Early ModernMuslim Empires

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresIntroduction

This lecture will examine the three great empires whose heyday lasted from approximately 1450 to 1800

Ottoman Empire (centered in modern Turkey)

Safavid Empire (centered in modern Iran)

Mughal Empire (centered in modern India)

What these empires had in common was the rulers’ adherence to the Muslim faith

Islam had burst into the Middle East from Arabia through conquest in the 7th and 8th centuries

Islam had spread into India in the 13th century, although it had been in the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan) for centuries before that

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresOttoman Empire (1)

The Ottoman Empire emerged out of the remnants of the Seljuk Turks, and came to prominence in the 14th century

Being on the eastern edge of the tottering Byzantine Empire, that was the logical direction of conquest for the Ottomans

They conquered Constantinople in 1453, extinguishing the last remnant of the Roman Empire

The Ottomans moved their capital there and renamed the city Istanbul

They proved tolerant of Christians and Jews, as long as they paid the jitza (the tax on non-Muslims)

After extinguishing Byzantium, the Ottomans conquered the Balkans and would threaten the rest of Eastern Europe for centuries thereafter

Hagia SophiaInstanbul, Turkey

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresOttoman Empire (2)

The Ottomans would unsuccessfully besiege Vienna in 1529 and 1683

They were more successful extend-ing their rule into Muslim lands, conquering Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa

Janissaries The Ottomans famously built their

armies from Christians taken from their parents while still small, raised as Muslims, and trained as soldiers

Decline Yet over time, the Ottoman Empire

rotted from within, with the sultan’s sons perpetually fighting each other and far flung provinces establishing de facto independence, with the final collapse at the end of World War I

Suleiman theMagnificent(1520-1566)

OttomanJanissary

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresSafavid Empire (1)

This empire emerged in the 16th century in the area of the Islamic world that had fallen to the Mongols in the 13th century (the Persian Khanate)

The Mongols had been particularly cruel in this region, butchering 90 percent of the population

Although taking natives into their government, Mongol rule was never accepted by the survivors, especially the Persians

Shia Islam became intimately associated with the resistance movement to Mongol rule

Under the leadership of Ismail, the Persians threw off Mongol Rule

Ismail declared himself “Shah,” claiming to be a descendant of Ali, in keeping with Shiite doctrine

Shah Ismail(1502-1524)

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresSafavid Empire (2)

Shah Abbas The height of the Safavid Empire

came under Shah Abbas He famously encouraged carpet

weaving, which helped turn this cottage industry into a major source of export earnings and establishing the reputation of “Persian” carpets for extremely high quality

Yet he also did not trust his own nobility, building his army from Armenian and Georgian recruits

He also feuded with the Ottomans, who he saw as illegitimate because they were Sunnis

The successors of Abbas were not as competent, and by the 18th century the Safavid lands had fallen to the Ottomans, Mughals, and Russians

Shah Abbas(1587-1629)

A “Persian”carpet

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresMughal Empire (1)

While their empire was in India, the Mughals were not Indian

They were a Turkish people related to the Mongols

“Mughal” is a corruption of Mongol Indeed, rather than capturing India

from the Indians, they conquered its last alien Muslim rulers, another group of Turkish Moslems, known as the Delhi Sultanate

Akbar the Great Arguably the greatest ruler in India

since Ashoka (3rd century BCE) He established “sulahkul” as the

principal of his rule: universal tolerance

Eliminated the jitza Brought numerous Hindus into his

government

Akbar the Great(1556-1605)

Early Modern Muslim EmpiresMughal Empire (2)

The Mughal emperors of India became justifiably famous for their support of architecture and the arts

Taj Mahal Perhaps the most famous example of

the Mughal’s commitment was the Taj Mahal, built by the Emperor Jahan as tomb for his favorite wife

It took over a decade to build, and is today considered to be one of the greatest romantic symbols

Decline Seeds of Mughal destruction sown

under the rule of Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb (1658-1707) , who tried to impose strict Islamic rule

Mughal power collapsed later in the 18th century, leaving India disunited until it was colonized by the British, beginning later in that century

Taj MahalAgra, India