The Muslim Empires of
the Early Modern World
The Ottoman Empire
The Challenger to Christian
Europe
Growing Power
– Turks began as a nomadic people in Central
Asia in the Middle Ages.
– Conquer Anatolia (Turkey) in the late Middle
Ages
– Conquer Constantinople in 1453, ending the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
– Come to rule most of the eastern
Mediterranean by the middle 1500’s.
Rulers
• Sultan
– Turkish political ruler (comparable to
an emperor)
• Suleiman I
– Great Law-giver of the Turks
• Grand Vizier
– Prime minister who headed the
bureaucracy for the sultan
• Janissaries
– Elite corps of fighting men
The Ottoman Empire
Law
– Established laws that tolerated non-Muslims.
– Jews and Christians were allowed to practice
their own religions.
– Millets, or communities, took care of their own
laws
Decline and Reform
• In the 1700’s the Ottoman
Empire’s power began to
decline.
– The Turks twice laid seige to
Vienna (in 1529 and 1683)
and were turned back.
– They were defeated at sea by
Spain at the Battle of Lepanto
(1571)
– As a result, Sultans began to
incorporate European ideas
into their government.
Safavid Persia
The Shiite Islamic Empire
Shah Abbas
– Looked for alliances
with the West to fight
the Ottomans
– Spread Persian culture
and ideas, diplomacy
and trade
– He established a lavish
court in the city of
Isfahan.
Nadar Shah
• Expanded the Persian
Empire to its greatest
heights
• After his assassination in
1747 the territory he
conquered was lost and
the empire was divided.
The Mogul (Mughal) Empire
Islamic Empire of India
Rulers
• Muslim Monguls establish
control over Northern India in
the late 1300s.
• Timur Lenk (Tamerlane)
– Conquered central Asia and
Northern India in the late 14th
century
• Akbar
– Brought peace to northern
India
– Recognized religious
tolerance of Hindus
Mogul Civilization
• Mogul Civilization
– Lavish court centers of
learning and the arts
– Shan Jahan built the
Taj Mahal
• Mogul Decline
– Hindus and Sikhs rebel
against Mogul
authority, establishing
independent kingdoms
in the 17 century.