HIS%20106%20Chapter%2022

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HIS 106Chapter 22

• Islamic Empires 1500-1800

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Ottman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires
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Ottoman
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Safavid
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Mughal
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Islamic Empires

• Ottoman
• Safavid
• Mughal
• Their culture and political power seemed to
  flourish by 1600
• But they couldnt hold on to it after they
  encountered European economic and military
  machines

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• Ottomans reached their peak in 17th century and
  is seen as the greatest of the 3 however, they
  fell in 1918 after siding with Germany in World
  War I
• Safavids ruled in Persia and Afghanistan just
  east of the Ottomans they fell in 1722 when
  Isfahan was taken over by Afghani invaders

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• The Mughal Empire ruled much of India after
  challenges from the Persians, the Afghans, and
  the French, they finally fell to the British in
  1858

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Ottoman Empire

• Overview
• Ottomans were a Turkish dynasty that rose to
  prominence after arriving in Anatolia (Turkey) as
  settlers or as warriors
• They were dedicated Muslims
• They created an empire in the 13th and 14th
  centuries at the eastern end of the Mediterranean

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Ottoman
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• They took over the Byzantine civilization
  (Constantinople) and moved into eastern and
  central Europe
• There were Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the
  empire
• The Ottomans had many achievements in warfare,
  architecture, and engineering taking their
  culture to new heights
• Their power was reduced in 17th and 18th
  centuries and destroyed by 1918

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A Closer Look

• 1213, Mongols invaded Anatolia and took out the
  Seljuk Turk kingdom of Rum
• Mongols didnt directly rule they wanted tribute
• Different groups in Anatolia vied for power
• Ottomans won
• They began to expand their boundaries

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• There were setbacks, but they were finally united
  under MehmedI by mid-1400s
• 1453, Mehmed II, the Conqueror, took
  Constantinople
• 1512, Ottoman rule was secure in all of
  southeastern Europe and north of the Black Sea in
  most of the Ukraine

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Mehmed I and Mehmed II
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• Ottomans also captured Syria, Egypt, and parts of
  North Africa
• They had bases in Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus
• They threatened Italy and Vienna in 1658 but
  failed

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• Mehmed II, the Conqueror is considered the true
  founder of the Ottoman dynasty
• He set up formal laws
• The entire state was one big military institution
• All members of the state had military rank and
  were to be loyal to the Sultan

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• The state was supported by Muslims and
  non-Muslims alike
• Ruling class was all Muslim
• The Ottoman State
• Palace sultan, his harem, his ministers, those
  who served in the palace
• Administration privy council, treasury, civil
  bureaucrats

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• Military played a dominant role in a state
  geared for war expansion
• Religious leaders
• Young Ottoman princes were given administrative
  and leadership training in the provinces

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• Succession
• Practiced fratricide until late 16th century
• They felt God made the choice of the next sultan
• The strongest brother seized power and killed off
  his brothers, so they wouldnt compete for power

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• Military
• Important for expanding boundaries
• Had a warrior aristocracy who would receive land
  and peasants to work the land
• Janissaries
• Young Christian or Jewish boys from conquered
  lands who were raised as Muslims and trained to
  serve in the army and the bureaucracy
• Loyal to the Sultan
• Controlled the firearms in army great power

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• The Ottomans used the Janissaries, or slave
  corps, to reduce the power of the warrior
  aristocracy by putting them in charge of firearms
• Constantinople became the Ottoman capital
• Rulers began to restore the city after 1453
• Hagia Sophia, a Christian Church, became Islams
  grandest mosque

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Constantinople
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• Suleyman, the Magnificent, built the great
  Suleymaniye Mosque in the 16th century ( see
  picture in handout)
• Constantinople was commercial center
• Many in capital were merchants or artisans and
  were regulated by government
• Turkish was accepted language

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Suleyman, the Magnificent
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• Reign of Suleyman
• During classical period in Ottoman history
• Marked the peak of Ottoman prestige and power
• Gained more territory
• Influenced European and Asian politics by being a
  force to be reckoned with

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• Reign of Selim II (1566 1574)
• Suleymans son
• Faced many new challenges to his empire
• Plagued by military corruption
• Government decentralization and maritime setbacks
• Agricultural failures
• Commercial imbalances
• Inflation

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Selim II
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• Challenges continued after Selims reign
• Ottomans lost territory in the Caucasus
  Mesopotamia to the Persian Safavids in 1603
• Weakened military because they were fighting a
  2-front war Safavids in the east and Habsburgs
  in the west
• Military couldnt stand up against European
  technology
• Janissaries blocked needed reform

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• 1571, a Spanish-Venetian victory at Lepanto ended
  the Turkish control of eastern end of
  Mediterranean
• Portuguese naval victories broke Muslim dominance
  of Indian trade
• Murad IV introduced some reforms, but his death
  ushered in weak rulers until 1656

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• The Korprulus, father and son, briefly brought
  back a strong administration and military
  successes
• After the Korprulus duo, institutions, like the
  economy, decayed
• Economy weakened in the 17th century because
  military costs were high, exports were
  discouraged, imports encouraged damaging

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• A lot of money was paid out to foreigners
• Not much foreign money was coming in
• Non-Muslims dominated foreign trade
• In 18th century many non-Muslims in trade were
  given citizenship and protection by European
  countries

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• Population increased it doubled in the 17th
  century
• More food needed to be produced
• Unemployment increased
• New taxes were imposed that had to be paid in
  cash, not barter

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• Astoundingly, with everything seemingly falling
  apart, the 17th 18th centuries showed great
  developments in poetry, prose, music, theatre,
  art, architecture, painting, cartography,
  history, astronomy, and in other fields
• Sinan was the master architect for the Sultan

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• Coffeehouse
• Major institution in Ottoman society
• Flourished from mid-16th century onward
• People gathered to socialize, drink coffee, play
  games, watch puppet shows, read books, discuss
  public affairs, and smoke

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• Ottomans tried to take Vienna for a second time
  in 1683 but failed
• They were driven out of Hungary and Belgrade and
  never seriously threatened Europe again
• Russians defeated Ottomans at the Crimea
• Their final demise was in 1918

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Safavids

• In early 16th century Safavid dynasty began in
  what we today call Iran
• They tried to move further west but were defeated
  by Ottomans in 1514 at the Battle of Chaldiran
• They were blocked from further westward expansion

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Safavid Empire
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• From the very beginning, Iran has been a
  stronghold for Shiite Muslims
• Safavids were politically powerful and culturally
  creative until 1722 when the last Safavid ruler
  was forced to abdicate

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Like the Ottomans

• Safavids were of a Turkish nomadic background
• They took their territory after Mongol invasions
  of 13th 14th centuries
• They were militant Muslims who were Shiite, not
  Sunni like the Ottomans
• There were differences in rituals, laws, and
  doctrines

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• Safavids disagreed with Sunnis about succession
• These disagreements sometimes led to serious
  conflict, ex. Chaldiran

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Origins

• Came from land near Caspian Sea Ardabil
• Descendents of mystics and preachers
• One leader Sail-al-Din led a military campaign to
  purify Islam and spread their version of it among
  the Turks
• Got many followers

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• From 1450s, Shiite doctrines were being preached
• This angered Sunnis and led to clashes
• 1501, Ismail, a Shiite commander, took the city
  of Tabriz and declared himself Shah or emperor
• During the next 10 years, his followers took over
  most of Persia and moved into Iraq

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• They eventually ran into the Ottomans at
  Chaldiran in N.W. Persia in 1514 and lost because
  they lacked firepower
• Safavids and Shiism was then confined to
  present-day Iran and parts of southern Iraq
• Ismail was defeated and deflated and went home
  to drink

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• His succession problems led a Turkish chief to
  seize power and become Shah
• His name was Tahmasp I (r. 1534-1576) he
  restored power to his dynasty
• Shah Abbas I (r. 1587-1629) took the empire to
  its great heights in strength and prosperity even
  though he didnt expand the territory

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Shah Abbas
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Abbas I (r. 1587-1629)

• Created a warrior nobility who were assigned
  villages and peasants that would work for them
• Most advisers at court were Persian who would not
  challenge the Shah for power
• Abbas became known as Abbas, the Great

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• Set up a slave corps like the Janissaries who
  controlled firearms
• They were young Russian slave boys who were
  educated, converted to Islam, and owed loyalty
  only to Abbas
• Abbas used European advisers to help him make
  cannons and train his slave corps in the use of
  firearms. He had 40,000 in his army ready to fight

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State and Religion

• Persian became the language of the court
• Persian customs became more apparent
• Use of grand titles for rulers
• Luxurious palaces, elaborate court rituals,
  ceremonies, and etiquette

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• Rulers continued to be descendents of Ali, hence
  Shiites
• Shiite religion was toned down a bit so as to
  appear not quite so militant and radical
• The state began to rely on Mullahs, local mosque
  officials and prayer leaders
• They were under the direction of the state
• When some shahs weakened in later years, some
  Mullahs became more independent and critical

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Artistic Splendor

• Had cultural and intellectual renaissance in 16th
  and 17th centuries
• Portraiture and scenes from everyday life became
  popular
• They made ceramic tiles, porcelain, and carpet
  designs and production that reached new heights
  in sophistication

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• In architecture, there were the magnificently
  planned public squares, parks, palaces,
  hospitals, mosques, and other buildings of
  Isfahan in Shah Abbas I time( see handout)
• Buildings used colorful ceramic tiles to decorate
  the exteriors
• There were geometric designs, flowers , and
  verses from the Quran

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Mosque
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(No Transcript)
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• There were roads, rest houses, great mosques with
  massive domes, government offices, shops,
  gardens, parks, colleges, public baths, and
  minarets

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Society and Gender Roles

• Safavid social system was similar to the Ottomans
• Dominated by warrior elite who shared power with
  Shah
• Shahs lived in splendid palaces
• Warrior elite lived on their landed estates
• Life was difficult for the peasants who were
  exploited for their labor there were periodic
  rebellions

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• Rulers of Safavids and Ottomans encouraged the
  growth of handicrafts and trade
• Rulers set up imperial workshops which produced
  miniature paintings, rugs, weapons, and metal
  utensils
• There were public works projects that provided
  jobs for stone masons, engineers, and carpenters

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• Some leaders worked to increase international
  trade however, they didnt keep pace with
  European Industrial Revolution
• Women endured legal and social disadvantages of
  an Islamic society

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• Women
• Were subordinate to their fathers and then to
  their husbands
• Had little, if any, religious and political clout
• Were mostly secluded and veiling was common,
  especially for the elite
• They struggled against restrictions
• Some were active in money-lending and in trade

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Decline

• Weak rulers after Abbas I
• Abbas I, fearing plots, had removed all suitable
  heirs
• Beginning with the reign of his weak grandson,
  the Safavid Empire entered its decline
• There were internal problems and foreign invasions

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• In 1722 Isfahan fell to Afghani invaders

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The Mughal Empire in India

• Babur and his fellow Turks invaded India in 1526
  after being driven out of Afghanistan
• They wanted booty, not conquest
• They only remained when they were prevented from
  returning northward
• Babur crushed another Muslim dynasty, the Lodi,
  in India in 1526

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• They then defeated a Hindu confederation in 1527
• Within 2 years, Babur had taken much of the
  Ganges and Indus plains
• He founded the Mughal Dynasty which lasted for
  300 years
• Babur was a talented warrior who loved art and
  music However, he was a poor administrator
• He died in 1530 and that triggered invasions from
  surrounding enemies

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• Humayan, Baburs successor, fled briefly to
  Persia
• He then returned leading successful invasions
  into India that restored control in the north by
  1556
• He died soon after
• Humayan was succeeded by his 13 year old son,
  Akbar

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Humayan
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Akbar
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Akbar

• Akbar immediately was attacked by Mughal enemies
  and defeated them
• Had outstanding military and administrative
  talents
• He used his armies to take northern and central
  India

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• His reforms
• Showed toleration to all faiths
• Encouraged intermarriage between Hindus and
  Muslims
• Abolished the head tax
• Respected Hindu religious customs

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• Akbar was interested in all faiths and would
  conduct discussions with Jain and Buddhist monks,
  Hindu Brahmans, Zoroastrians, and Jesuits
• He even invented a new religion by blending Hindu
  and Muslim beliefs
• Hindus rose to high ranks within his government
  as long as they could be loyal to Mughal rulers
  and pay taxes

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• Social reforms
• Akbar tried to improve the calendar
• Set up public works projects
• Built living quarters for beggars and vagabonds
• Tried to regulate the consumption of alcohol
• Failed at this
• His own son drank 20 cups of wine a day

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• He tried to improve womens lot in life
• Prohibited Sati (widow burning)
• Encouraged widow remarriage
• Discouraged child marriages
• Attempted to break womens seclusion in their
  homes, called purdah, by creating special market
  days for women only

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• Most of Akbars reforms were not successful,
  including his new religion
• Akbars 3 successors
• Jahangir (r. 1605-1627)
• Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658)
• Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707)
• None of these left behind achievements as
  significant as Akbars

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Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb
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• The reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan were the
  Golden Age of India most notably in painting
  and architecture
• Ex. Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan for his wife
  as her tomb (picture p. 488)
• they also expanded painting workshops for
  miniatures

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Taj Mahal
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• Jahangir and Shah Jahan continued the policy of
  tolerance toward Hindus
• Both preferred the good life over military
  adventures and the day-to-day running of the
  government
• They left the details to subordinates, thus
  allowing their wives to win some influence and
  power

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• The position of court women then improved
• The position of women elsewhere declined
• Child marriages returned
• Widow remarriage died out
• Seclusion increased
• Sati spread in the upper classes

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• Aurangzeb inherited a declining empire and was
  not able to stop the decline
• He did conquer most of India by 1707
• The effort drained his treasury and weakened both
  the military and the government
• There were also internal revolts

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• Auranzeb wished to free India of Hindu influences
• The head tax returned
• Hindu festivals were forbidden
• Building of Hindu temples was forbidden
• Both Hindus and Muslims rebelled against
  Aurangzeb
• Foreign enemies were ready to strike like the
  English and the French