Entry Task
• You will need: folder, book, paper, pen/pencil
• Look at the map on pg. 71. Using your map
from Friday, determine which present day
countries were parts of the following empires:
– The Ottoman Empire
– The Safavid Empire
– The Mughal Empire
• Now compare the geography of the 3 empires.
Which has the most coastline? Which is the
most mountainous?
The Muslim World
Expands
1300-1700
What should I learn today?
• Basic understanding of Islam
• Understanding of 3 Muslim Empires
• Connections to Today
What does it mean to be a
Muslim?
• Muslims (or Moslems) are followers of Islam
• Islam is one of the world’s 3 main
monotheistic religions (along with Christianity
and Judaism)
– Monotheistic: belief in one god
• Dominant religion in the Middle East, North
Africa and parts of Asia
• Over 1.5 billion worldwide
• Two major divisions: Sunni and Shi’a
Important Facts
• God: Allah, means
“god” in Arabic
• Holy Book:
Qur’an/Koran
• Place of Worship:
Mosque
• Holy Cities: Mecca,
Medina, Jerusalem
• Important People:
Prophet Muhammad
– Also: Abraham, Moses
and Jesus
5 Pillars of Islam
• Belief in one god, Allah,
and his prophet,
Muhammad
• Daily prayers, 5 times
each day
• Giving to those in need
based on personal
wealth
• Purification through
fasting during the
month of Ramadan
• The Hajj, a pilgrimage to
the city of Mecca
Empire Builders in the Middle East and
South Asia
• The Ottomans
• The Safavids
• The Mughals
The Ottoman Empire:
Turks Move into Byzantium
• Anatolian Turks: ghazis, warriors for Islam
• Formed military societies and invaded the
territories of infidels, people who did not
believe in Islam
• Osman: successful ghazi, his followers were
called Ottomans
• Success and expansion until stopped by Timur
the Lame
The Ottoman Empire:
Powerful Sultans Spur Dramatic Expansion
• 4 powerful sultans led Ottoman Empire until
1566
• 1453: took Constantinople (now Istanbul,
Turkey) under Mehmed the Conqueror
• 1514: defeated the Safavid under Selim the
Grim
– Continued on to take Mecca, Medina and Cairo
The Ottoman Empire: Suleyman
• Suleyman the Lawgiver
and Suleyman the
Magnificent
• Continued to expand
the empire into Central
Europe, North Africa
and Central Asia
• Structured social
organization: law code,
simplified taxes and
government
• Tolerance of religious
and cultural differences
Mosque of Suleyman
Istanbul, Turkey
The Ottoman Empire:
The Empire Declines Slowly
• Pattern of gaining power and holding power
• The practices of the sultans led to weak
leaders and the decline of the empire
– Suleyman killed his most capable son and sent
another into exile
– Selim II inherited the throne
Building the Safavid Empire
• Major influences: Persians, Ottomans, Arabs
• Located between the Ottoman Empire and the
Mughal Empire
• Strong military force
• Leader Isma’il became a religious tyrant and
controlled Persia, (now Iran) and took the
ancient Persian title of shah (meaning king)
• Defeated by Ottomans in 1514, set present
day border between Iraq and Iran
The Safavid Empire Golden Age
• Shah Abbas, also called Abbas the Great,
helped create a Safavid culture that drew from
the best of the Ottoman, Persian and Arab
worlds
• Reforms and respect for military and civilian
life
• Tolerance for other religions and cultures
– Encouraged industry, trade and art exchanges with
European nations
• Built a beautiful new capital at Esfahan with
influences from all over Europe and Asia
Esfahan, Iran
The Safavid Empire: The Dynasty
Declines Quickly
• Story is similar to that of the Ottomans…
• Shah Abbas killed or blinded his ablest sons
• The pampered young prince Safi led the
empire into decline
• In 1736 Nadir Shah Asfar once again created
an expanded empire but was assassinated in
1747 and the empire fell apart
The Mughal Empire: Early History
• History of being divided
• Delhi destroyed by
Timur the Lame in 1398
• 1494: Babur moved
south and laid the
foundation for the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire:
Akbar’s Golden age
• Akbar, means “Greatest One”
• Ruled with wisdom and tolerance from 15561605
• “A monarch should ever be intent on
conquest, otherwise his neighbors rise in arms
against him.”
• With one neighbor, discuss what you think this
means
The Mughal Empire:
Akbar’s Golden Age
• Combination of military
power and political
wisdom
• Unified a land of at least
100 million people
• Ruled with tolerance,
allowed religious
freedom and allowed all
to rise in political power
• Cultural blending affected
language, art, education,
architecture and politics
The Mughal Empire:
Akbar’s Successors
• Jahangir: the son of
Akbar left the political
power in the hands of
his wife, the Persian
princess Nur Jahan
• Shah Jahan: killed all
possible rivals, built the
Taj Mahal after the
death of his wife,
Mumtaz Mahal
– Taxes supported
beautiful buildings but
people suffered
•Aurangzeb ruled
oppressively and lost power
The Mughal Empire:
Decline and Decay
•
•
•
•
•
Aurangzeb drained the empire’s resources
People had little loyalty to him
Over 2 million died in famine
Gave Bombay to the British in 1661
Empire became less and less united after his
death
• Next conquerors… Europeans