Ch 20: The Muslim Empires

The Ottomans

• Seljuk Turkic kingdom collapsed after Mongol invasions in 1243, Ottomans took advantage of Seljuk weakness

• Ottomans expanded from Anatolia into Europe & Middle East in 1350s (see pg 452)

• Mehmed II, the Conqueror, took Constantinople in what year?!?!

• Ottoman Empire strong enough to threaten Vienna as late as 1683

• Warrior aristocracy became very important in the OE

• Janissaries: elite infantry, usually forced into the military as young boys; provided with education, experts in firearms, gradually replaced cavalry

• By the mid-1500s, janissaries were so powerful they began to wield strong political influence

Government

• Technically the sultans were absolute monarchs, but janissaries & Muslim scholars often challenged their rule & helped govern

• Ottomans were usually effective governors of conquered territories, mostly tolerated “peoples of the book”

• Daily functions of the empire carried out by a large bureaucracy & grand vizier

• Plagued by succession crises, just like the old Islamic states

Culture

• OE is very diverse, spanning 3 continents• Mehmed II restores Constantinople to former

glory; converts Hagia Sophia to a mosque, builds aqueducts, rebuilds walls

• Ottoman architecture flourishes• The Suleymaniye Mosque is built in the 1550s• Markets & coffeehouses thrive in the capitol city• Government closely regulated trade. Why is this

ironic? Did they inherit this tradition?• Turkic language used widely by 1600s

Decline

• OE was basically built on expansion; once lands for expansion ran out (around 1700), the OE slowly declined in power

• Corruption among officials grew, increasingly difficult to manage massive empire

• Sultans became weak & irrelevant• Improvements in weapon tech

discouraged by janissaries. Why?

• Battle of Lepanto, 1571: OE lost control of E. Mediterranean

• More importantly, new routes to India & E. Asia reduced OE’s economic/political status

• Dismissal of Euro ideas further caused OE to fall behind

Lepanto: Catholic Nations defeats Ottomans off the coast

of Greece in 1571

ANSWER:The Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto, by the Italian painter Paolo VeroneseBackground info: Several European Catholic nations unite to defeat the Ottoman navy in 1571. Europeans were quick to claim that victory was a result of divine will, while Ottomans believed their defeat was a punishment from Allah.Questions:What is going on in this painting?Who painted it, and what might his beliefs be? What is the painter’s POINT OF VIEW?What other document and/or painting might be useful in order to analyze the Battle of Lepanto?

The Safavids

• Safavid dynasty would come to control Persia region, or modern-day Iran

• Began as a religious campaign by Sufi mystics wanting to purify Islam

• When Mongols retreated in 1300s, Sail al-Din and his Red Heads spread Safavid Empire

• Isma’il proclaimed shah (emperor) in 1501• Expansion caused clashes with OE• Safavids practiced Shi’i brand of Islam

Let’s Review...

• The Sunni / Shi’i split occurred in Islam after Muhammad’s death in 632; the split originated over succession

• None of Muhammad’s sons survived into adulthood, so hereditary succession not possible; Abu Bakr, a close friend of Muhammad’s, elected first caliph

• Sunni: supported Abu Bakr as caliph• Shi’i: argued that Ali, Muhammad’s cousin &

son-in-law, should be caliph• Over time, other differences developed

• Most Muslims in OE were Sunnis

• Battle of Chaldiran: epic clash in 1514; Safavid cavalry gets shredded by Ottoman guns

• Battle stopped advance of Safavids & Shi’i Islam, but Ottomans turned west instead of invading Persia

Government & Religion

• Formed an aristocratic warrior class like the OE

• Used slave boys from S. Russia for troops• Abbas the Great: ruled from 1587-1629,

improved military & power of the shah; turned to Europeans to learn about weapon tech.

• Language of the government was Persian• Safavid shahs claimed descent from Ali

• Strong government control over religion

• Peoples of all faith pressured to convert to Shi’i Islam

• Under Abbas I, roads & rest houses built, workshops to produce Persian rugs, colleges

• Capitol was Isfahan during Abbas reign

Women

• Both the OE & Safavids were very restrictive societies for women

• Within the family, women were subordinate to husband or father

• Seclusion and veiling imposed on women of all classes

• Recent evidence suggests women did have some freedoms, but overall it was a bleak picture for Muslim women

Decline

• Paranoid about his sons, Abbas I killed or blinded all of them; a series of weak rulers followed

• Raiders from all directions took Safavid territory from 1629-1722

• In 1722, Isfahan fell to an Afghani army, ending the Safavid dynasty

• After the 1720s, Persia would be a battleground for others to fight over

Comparing the Empires

Similarities• Large influence from

warrior aristocrats• Heavy burdens placed

on peasants• Encourage commerce

and public works• Very restrictive on

women• Islam practiced, but

tolerated other religions

Differences• Sunni vs. Shi’i• Ottomans more

advanced in trade & commerce

• Safavids relied more heavily on assistance from Europe, Ottomans mostly turned down European help

Mughal India

• Founded by Babur in 1526; Babur was a king in central Asia but had lost his throne, so he invaded India

• Babur’s 12,000 men defeat 100,000 man army of the Lodi dynasty at Panipat; used gunpowder, cavalry tactics, & scared the Lodi elephants to win

• Mughal rule of northern India would be challenged until 1560

Akbar

• In 1560, Babur’s grandson Akbar comes to the Mughal throne; he is recognized as one of the greatest leaders in history

• Akbar is a great general, patron of the arts, but illiterate

• Akbar extended Mughal rule over much of India through force, but compromised with various groups

• Ended the jizya (non-Muslim tax), promoted Hindus in his government, allowed the building of Hindu temples, & ordered Muslims to respect cows

• Akbar actually invents a new religion called Din-i-Ilahi, hoping it could unite Muslims & Hindus in India

• Like the OE, warrior class given privileges and estates of villages/peasants

• Akbar builds houses for the poor, limits consumption of alcohol, & tries to advance the position of women

• Encouraged widows to remarry, discourages child marriage, & bans sati

• India enjoys civil peace during Akbar’s reign

After Akbar

• Akbar dies in 1605, but Mughal India would reach its peak in the centuries afterward

• Contact with Europe increases, & Indian cloth & textiles become immensely popular with Europeans

• Akbar’s successors left much of his reforms & managing style intact, but focused on pleasure rather than politics

• Artworks take off, including the Taj Mahal

• Jahangir ruled from 1605-1627 & Shah Jahan from 1627-1658; their wives would actually run India

• Jahangir’s wife Nur Jahan would run the empire, but died giving birth to 19th child

• Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtza Mahal had less power, she is buried in the Taj Mahal

• Despite this, women’s status in India declined after Akbar

Decline

• Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb came to the throne in 1658

• Aurangzeb was smart & hard-working, but wanted to extend Mughal control & purify Islam from Hindu influences

• Succeeded in conquering all of India, but exhausted treasury in the process

• Discriminated more against Hindus, & reinstated the jizya

• Mughal India became weak & decentralized

• 1200-1350: _______ retreat from Middle East• 1281: Founding of the _______ dynasty• 1350s: Ottomans conquer ______ Peninsula• 1501-1510: ________s conquer Persia• 1526: _______ dynasty founded by Babur• 1683: Last Ottoman siege of ______ fails• 1722: Fall of the _______ dynasty