Download THE MUSLIM EMPIRES Chapter 20

THE MUSLIM GUNPOWDER
EMPIRES
Organizational Questions
• 1. Which state governs the largest empire? Most
multicultural? most populous?
• 2. How would the answers above make government
difficult?
• 3. Which empire is nearest to Western Europe?
• 4. How would proximity to Europe affect an empire?
• 5. What modern states does each empire rule?
• 6. Which state would be the most dependent on sea
power? Why?
• 7. Which state would be the easiest and the most difficult
to defend? Why?
What were the similarities & differences
between the three Muslim empires?
SIMILARITIES
- origins in in Turkic nomadic raiders of Central Asia based on military conquest
- oriented to support armies & military classes using firearms
- effective use of firearms and siege warfare
- ruled by a disputed succession of absolute monarchs
-court rituals patterned after those of earlier Islamic dynasties
-Taxed conquered peoples heavily
OTTOMAN
-Anatolia Peninsula,
Europe & Nth Africa
-religious fervor &
zeal for Islamic
conversion
-mostly Muslim,
large Christian
minority
-Sunni Muslim
SAFAVID
-Persia (Iran)
-religious fervor & zeal
for Islamic conversion
-mostly Muslim
-Shi’ia Muslim
MUGHAL
-Northern India
-rule pre-dominantly
non-Muslim population
DIFFERENCES
-Sunni (Ottoman and Mughal) v. Shi’ia (Safavid) enmity meant warring over territory &
-persecuting adherents of rival brand of Islam
- leads to varying religious practices, legal codes & social organization
Background
By 1100 CE The Seljuk Turks control much of the
old Abbasid Empire
By 1294 IL-KHAN (part of the Mongol Empire) has
captured much of the Seljuk Turk Empire along with Persia
As the Mongol Empires Rapidly Decline, new Muslim Empires will Fill the Vacuum.
They are the Ottoman,
Safavid, and Mughal (Gunpowder Empires)
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Ottomans
Turkic peoples enter Anatolia after Mongols
Ottomans secure dominance
14th & 15th centuries move into Balkans
navy dominates Mediterranean
1453 capture Constantinople
- end Byzantine Empire
rule much of Middle East,
Nth Africa & SE Europe
threat to Western Europe
military leaders had dominant role
Ottomans geared to war & expansion
Turkic horsemen are warrior aristocracy
- power shrinks as central bureaucracy grows
- build up regional power bases
mid 1400s army dominated by Janissary infantry divisions
controlled artillery & firearms
- intervened in dynastic
succession disputes
Sultans
“played off” competing factions
- religious & legal scholars
- Muslim, Christian & Jewish merchants
Christians & Jews “people of the book”
empire grows – Sultans lose contact with people
vizier gains great power
problems with imperial succession – weakens empire
Constantinople - restored
combines different cultures
under Ottoman rule
Hagia Sophia becomes a grand mosque
Suleymaniye (Blue) mosque
commercial center for Asia, Africa & Europe
17th century – Turkish language
urban = many artisans & guilds
- government regulates
- guilds important
artistic legacy in poetry, ceramics, carpets & architecture
Ottoman Decline
late 17th century – empire too big to be maintained
begin to decline once acquisition of new territory ends
- conquest state
bureaucracy corrupts
oppressed peasants flee or rebel
Sultans & sons become weak & lazy rulers
civil strife increases, military decreases
Janissaries block military reform
- lose ground to European rivals
1571 – navy loses at Battle of Lepanto, lose control of eastern Mediterranean
Portuguese naval victories break
Muslim dominance in Indian trade
loss of commercial revenue made worse
by inflation from input of New World bullion
major changes occurring in Europe not matched by Ottomans
conservatism of Janissaries & religious leaders block innovation
SAFAVID EMPIRE
Shi’ite challenge of the Safavids
Safavids profit from struggles of rivals after Mongol invasions
Safavids were Shi’ite Muslims from a family of Sufi mystics
early 1300s – fought to purify & spread Islam
Ismail followers conquer most of Persia
fight Ottomans – lose at
Chaldiran in 1514
Shi’ism blocked from westward
advance
Politics & War under the Safavids
empire at top under
Abbas I (1587-1629)
brought Turkic warriors under control
- some of the leaders gain government posts and pose a threat to Shahs
Persians recruited into bureaucracy as a counterbalance
recruit slave youths into army & bureaucracy
- become backbone of army
- monopolize firearm use
State & Religion
Persian language takes hold
- use Persian traditions of court etiquette
militant Shi’ite ideology modified by Persian religious scholars
religious teachers receive state support
teaching in mosque schools supervised by state
empire gradually converts to Shi’a Islam
- becomes integral part of Iran
Abbas I wants empire to be major center of international trade & Islamic culture
internal transport improved
workshops created (silk & carpets)
trade encouraged
building mosques in Isfahan
Demise of Safavid Empire
no heirs to Abbas I
internal strife &
foreign invasions
1722 fall to Afghani invaders
Ottoman vs. Safavid
both dominated by warrior aristocrats
who shared power with monarch
warriors gradually leave for
estates where they ruled peasants
both encouraged growth of crafts & trade
Safavids less market-oriented than Ottomans
women socially disadvantaged in both
-sub-ordinate to fathers & husbands
-basically homebound
MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Empire
Babur & Turks invade India 1526
- only wanted booty
- remained when prevented from
returning north
used military tactics
similar to Ottomans
within 2 years held much of Indus & Ganges plain
Babur’s death in 1530 brought invasion, successor flees to Persia
- re-invade & restore control by 1556
Akbar (Babur’s grandson)
defeats enemies
great military & administrative talent
reconciles with Hindu subjects
- encourages intermarriage
- abolishes head taxes
- respects Hindu religious customs
invents a faith incorporating Islam
& Hinduism to unify subjects
Hindu & Muslim warrior aristocracy
granted land & labor for loyalty
attempts to introduce social changes to benefit
regulate consumption of alcohol
improve position of women
prohibited sati
encouraged widow remarriage
discouraged child marriages
most reforms not successful
powerful empire in 1600s
yet most of population live in poverty
fall behind Europe in invention & sciences
17th century rulers continued policy of tolerance towards Hindus
cotton textiles world famous
Shah Jahan – Taj Mahal
- blend Persian & Hindu traditions
these rulers left daily administration alone
– wives win influence
life of court women improves
position of women in the
rest of society declines
lack of opportunity,
burden of dowry
- birth of a girl an
inauspicious event
Mumtaz Mahal
imperial decline
early 1700s – Aurangzeb
- wants to control all of India
- rid Islam of Hindu influence
warfare drains treasury
ruler spends too much time on war
internal revolt
religious policies increase internal weaknesses
Hindus kept from highest government posts
-head tax restored
state revenues & power passes to regional lords
- previous pattern in South Asia
What were the similarities & differences
between the three Muslim empires?
SIMILARITIES
- origins in in Turkic nomadic raiders of Central Asia based on military conquest
- oriented to support armies & military classes using firearms
- effective use of firearms and siege warfare
- ruled by a disputed succession of absolute monarchs
-court rituals patterned after those of earlier Islamic dynasties
-Taxed conquered peoples heavily
OTTOMAN
-Anatolia Peninsula,
Europe & Nth Africa
-religious fervor &
zeal for Islamic
conversion
-mostly Muslim,
large Christian
minority
-Sunni Muslim
SAFAVID
-Persia (Iran)
-religious fervor & zeal
for Islamic conversion
-mostly Muslim
-Shi’ia Muslim
MUGHAL
-Northern India
-rule pre-dominantly
non-Muslim population
DIFFERENCES
-Sunni (Ottoman and Mughal) v. Shi’ia (Safavid) enmity meant warring over territory &
-persecuting adherents of rival brand of Islam
- leads to varying religious practices, legal codes & social organization
What were the causes of Ottoman
decline in the 17th century?
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long decline
reached limits of expansive power early on
too large to be maintained
new conquest possibilities run out – lands begin to be lost to
Ottoman Christian & Muslim enemies
decline of effectiveness of administrative system
corruption of officials
oppressive demands of local officials & land owners leads to
rebellions
succession not thought out well
weak rulers, addicted to pleasures
viziers gain too much power
imperial apparatus geared to strong, military leaders,
decline in sultans hurts whole empire
What were the similarities & differences in the
decline of the Abbasid & Ottoman empires?
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succession problems
imperial extravagance
declining position of women
too much construction
peasants over taxed
long decline
Compare & contrast the social & economic
organization of the Ottomans & Safavids.
• dominated by warrior aristocracy
• warrior elite become land-owners with
peasants under them
• real power of rulers decreases
• demands of landlord class on peasants grows
• invasion, rebellions, banditry, peasant flight
from land
• handicraft production & trade encouraged
• public works projects
• women disadvantaged
• difference: Ottoman had better trade contacts
& were farther ahead in technology
Discuss the reasons for the failure
of the Mughal Dynasty
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after Akbar needed reforms ignored
bureaucracy bloated & corrupt
army behind in weaponry & tactics
too many building projects – peasants standard of
living dropping
Aurangzeb wants to expand empire & convert Hindus
less tolerance
imperial system becomes overextended
internal rebellions
no temples allowed to be built
head tax re-instated
rulers extravagant & pleasure seeking
What weaknesses were common to
all of the Muslim empires?
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succession problems
imperial central power weakens
power of regional aristocracy grows
failure to adapt Western military & scientific
advances
rulers better at conquests than administration
rulers too interested in pleasure seeking
too much building
peasants not taken care of
Discuss the similarities in the causes for decline in all
of the Islamic early modern empires & explain how the
decline was related to the rise of the West.
• social organization dependent on warrior nobility –
granted control over villages & peasants
• imperial central power weakens – power of regional
aristocracy grows
• failure of all empires to take the west seriously as an
international challenger meant a failure to adopt
Western military technology & scientific advances
• all empires vulnerable to Western advances – especially
Ottomans (shared land borders)
• all suffered from growing Western dominance of the
seas
• by 18th century all reduced to economic dependency
• loss of revenue from commerce & impact of Western
bullion contributed to Islamic decline
Discuss the similarities in problems confronting
both the early modern Muslim empires & the
earlier Umayyad & Abbasid empires.
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SIMILARITIES
all failed to establish firm succession process
dominance by warrior aristocracy made things difficult
problems with religious minorities (Mughal/Hindu)
DIFFERENCES
Umayyads & Abbasids commercial supremacy
unchallenged by west
West didn’t present an intellectual challenge to earlier
empires
later rise of West revised relations with Islamic world
loss of commercial leadership, West breaks Muslim
monopoly with Africa & WE Asia
Western technology threatens Muslim independence