing 1,200 pounds)

Constantinople fell in 1453and was sacked for three days


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Western Asia and

Africa

They made Constantinopletheir new capitalremaining it

*Istanbul

The Ottoman Turks dominatedthe Balkans and the Anatolian

Peninsula

*Sultan Selim I, (1514-17) tookcontrol of Mesopotamia,Egypt, and Arabia and

declared himself the newcaliph (controlling Mecca)

They advancedalong the African

coast

controllingregions throughlocal rulers

*pashas,appointed

officials whocollected taxes on

behalf of theOttoman Turks


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Europe

They took the Romanianterritory of Walachia, Hungary,

and into Austria as far asViennatheir advance stopped

in 1529, defeated by the HRE

The Ottoman Empire remainedoccupied with internal

problems

By 1683, the Ottomansmarched on Vienna, but wererepulsed and were no longer a

threat to central Europe

The Nature of

Ottoman Rule

The Ottomans were a

*gunpowder empire,formed by outsiders whounified regions throughconquest by means of

advanced artillery

The head of the Ottomansystem was the *sultan,

supreme authority in bothpolitics and militarya

hereditary position.

They created acentralized

administrative systemand the sultan became

isolated in TopkapiPalace and in his

*harem

The chief minister, the*grand vizier, led

council meetings andthe administration of

the kingdom


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Religion in the Ottoman

World

Ottomans were Sunni Muslimsonly the descendants of the

Umayyads are the rightful rulers

The sultans gave their religiousduties to a groups of religiousadvisers known as the *ulema

Islamic law and customs were

applied to all Muslims in the empire

Non-Muslims paid a tax, but wereallowed to practice their religion

Ottoman Society

The Empire was divided byoccupation: ruling class was atthe tope followed by four main

groupspeasants, artisans,merchants, and pastoral peoples

All land was ultimately ownedby the Sultan

Women were subject to thesame restrictions as in other

Muslim societies, but could ownand inherit property and had

limited divorce rights

Problems in the

Ottoman Empire

The Empire reached its highpoint under Sleyman theMagnificent (1520-1566)

He executed his two sonson suspicion of treason,

leaving the empire to thelesser son Selim II

Sultans eventually becameless involved in

government and constantwars depleted the treasury


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The empire wasstrongly influenced byideas from the West

wearing Western clothesand purchasing Western

furniture and art

The Europeansborrowed Ottoman

military technology andalso bought Ottoman artand furniture

Ottoman Art

Architecture was the greatestOttoman contribution to art

*Sinan, the greatest of allOttoman architects, built 81

mosques

His masterpiece was theSuleimaniye Mosque in

Istanbul

Silk industry resurfaced andboomed under Ottoman rule

Objectives:

1. Discuss how theOttoman Turks usedfirearms to expand theirlands and appointed localrulers to administerconquered regions

2. Characterize thecreation of a strongOttoman Empire withreligious tolerance andartistic achievements


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The Rule of the Safavids

Objectives:

1. Relate how the

Safavids used theirfaith as a unifying

force to bring Turks

and Persians together

2. Describe how the

Safavid dynasty

reached its height

under Shah Abbas

Rise of the Safavid

Dynasty

After the collapse of theempire of Timur Lenk power

shifted to a new dynastycalled *Safavidsardent

Shiites from *Azerbaijan, near*Caspian Sea

It was founded by *ShahIsmail and in 1501, they

seized Iran and Iraq

Ismail sent missionaries to

Anatolia to convert theTurkish tribes and orderedthe massacre of Sunni

Muslims; The Shiite faithunified the Safavid


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Glory and Decline

Under *Shah Abbas (1588 to1629) the Safavids reached the

high point of their glory

He strengthened his army andarmed them with the latest

weapons

Shah Abbas moved against theOttomans, aided by the

European states

After the death of Shah Abbas,the Safavid dynasty lost its vigor

Persian women hadconsiderable freedom

during the earlyempire, ultimately lost

under the Safavid

The Afghan peoplesinvaded and seized

the capital of Isfahan,

causing political c toemerge


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Political and Social

Structures

The majority of the peoplewere Persian but the societywas a blend of Turkish and

Persian elements

The Social Pyramid: the shahwere at the top, the

bureaucracy and landedclasses in the middle, andcommon people at the

bottom

The Role of the Shah

The Safavid rulers were

supported by theShiites, believing theshah was a direct

successor of the prophetMuhammad

This shah appointedsenior positions in the

bureaucracy based onmerit rather than birth

Safavid CulturePersia witnessed anextraordinary flowering ofthe arts during the reignof Shah Abbas from 1588

to 1629

Silk weaving based onnew techniques flourished

and carpet weavingexploded

*Riza-i-Abbasi createdexquisite works on simple

subjectsfarming,hunters, and lovers


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Objectives:

1. Relate how the

Safavids used their

faith as a unifying

force to bring Turks

and Persians together

2. Describe how the

Safavid dynastyreached its height

under Shah Abbas

The Grandeur of the Moguls

Objectives:

1. Explain how the Moguls

united India under a single

government with a common

culture

2. Discuss how the

introduction of foreigners

seeking trade opportunitiesin India hastened the decline

of the Mogul Empire


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The Mogul Dynasty

In 1500, the Indiansubcontinent was divided into

a number of Hindu andMuslim kingdoms

The Moguls established a newdynasty and brought a new

era of unity to the region

The founder of the Moguldynasty was *Babur,

descendant from Timur Lenkand from Genghis Khan

They hadsmaller

forces but

moreadvancedartillery

Baburcaptured

*Delhi andestablished

his power inNorth India

The Reign of Akbar

Baburs grandson was only 14when he came to the throne

By 1605, he had brought Mogulrule to most of India

The empire appeared highlycentralized but was actually a

collection of semi-independentstates held together by the

emperor

Though Muslim, he adopted apolicy of religious toleranceparticularly Hindu practices


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The upper ranks of thegovernment

bureaucracy were filledwith non-native

Muslims with lower-level positions called

*zamindars filled withHindus

All peasants were

required to pay 1/3 oftheir annual harvest to

the state

Decline of the MogulsAkbar died in 1605 and wassucceeded by his son Jahangir who

strengthened the central government

His Persian son *Shah Jahan

expanded the boundaries of theempire into the *Deccan Plateau butfailed to deal with domestic

problems

Raised taxes to fund buildingprojects and war efforts

The empire was ripped apart by histwo sons*Aurangzeb put his

brother to death and imprisoned hisfather

The British in IndiaBy 1650, British trading forts hadbeen established at Surat (now

*Calcutta) and *Chennai

British success in India attractedrivalsthe French established

their own forts

Sir Robert Clive served as thechief representative in India of

the East India Company, aprivate company empowered by

the British Crown

He fought any French or Indianthreat in India


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He forbade both *suttee,gambling, and drinking,

reversing the Mogul policies ofreligious tolerance

Hindus were forced to convertto Islam

In reaction, revolts againstimperial authority broke out in

provinces throughout theempire

In 1739, Delhi was sacked bythe Persians, who left it in

ashes

The Indian ruler of Bengal hadattacked Fort William in 1756

The British garrison wasthrown into the underground

prison called the Black Hole ofCalcuttanearly all died

Clive led the Battle of Plasseyin Bengal, a victory over aMogul-led army; From this

victory, the BEI Company couldcollect taxes around Calcutta

In the eighteenth century, theBEI Co. pressed inland

Society and Daily Life

in Mogul India

The Muslims ruled a large Hindupopulation

Major differences existed in therole of WomenMogul womenheld an relatively equal position

(property, business, etc.)

Islamic law restrictions also wereplaced on women, but Hinduclass structure was the most

effective social construction for

keeping women in their place

Child marriage remainedcommon


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Mogol Culture The Mogols brought togetherPersian and Indian influences in a

new and beautiful architecturalstyle

*Taj Mahal, built in *Agra byemperor Shah Jahan in memory

of his wife Mumtaz Mahal

Another major artisticachievement of the Mogul period

was in paintinga blend ofPersian and Indian culture

Akbar encouraged artists toimitate European art forms

Objectives:

1. Explain how the Moguls

united India under a singlegovernment with a common

culture

2. Discuss how the

introduction of foreigners

seeking trade opportunities

in India hastened the decline

of the Mogul Empire

the muslim empires, 1450-1800

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