The Muslim Empires

1
The Muslim Empires

• Chapter 21
• EQs What are the key differences and
  similarities between these empires? How did each
  rise and fall?

2
Chapter Introduction

• Its mainly about 3 major Muslim empires
• The Ottoman Empire
• The Safavid Empire
• The Mughal Empire

3
The Ottomans From Nomads to Empire

• The Turkic Ottoman peoples entered Anatolia under
  the leadership of Osman Bey and his ghazi (Muslim
  purifiers) after the Mongols had successfully
  defeated the Seljuks in the 13thC.
• After a brief period of turmoil, the Ottomans
  under Mehmed II (The Conqueror) captured
  Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine
  Empire
• Over the next 2 centuries the Ottomans expanded
  their empire, building a navy that dominated the
  Eastern Mediterranean and claiming territory
  throughout North Africa, SE Europe and much of
  the Middle East (minus Persia) and successfully
  (for a time) controlled Indian Ocean trade
• Though unsuccessful in further campaigns to take
  portions of Western European kingdoms, the
  Ottomans remained the greatest threat to Europe
  thru the 18th century

4
Ottoman Society

• There was a distinct social hierarchy laid out in
  4 classes
• men of the pen lawyers, judges, smart people
• men of the sword - warriors
• men of negotiation merchants, tax collectors,
  traders and store owners
• men of husbandry farmers/herders
• Then there were the non-Muslims, who were
  organized into millets
• In these religious communities, usually divided
  quarters or ghettos in a town/city, the people
  had their own leaders and were responsible for
  their own education and certain legal matters
• Like earlier Muslim societies, the Ottomans
  taxed the non-Muslim peoples they absorbed into
  their empire as a source of revenue

5
Ottoman Warfare

• The men of the sword actually played the
  dominant role in Ottoman society, as sultans
  based their empire on constant warfare and
  expansionwarriors represented an aristocracy
  that conquered lands, enslaved people (w/the
  Sultans blessing) and began a Feudal system of
  control
• The warrior class was at constant odds with the
  men of the pen, lawyers and religious leaders
  whose power grew at court
• Militaries were large made up of Janissaries,
  conscripted soldiers from NON Muslim societies
  that were conqueredyoung boys were taken from
  these communities as a tax and forced into
  servitude as soldiers for a designated period of
  timeit was not EXACTLY slavery, as many
  Janissaries found their ways into higher
  positions in the Ottoman bureaucracy over time
• Finally, the Ottoman armys might was based on
  one thing, ARTILLERYa vast knowledge of gun and
  cannon making gave the Ottoman armies their
  strength

6
The Sultans and their Court

• Ottoman sultans were literally no different than
  Abbasid caliphsthey played with factions in
  their court, they spent money lavishly, they had
  huge haremssome sultans led their own armies
  into battle
• A vizier (wazir) also handled day-to-day
  administration of the bureaucracy, literally
  having more power than the sultan himself
• BIGGEST SIMILARITY to previous Muslim ruling
  societies the problem of succession

7
Ottoman Culture

• Constantinople became Istanbul, the central
  capital of the empirepreviously constructed
  Byzantine cathedrals were converted into mosques
• Some sultans (Suleiman) added more grand
  structures to the skyline
• Istanbul maintain itself as the hub of east/west
  trade over landplaces called coffeehouses
  developed were a developing merchant and artisans
  class gathered to interact
• The government regulated all aspects of trade and
  manufacture
• A transition from Persian/Arabic to Turkish
  occurred in literary exploitsTurks artistically
  became well renowned for their poetry and rug
  making

8
Ottoman Decline

• The Ottoman Empire became known as the sick man
  of Europe by the 18th and 19th centuries
• EXPANSION and CONQUEST took their toll on the
  Ottomansadd to this increased problems of
  succession and corruption in the bureaucracy and
  amongst regional governors who sought to control
  their territory independently
• Expansion efforts empowered neighboring rivals,
  like Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Safavid
  Empire to begin slowly picking away at Ottoman
  territory
• Smaller European states that improved naval power
  reduced their control of the Mediterranean
  (Battle of Lepanto in 1571) and Indian Ocean
  trade (Portuguese mariners)
• Still, the Ottomans were able to hang on until
  WWI (thanks mainly to the decline of the
  Safavids, their greatest rivals and periods of
  invigoration by competing European nations)

9
The Safavid Empire

• Unlike the Sunni Ottomans, the Safavids were
  Shiiteswhich was the basis of the rivalry with
  their neighbors
• The Safavids rose in the early 1300s under the
  leadership of Sail (Safi) al-Din, who sought to
  purify Islam and spread Islam amongst the Turkic
  peoples with his followers, the Red Heads!
• After years of struggle, Ismail (a sufi) was
  proclaimed shah (emperor) and conquered all of
  Persia and most of Iraq only to be stopped by the
  Ottomans at the Battle of Chaldiran (a battle
  which demonstrated the powers of artillery and
  firearms)this defeat weakened Ismails position
  and also determined that Shiism would be
  confined to mainly Persia and parts of Iraq

10
Safavid Politics, State and Religion

• After a brief period of succession issues, a
  dynasty was formally established by Tahmasp I (a
  shia Safavid)Turkish warriors were brought
  under control and assigned villages/peasants to
  control (quasi-feudal)some of these warriors
  continued to be a constant threat to the shahs
  power
• Persians were recruited into the bureaucracy to
  balance the Turkish warrior presenceand like the
  Ottomans, youths were enslaved for military and
  bureaucratic servicePersian became the
  predominant languageshahs also became hedonistic
  (like Ottomans and Abbasids)
• Eventually, the religious right (imams and
  mullahs) controlled education efforts, spreading
  the Shia ideologymany found their way into the
  bureaucracywhen the shahs became weak, the
  religious leadership took control of the empire

11
Safavid Politics, State and Religion

• The Safavids reached their peak under the rule of
  Shah Abbas the Great
• Abbas hated the Ottomans, so he allied himself
  w/Europeans to improve his armies and defend his
  borders
• Abbas reduced taxes, even did not tax non-Muslims
• Built a magnificent capital at Isfahan and turned
  it into the center of Persia arts, trade and
  culturehe even liked to roam around his city in
  disguise to spy on his people
• Was tolerant of Non-Muslims (Armenians), even
  built them their own homes on the edge of his new
  capital mainly cause they ran his economy/trade

12
Safavid Decline

• Abbas the Great killed many of his sons as he was
  convinced they were plotting against himhis weak
  grandson, Abbas II took the throne
• Neighboring Ottomans and Mughals picked at
  Safavid territoryeventually, Afghani tribes
  captured Isfahan
• Afghani leader Nafid Khan Ahshar made himself
  shah, but no dynasty emerged from his rulethe
  empire would continually be plagued by raiding
  nomads and neighboring empires, eventually
  finding leadership under the Qajar Dynasty in 1725

13
The Mughals of India

• Turks under the brilliant military leadership of
  Babur the Great (a Muslim Mongol/Turk) his armies
  invaded Muslim controlled India in the early
  1500s from Afghanistanhe established the first
  vestiges of the Mughal dynastylater, he was a
  great partier (a drunkard by some accounts) and a
  terrible leader (administrator)when he died in
  1530 putting the empire in peril
• His son, Humayan, lost territory in India
  immediately and was forced to exile in Persiabut
  he gained it back by 1556unfortunately, he too
  died tragically, falling down the stairs in his
  library!

14
The Leadership of Akbar the Great

• At 13, Akbar was forced upon the throne and
  immediately faced threats from Mughal enemieshe
  defeated them easily!
• Akbar was not a a drunkard like his grandfather
  nor clumsy like his fatherhe became a wise and
  strong administratorhe reconciled with the
  Hindus in the kingdom, preaching tolerancehe
  encouraged intermarriage between Hindus and
  Muslimsabolished the jizyapromoted Hindus into
  high ranking positions in governmentcreated a
  new religion, Din-i-Ilahi, a combination of Islam
  and Hinduism
• Akbar also instituted several key reforms for
  Indian society, most notable of those were driven
  to improve the status of womenhe prohibited
  sati, encouraged a widow to remarry, and setup
  special market days for women secluded by purdah
• Unfortunately, when Akbar died in 1605, most of
  his reforms and his religion, died with him

15
Other Rulers/European Contacts

• Very little territory was added by Akbars
  successors, however, the Mughal Empire reached
  its highest peak under Janaghir and Shah Jahan
• Both continued Akbars tolerance policiesboth
  left a lot of daily administration to
  subordinate, preferring to patronize the arts, to
  drink and to partyShah Jahan built the Taj Mahal
  (its a tomb folks! For two people)
• Both of their wives were able to amass great
  power and influence over Indian society during
  their rule, improving the status of women at
  court, while severely declining ordinary women
  (sati return, forced child marriages increased,
  widow remarriage disappeared) causing the births
  of female children to become a burden on ordinary
  people
• Shah Jahans successor, Aurangzeb, promoted the
  trade of Indian textiles, leading to the eventual
  insertion of European influences in India,
  something that had been resisted for centuries

16
Mughal Decline

• Aurangzeb continued to ignore internal state
  issuesthe same old story occurs as the
  bureaucracy becomes corrupt and peasants and
  urban workers revolt/protest their living
  conditions
• He focused too much time on trying to conquer ALL
  of India and to purify Islam of all Hindu
  influencesthis warfare drained the treasury,
  weakened the bureaucracy and militaryhe was
  forced to renew the jizya to the dismay of the
  peopleMarattas and Sikhs rebelled even becoming
  anti-Islamic
• The constant state of civil dissention in India
  opened the door for the British and French to
  come into to India, use their military might to
  calm tensions, but also establish a
  colonial/imperial presence on the subcontinent
  that would last into the 20th century

17
This Week

• Wednesday Leader Analysis Suleiman the
  Magnificent
• Thursday/Friday Societal Comparisons Activity
• Notes Due Friday, NO TEST, YAY!
• Information on this chapter will be on the Unit 3
  Exam

18
Societal Comparisons

• Muslims Empires
• Chapter 21

19
Group Activity

• You will be assigned 2 empires to compare in a
  small group. You have today to complete the
  overhead chart provided. You will present your
  chart tomorrow to the class (about 7 minutes per
  group)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Groups
• Group 1 Ottomans vs. Safavids
• Group 2 Ottomans vs. Mughals
• Group 3 Safavids vs. Mughals
• Group 4 Ottomans vs. Safavids
• Group 5 Ottomans vs. Mughals
• Group 6 Safavids vs. Mughals