The Gunpowder Empires1450-1750

Rise in Power

Osman I (Othman): 1299-1326

•Osman led group of Turks in the Anatolian Peninsula

•Began to expand power by taking over the

Bosporus and Dardanelle straits.

•Developed an elite military guard, The Janissaries, and a strong naval fleet.

•Defeated the Serbs in the Balkans at the Battle of

Kosovo in 1389 and began to dominate the region.

Major LeadersMehmed II

Mehmed II: 1444-1481- Called “The Conqueror”• 1453 – 80,000 soldiers laid siege to Constantinople and conquered the Byzantine Empire.• Renamed city Istanbul and made it the capital. • The Topkapi Palace “Iron Gate”

“What a city we have given to plunder and destruction.”

Turks vs. Europeans

The Fall of Constantinople: 1453

Major LeadersSuleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman: (1520-1566) – The Greatest Sultan• Expanded Empire into Romania, Hungary, and parts of Austria.• Turkish Naval Fleet rules the eastern Mediterranean• Patron of the arts, built bridges, public baths, schools and mosques.

Major Achievement

The Suleimaniye Mosque

The Golden Age of the Ottomans

The Ottoman Centralized Bureaucracy

SULTANSULTAN

Local Administrators& Military

Local Administrators& Military

Landowners / Tax CollectorsLandowners / Tax Collectors

MuslimsMuslims JewsJews

ChristiansChristians

Led by Sultan – Absolute power

Chief minister, or adviser, to the SultanGrand Vizier

Viziers

Grand Vizier

Viziers

Positions were based on merit, not birth.

Provincial Governors (Beys)And Military elite -

The Janissaries

Provincial Governors (Beys)And Military elite -

The Janissaries

Heads of Individual

Religious Millets

Heads of Individual

Religious Millets

Process of succession was not distinct –

could cause conflict

Who do you think had the real power?

The Janissaries Ottomans formed captured Balkan

Christian men into a force called the new troops (Janissaries) fought on foot and were armed with

guns. recruited men for the Janissaries and

for positions in the bureaucracy through the system called devshirme—a levy on male Christian children. Unable to marry

Practice of devshirme later stopped Janissaries become a powerful elite Marry, train sons in military

techniques Toward end of empire more

interested in crafts & trade rather than military training

Religious Beliefs and Policies• Ottomans were Sunni Muslims

• Sultans claimed the title of Caliph – guided and maintained Islamic Law• Religious advisors – Ulama – set up schools

Conversations between Christians and Muslims

• Tolerant of Non-Muslims• Non-Muslims had to pay a tax, Jiyza, but could freely practice religion• Janissaries protected religious minority

Social Structure/Role of Women• Four main Occupational Classes: peasants,

artisans, merchants, pastoral peoples. • Merchants were most privileged, exempt from taxes and government regulations.

• Women treated better than other Islamic states (Turkish traditions)• Could own and inherit property• Were not forced to marry and could seek a divorce• Some gained political power as officials and governors

The Harem• The Harem “Sacred Place”• Sultan’s wives and concubines resided in private domain• Sultan chose four wives as his favorites• When a son was chosen as a Sultan, mother became “Queen Mother” and gained power

Major Achievements

• Restored city of Constantinople (Istanbul)

• Turned Hagia Sophia into a Mosque

Islamic Calligraphy

Major Achievements

Art work: Picture of Angel Gabriel visiting Muhammad

Illuminated Qur’an

Prayer rugs and textiles

What is unusual about this painting?

Major Achievements

Scholars in astronomy and medicine. (Galata

Observatory, 1557)

Architecture – Sinan, most

famous architect

Blue Mosque

Bazaars, hospitals, ceramics,

silk

Decline of Ottoman Empire

• The Siege of Vienna – Suleiman's forces were

turned back in 1529

• The Battle of Lepanto, 1571• Major naval battle between Spanish and Ottomans• Spanish victory gave hope to Christian empires that Turks could be stopped.

Decline of Ottoman Empire

• Sultans lose power to Vizier’s and Janissaries

• Vague process of succession • Internal government corruption

• Empire became too large to control• Loss of loyalty – no more land to

conquer and give away

• Lack of military technology

• Economy suffered• Silk Road Trade

monopoly ended – European water

routes• Inflation due influx

of silver• Did not industrialize

– craft guilds

I’ll stop Jafar! Maybe I can be Sultan!

The Ottoman Empire During the 16c

Ottoman Empire will last until 1919 It’s a whole new world!

Safavid Empire(Persia)

Major Leaders Shah Ismail (r. 1499-1524)

Kurdish, Iranian, and Greek ancestry hereditary leader of a militant Sufi

brotherhood called Safaviya Becomes Shah, proclaims official

religion of realm Twelver Shiism Twelve infallible imams after

Muhammad 12th imam in hiding, ready to take

power Followers wore distinctive red hat,

called qizilbash (“red heads”) Forces all subjects to adopt Shia

Islam Creates great rift between Iran and

Sunni neighbors Empire called Safavid, after Safi al-Din

(1252-1334), Sufi thinker

Faced threat from all around Northeast Uzbeks East Mughals West Ottomans

Major Leaders Shah Abbas the Great

(r. 1588-1629) revitalizes weakened Safavid empire Persian version of

Suleiman Reforms administration,

military Expands trade Military expansion

Regained territory formerly lost to the Ottoman Empire

Creates a slave army armed with guns

Decline: Economic Crisis Manufactures included silk and its famous

carpets manufacturing sector was small

and not very productive. The agricultural sector did not

see any significant technological developments the nomad chieftains had no interest

in building the agricultural economy. Inflation

cheap silver decline in overland trade

Plagued by the expense of firearms and by the reluctance of nomad warriors to use firearms. Shah Abbas responded by establishing a slave

corps of year-round professional soldiers armed with guns.

The Safavids never had a navy Relied on the English and the Dutch.

An Afghan army took advantage of this Captured Isfahan and ended Safavid rule in 1722.

Decline: Military Crisis

Mughal Empire

Rise In Power

Babur invaded and conquered Northern India.

So began the Mughal Dynasty in 1526.

The Mughals trace their heritage back to the Mongols (1258-1335) and the Timurids (1370-1501).

Mughal is Arabic for Mongol.

Major LeadersBabur (r. 1526-1530)

• Military general who led his people to victory

• Writer, loved music and art

• Did little to administer the empire

Akbar (r. 1556-1605)

• Great military commander

• Expanded the dynasty to twice the size of what it was

• Reformed government

• Accepted Hinduism –

•allowed intermarriage, no tax on non-Muslims, Hindus allowed high government positions, allowed Hindu temples to be built

• Created the Din-i-Ilahi a new religion mixing all monotheistic faiths with Hinduism did not survive Akbar’s death

Major Leaders

Jahangir (r.1605-1627)• Patron of the arts• Not the best ruler• Jahangir indulged in courtly luxuries, such as opium• Strong political and artistic influence of his wife, queen Nur Jahan

Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658)• Patron of the arts• Taj Mahal for his wife

• died in childbirth (14)

Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707)

• Restored Jaziya, the tax on non-Muslims.• Razed temples, built mosques on their foundations. • Forbade building of new temples, banned music at court, abolished ceremonies

Early History of the Mughals

Art and Literature- Illustrated books

flourished Miniatures-Small

highly detailed, colorful paintings

Hindu literature also saw a resurgence during Akbar’s time

Form of Government• Emperor had absolute power

• Viziers – royal officials

• Patrons of the arts

• Wives of emperors gained power

• Anyone could gain high office

Illustration from the Babur Nama

Festivities During the Occasion of the Coronation of Jahangir

Religious Beliefs / Policy

• Belief in God – Islamic

• Muslim and Hindu subjects

• Akbar and the Din-i-Ilahi faith

• Aurangzeb – Did not tolerate Hindus

Role of Women The Mughals treated women

with respect. Outlawed sati

Babur and his officials often asked women for their reasons and information on political affairs

Women could own land and they were paid salaries for their work educated and they learned how

to paint and write poetry could participate in business

activities. Elite women gained influence Women were patrons of the arts

Major Achievements• Enormous army

• Cotton textiles

• Polo

• Artwork – influence from Europe

• Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Akbar’s Tomb

• Literature: Baburnama (literally: "Book of Babur“)

Decline of the Mughal Empire

Emperors neglect people Bureaucracy was corrupt Army backwards in technology and tactics High taxes on people Lack of tolerance for Hinduism Tried to conquer all of India Peasant uprisings European intervention (Portuguese, British, and

French) East Indian Companies fought for trading rights

Common Elements of Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires Empires based on military conquest

(“gunpowder empires”) Prestige of dynasty dependent on piety and

military prowess of the ruler Steppe Turkish traditions

Issuance of unilateral decrees Intra-family conflicts over power

1595 Sultan massacres 19 brothers (some infants), 15 expectant women (strangulation with silk)

Agriculture and Trade American crops effect less dramatic change

in Muslim empires Coffee, tobacco important Initial opposition from conservative circles, fearing

lax morality of coffee houses Trade with English East India Company,

French East India Company, and Dutch East India Company

Economic and Military Decline Foreign trade controlled by Europeans

various East India Companies Military, administrative network expensive to

maintain Janissaries mutiny when paid with debased

coinage, 1589, other revolts follow Unproductive wars Islamic Empires make no attempt to regulate

trade internally or efforts externally European military technology advances

faster than Empires could purchase it

Religious Diversity: Muslims + Ottoman Empire: Christians, Jews Safavid Empire: Zoroastrians, Jews,

Christians Mughal Empire: Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians,

Christians, Sikhs Mughal Akbar most tolerant

Received Jesuits politely, but feared committing to any one religion would alienate many of his subjects

Cultural Conservatism Europeans actively studying Islamic cultures

for purposes of trade, missionary activities Islamic empires less interested in outside

world Swiftly fell behind in technological

development E.g. Jews from Spain establish 1st printing press

in Anatolia in late 15th century But printing of books in Turkish and Arabic

forbidden until 1729 Handwritten books preferred, but weak levels of

dissemination

Maritime Worlds of Maritime Worlds of IslamIslam

1500-17001500-1700

Muslims in Southeast Asia Conversion and the formation of Muslim

communities began in port cities and royal courts in the fourteenth century Islam functioned as a political ideology that

strengthened resistance to European incursions Archipelago of Indonesia

Royal courts and port cities began to adopt the more orthodox practices advocated by pilgrims returning from Arabia the rural people incorporated pre-Muslim religious

and social practices

Muslims in Coastal Africa Swahili Coast

Coastal cities were not well connected with each other

Little contact with the people of their dry hinterlands. thick bush separated the tracts

of coastal land the cities competed with each

other for trade. The Portuguese conquered

all of the Swahili ports except for Malindi, which cooperated with Portugal. Between 1650 and 1729, the

Arabs of Oman drove the Portuguese out of the Swahili Coast and created a maritime empire of their own.

Europeans in the Indian Ocean Dutch drove the Portuguese out of the Malacca in

1641 conquered local kingdoms on Sumatra and Java, established a colonial capital at Batavia (now Jakarta). impossible to maintain monopoly control over the spice

market. turned to crop production, focusing on lumber and coffee.

English and French established coastal trading in India (East India Companies) Mughals cooperated England gains control over

all trade in India following the Seven Years War (1756-1763)