Download Muslim Empires

Muslim Empires
“Gunpowder Empires”
• Absolutist monarchies took advantage of the power
vacuum left by the end of the Mongol Empire
• Used firearms (cannons, rifles) to
expand their empires
• Centralized governments
– Manufactured or traded for firearms
– Trained and organized an army with
firearms
• Supported the ideal of the ghazi
– Nomadic warrior ethic mixed with
Muslim holy fighter
Early Modern Firearms
Ottoman Empire (1299-1923)
• Founded by Osman I (r. 1299-1326)
after breaking off from Seljuk Turks
• Expanded throughout Anatolia after
the Mongols invaded
• Sultan: ruler of the empire
– Claimed to be the caliph as well
• Practiced and spread Sunni Islam
• Large bureaucracy to administer empire
– Controlled by vizier
• Cavalry developed into warrior aristocracy
Ottoman Expansion
• Expanded into the Balkans and Middle East
– Later expanded into Egypt, North Africa
• Economy thrived from control of trade routes
Fall of Constantinople (1453)
• Ottomans laid siege
for several months
– Looted city for 3
days
– Sold up to 30,000
citizens into slavery
– Renamed Istanbul
• Accomplished by Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481)
• Claimed to be the successors of the Roman
Empire
Topkapi Palace
• Built by Mehmed II from 1459-1465
• Royal residence of the Ottoman sultans
Janissaries
• Gathered through the
devsirme system
– Christian boys ages 8-20
from Anatolia and the
Balkans were taken from
their families as tribute
– Raised by Turkish families
– Learned Turkish language,
customs, converted to
Islam
Janissaries
• Trained as soldiers, engineers,
architects, physicians,
scientists
• Became elite military and
intellectual class loyal to the
sultan
• Later they became politically
powerful
– Ineffective as soldiers by the
1700s
– Started to regularly revolt and lead coups against
the sultan
Ottoman Diversity and Society
• Millet system: different ethnicities operated
under their own legal codes
– Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Armenian
– Still owed allegiance to the sultan
• Nobility oversaw
peasants working on
their rural estates
• Thriving merchant and
artisan class maintained
prosperous trade
– Bazaar: marketplace
Ottoman Trade
• Traded and taxed goods along the Silk Roads
– Controlled Mediterranean gold and slave trade
• Produced rugs, tiles, pottery
• Grew tobacco and
cotton imported
from the Americas
• Bought coffee
from Yemen,
spices from the
East Indies
Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566)
• Accomplished sailor, poet
• Responsible for Ottoman
Golden Age
– Developed free schools at
mosques for Muslim boys
– Funded architectural and
artistic expression
• Ottomans advanced into Europe as far as Vienna
• Created strong law codes
– Protected Jews and Christians as dhimmis
Suleimaniye Mosque
Ottoman Decline
• Defeated by VenetianSpanish fleet at
Lepanto in 1571
• Sultans became weak because they were not trained
to rule while regional rulers became corrupt
– Eunuchs and the harem manipulated the sultan
• Economy weakened as Europeans found new trade
routes and blocked Ottoman expansion
– Lost maritime trade power in Indian Ocean to the
Portuguese
Wahhabism
• Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-92)
– Muslim scholar and preacher
• Called for purification of Sunni Islam
– Wanted to end worship of saints, visiting tombs
• Advocated forceful
adherence to Sharia law
• Supported by royal House
of ibn Saud
– Formed first Saudi state
• Viewed Christians and
Jews as devil-worshippers
Safavid Empire (1501-1736)
Safavid Empire (1501-1736)
• Safavids were mix of Persian and Turkish
– Originally followed Sufism
– Claimed to be descendants of Mohammad, through
Ali
• Founded by Ismail I (r. 1501-1524)
– Proclaimed as Shah: emperor/king
• Established Shi’a Islam as official
religion of empire
• Qizilbash: Turkic warriors who were
source of Safavid military power
Battle of Chaldiran (1514)
• Ismail was defeated by Ottoman firearm
superiority
– Ended Safavid attempts at westward expansion and
spread of Shi’a Islam
Shah Abbas I (r. 1588-1629)
• Traded silk with England and the
Netherlands
• Constructed better roads and rest
stops for caravans
– Taxed trade along the Silk Roads
• Reformed the army and introduced
more firearms
• Limited power of qizilbash
– Incorporated enslaved Russians and Persians into
bureaucracy and army
• Became paranoid and blinded or killed his sons
Shirley Brothers
• Robert and Anthony Shirley
sent from England to form antiOttoman alliance in 1598
– Helped to train Safavid army and
casted cannons for them
– Developed trade relations
between England and Safavids
Isfahan
• Shah Abbas I moved capital to Isfahan in 1598
– Isfahan nesf-é jahan (“Isfahan is half the world”)
Naqsh-e-Jahan Square
Shah Mosque
Safavid Decline
• Declined as Ottomans,
Russians, and Mughals all
begin to invade
– Weak rulers could not hold
empire together
– Importance of Silk Roads
declined
– British and Dutch cut them
out of Indian Ocean trade
• Afghani tribes besieged and
captured Isfahan in 1722
Mughal Empire (1526-1857)
• Babur (r. 1526-1530):
Turkic and Mongol
descent
– From both Timur and
Chinggis Khan
– Conquered northern
Indian Hindu princes
by using firearms
– Brought Persian
influence into India
Women in Mughal India
• Sati: Hindu practice
of widow throwing
herself on husband’s
funeral pyre
– Wives wanted to
preserve their honor
• Purdah: seclusion of women
– Kept inside their homes
– When outside or around men, women must stay
fully covered
Akbar (r. 1556-1605)
• Muslim, but religiously tolerant
– Married Hindu princesses
• Incorporated Hindus into
bureaucracy, built temples, removed
jizya
• Created Din-i-Ilahi to try to unite
Hindus and Muslims
• Built schools and encouraged art, architecture,
literature
• Discouraged child marriages and sati
• Encouraged merchants to set aside special market
days for women
Mughal Society and Economy
• Zamindars: government officials who
collected taxes and were often paid
with land
• Aristocracy developed from the
military
– Open to Muslims and all castes of Hindus
• Majority of population was rural, poor, and Hindu
• Extensive trade with Swahili Coast, China, and
Europe
– High demand for textiles made from Indian cotton in
Europe, pepper, tropical fruits, precious stones
Indian Cotton
Taj Mahal
• Built from 1632-53 by Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658)
– Tomb for his third wife
Red Fort
• Built by Shah Jahan in Delhi in 1648 as Mughal royal
residence
Sikhism
• Started by Guru Nanak in
the early 1500s
– Guru: teacher
• Monotheistic, believe in
reincarnation and search
for oneness with God
• Homeland in the Punjab
• Holy text: Guru Granth
Sahib
Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)
• Finished in
1604
• All faiths are
welcome
• Free meal
served to
100,000
every day
• Pilgrimage destination: holiest site for Sikhs
– Contains the Guru Granth Sahib
Christianity in India
• Francis Xavier (1506-1552): converted lower
castes
• Robert di Nobili (1577-1656): focused on highcaste Hindus
– Adopted their customs
– Vegetarianism, dress, shaved head
• Conversion attempts did not
experience great success
– Caste system prohibited communal
worship
– Higher castes would not interact with
lower castes
Aurangzeb and Mughal Decline
• Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707)
– Devout Muslim
• Reversed many of Akbar’s religiously
tolerant policies
– Outlawed sati, reintroduced jizya
• Military campaigns expanded empire but were too
expensive
• Opened trade relations with British East India
Company
• Regional rulers took control, minority groups rebelled
– Weakened India became target for the British