Chapter 16:
Gunpowder Empires
Ottomans
Safavids
Mughals
Empire Builders, 1683
Ottoman Empire
Rise of Empires: Ottoman
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Osman (1258-1326)
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Mehmed II (1432-1481)
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Unites Turks against Mongols
Conquered Byzantine Empire
Renamed city Istanbul
Absolute monarchy; centralized state
Methods
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Ghazi (Muslim religious warriors)
Gunpowder
Janissaries
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Devshirme—”Blood Tax”
Political Systems: Ottoman
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Sultans were at the head of the empire
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The position of sultan was hereditary
Many deaths among family members
took place because of this
Empire at its height under Suleyman
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Reigned 1520-1566
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Conquered lands in Europe, Asia, Africa
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Mother was Christian
Came to power through murder of brothers
Conquered Syria, Holy Land, Egypt
Conquered Hungary, Croatia, Rumania
Siege of Vienna in 1529 - failed
Built powerful navy to rule Mediterranean
Encouraged development of arts
Beautified Constantinople with mosques
Social Systems: Ottoman
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Social Hierarchy
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Warrior aristocracy
become landed elite
Merchants and artisans
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Guilds
Trade controlled by
Jews and Christians
Peasants face heavy
burdens from
landowners
Slaves (ghulam)
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Christian males 8-15 were
conquered and trained in
palace school for work
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Gender Roles
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Women subordinate to
fathers and husbands
Few scholarly or artistic
opportunities
Seclusion and veiling
were imposed on
women of all classes
Elite women influence
politics
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Hurrem Sultan
Could participate in
trade and moneylending
Economic Systems: Ottoman
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Timar system
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Askeri was given a share of the agricultural taxes of a designated region
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Gradually became hereditary
Timar was not feudalism
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Usually consisting of several villages
In return for military service as cavalryman, assisted in provincial government
They were exempt from taxation.
Timar-holder did not dispense justice (Sultan did)
Central government was active and crucial
Timar more like Japanese shogun system
Tahrir
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The tahrir took place when a new area was conquered
Team of officials surveyed, recorded by sanjak
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Names of all adult male farmers
All sources of wealth in the area
Their yields and the taxes paid on them
Religious Systems: Ottoman
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Millet System
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Each millet was headed by its own religious dignitary
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Heads of millet were responsible to Turkish sultan
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Advised sultan on affairs in the community
Was punished by sultan for problems of the community
Each community was responsible for
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Chief rabbi in the case of the Jews
Patriarchs for the Greek Orthodox, Armenian communities
The allocation and collection of its taxes
Its educational arrangements
Internal legal matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance
In the pre-modern Middle East
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Muslims were NOT ruled by millets, they were ruled by Quran
Muslims were tolerant of other religious
Culture: Ottoman
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Rebuilt Constantinople (Istanbul)
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Coffee Houses
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Suleymaiye (Blue) Mosque
Built Aqueducts
Center of social life
Read poetry & have scholarly
discussions
Architecture
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Mimar Sinan compared to
Michelangelo
Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Decline of Empires: Ottoman
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The problems began with Selim II.
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The training of officials declined.
Members of the elite were busy making their own fortunes, so
local government grew more corrupt and taxes rose.
Wars depleted the imperial treasury.
Biggest problem was the influence of Western Europe.
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Clothes, furniture, tobacco and coffee were introduced.
Some sultans tried to fight the trends of Western Europe.
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One outlawed tobacco and coffee. If he caught anyone taking part in
immoral or illegal behavior, he had them immediately executed
Ottoman conservatives
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Resisted innovations like the telescope, printing press
Resisted western military innovations, industrialization
Discouraged merchants, commercialism
Safavid Empire
Rise of Empires: Safavid
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Turkish conquerors of Persia and Mesopotamia
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Founder Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524)
Under Ismail, the Safavid took control of much of Iran
and Iraq
Claimed ancient Persian title of shah
Battle of Chaldiran (1514)
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Sunni Ottomans persecuted Shiites
within Ottoman empire
Qizilbash considered firearms
unmanly; lost battle
Political Systems: Safavid
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Shah Abbas the Great (1588-1629)
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He usurped the throne from his father and imprisoned him.
He later killed the man who helped him get the throne.
Revitalized the Safavid empire
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Modernized military
Centralized administration
New capital at Isfahan
Permitted European merchants and missionaries
Sought European alliances
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To help attack the Ottoman Turks and regain lost lands
Couldn’t keep all territorial gains, but did get Azerbaijan back
Social Systems: Safavid
The role of the shah was that of a king.
 The social structure was:
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Shah
Bureaucracy and landed classes
Common people
Women and Religion
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When Shah Abbas died, religious orthodoxy, a
pressure to conform to traditional religious
beliefs, increased.
Women were to give up freedom for a life of
seclusion and the wearing of the veil.
Economic Systems: Safavid
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Long-distance trade was most important
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Shared sections of east-west trade routes with the
Ottomans early on in empire
Offered silk, carpets, and ceramics to Europeans
Religious System: Safavid
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The official religion was Shia Islam
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The Shiites supported the shahs at first (Ismail was a
Shi’ite Muslim).
They sent preachers to different areas to convert
members of the Ottoman Empire.
Followers were qizilbash (or "Red Hats")
Culture: Safavid
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Isfahan was the jewel of the Safavids
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it is still that for modern-day Iran
The “queen of Persian cities”
Central mosque, shown here
Artistic Achievements
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Silk weaving flourished
Carpet weaving flourished more and
Persian rugs are still prized today.
Riza-i-Abbasi is the most famous artist of
this time.
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He made beautiful works about simple subjects
such as oxen plowing, hunters, and lovers. They
used soft colors and flowing movement in
painting.
Decline of Empires: Safavid
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Religious Reasons
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Military decline
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Shiite leaders urged shahs to persecute Sunnis, Sufis
Non-Muslims lost many protections
Imported European weapons but never made their own
Arsenals outdated; tactics outdated; systems outdated
Rise of Banditry, Piracy
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In countryside, many poor peasants took to banditry
On seas, many ports and merchants too to piracy
Trade disrupted, made Europeans mad, who often
retaliated
Mughal Empire
Babur
Akbar the Great
Rise of Empires: Mughal
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Babur (1482-1530)
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Traced descent from Mongols
Not motivated by religious fervor
Founder of Mughal ("Mongol") dynasty
in India
Central Asian Turks invaded India and
seized Delhi in 1526
By 1530, Mughal empire embraced
most of India
Political Systems: Mughal
Akbar (reigned 1556-1605)
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A brilliant, charismatic ruler
Created centralized, absolutist government
Encouraged religious tolerance between
Muslims and Hindus
Eliminated head tax on Hindus, banned sati
Aurangzeb (1659-1707)
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Expanded the empire to almost the entire
Indian subcontinent
Revoked policies of toleration: Hindus
taxed, temples destroyed
His rule troubled by religious tensions and
hostility
Arrival of Europeans: permitted them to
trade, establish bases
Social Systems: Mughal
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Women and marriage
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Women and society
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Encouraged widow remarriage
Discouraged child marriage
Outlawed sati
Discouraged female seclusion
Women were warriors and advisors in political matters.
They could own land and do business.
Special market days for women.
Women and Hinduism
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The isolation of women was practiced in upper class
Hindu families.
A lot of Hindu practices went unchanged by Mogul rule
Economic Systems: Mughal
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Mughal empires less attentive to foreign or
maritime trading
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Mughals permitted stations for English, French, and Dutch
Europeans gradually excluded Indian influence
Religious Systems: Mughal
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Religious diversity and tolerance under Akbar
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Advocated “divine faith” called Din I‘-ilahi
Emphasized loyalty to emperor
Catholic missionaries welcomed at court of Akbar
Sikhism
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Founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539)
Blend of Islam & Hinduism
Personal salvation through disciplined, personal
meditation on God
Culture: Mughal
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Architecture
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Fatehpur Sikri, Mughal capital, created by Akbar
Combined Islamic style with Indian elements
Site abandoned because of bad water supply
Taj Mahal, exquisite example of Mughal architecture
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Shah Jahan built it for his favorite wife, Mumatz Mahal.
It combines Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic
styles.
Miniature painting
flourished in Iran
Decline of Empires: Mughal
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Aurangzeb’s policies deterred the Hindus
Rise of Sikhs
Rise of Christians with coming of Europeans
The British were the final straw.
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Sir Robert Clive became the chief representative of the
British East India Company.
He took control of Indian trade by taking Bengal. The BEIC
could now tax the lands surrounding Calcutta.
The Indians practiced guerilla warfare against the British.
The British moved inland. Trade brought money to the
British. The British were in India to stay.