The Mongols and
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Kublai Khan
(Grandson of Genghis)
The Pax Mongolica
(Mongol Peace)
• Under Mongol control, trade
flourished throughout Eurasia.
• The old trade networks were revived
and travel through these networks
was considered to be very safe.
Marco Polo
How did Marco Polo’s journey
help inspire Europeans to think
Globally?
• Marco Polo’s accounts of his adventures
through Eurasia, revealed how advanced
and luxurious the east had become.
These accounts aroused Europeans
curiosity about the east and created a
desire for the luxuries he had described.
The Gunpowder Empires
(~1450-1650)
What happens when an
empire has access to
technology which other people
don’t possess?
Gunpowder Empires
Empires which arose in Islamic
Eurasia, which possessed new technology
(cannons, muskets, etc.) which helped them
control large and diverse empires with
powerful centralized governments.
3 Main Gunpowder Empires
• The Ottoman Empire
• The Safavid Empire
• The Mughal (Moghal) Empire
The Ottomans
• Turkish nomadic people from Central
Asia (like the Seljuk Turks).
• Expanded through Asia Minor.
• 1453 – Used cannons to blast holes in
Constantinople’s defenses and
capture it. Renamed it Istanbul.
The Ottoman Empire
• The Ottomans established an empire which
would last off and on until World War I
ended (1918).
• Adopted Sunni Islam as their religious and
government (Sharia law) organization.
• Very tolerant of the many religious groups
within their empire. (Jews, Christians, etc.)
• Controlled the link between European and
Asian trade.
The Janizaries
The Safavid Empire
(Early 1500’s – 1722)
• Controlled much of the old Persian
empire. (modern day Iran)
• Sandwiched between the other two
Gunpowder empires.
• Also Muslim, but Shiites.
– Led to conflicts between them and their
Ottoman Sunni neighbors.
Controlled the highly demanded
silk trade.
• Non tolerance of other religions led
to rebellions which would
eventually end the Safavid empire.
• However, Iran is still a strongly
Shiite controlled nation.
The Mughal Empire
(1526-1857)
• Modern day India, Pakistan, and
parts of Afghanistan.
• Muslim armies had moved into the
Indus Valley in AD 711.
• Established Muslim Sultanates.
(Sultans = Muslim rulers)
Muslim and Hindus Clash
• Obvious differences between Hindus
and Muslims led to religious clashes.
– However, many Hindus converted to
Islam to escape the caste system.
– 1526 – Muslim Mongol and Turkish
armies moved in and established the
Mughal Empire. (Mughal = Persian for
Mongol).
– Mughal leaders controlled the lucrative
and important Indian trade.
1947 - Pakistan is created due to tensions
between Muslims and Hindus. 1971 Civil War
turns east Pakistan into Bangladesh.
Overarching Question??
• How did the establishment of the Islamic
Gunpowder Empires affect Europeans?
– These new and powerful empires controlled all of
the key overland trade routes from Asia to
Europe.
• The Ottomans controlled the ends of the
routes.
• The Safavids controlled the Silk road and thus
the Silk trade.
• The Mughals controlled the important Indian
trade.
• If European Christians wanted the luxuries of
the east, they would have to go through the
Muslim middle-men.