Land Empires Ottoman Safavid and Mughal Empires often

Land Empires

Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires – often referred to as “Gunpowder Empires

Ottoman 1300 -1922 AKA – Seljuk Turks Located in modern Day Turkey (Anatolia) Able to quickly expand conquer the Balkans, Southeast Europe, Anatolia, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia – basically all of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and large portions of North Africa Others saw them as a world power after defeating the Byzantine Empire, leading to their demise in 1453

Ottoman had a small navy, but had a very strong land based army made of soldiers called Janissaries These Janissary were elite soldiers/bureaucrats that had access to the best training and technology in the world. Success b/c of guns, cannons, excellent training, and the Devshirme system

Ottoman Cosmopolitan – Empire was a mix of Christian, Sunni Muslim, and Jewish people, but the entire ruling class was Sunni Muslim, and spoke an entirely different language from the commoners. Although tolerant, the Ottoman certainly favored Muslims, making it a requirement to be a government official

Ottoman The Ottoman were tolerant of non-Muslims. Non-Muslims paid a dhimmi tax, but they were allowed to practice their religion or to convert to Islam. Experienced inflation from silver flowing in from Europe, causing various economic problems

Safavid

Safavid 1500 -1700 Located in Modern Iran Almost Entirely Land. Based – Little to No Navy at all! Created by the dude to the right – Ismail, naming it after an ancestor, Safi Al-Din

Safavid Ismail converted entire empire to Shiite or Shia Islam, acting as the main cause for modern Iran to maintain these beliefs today. Reminder – Shiism is a branch of Islam that believes the leader of Islam had to be directly related by blood to Muhammad’s son-in-law – Ali. Also had an elite fighting force – Qizilbash. These soldiers pledged absolute allegiance to Ismail and the Safavid state. Because they are Shiite, and the Ottoman are Sunni, these empires fought frequently, and as a result this furthered the conflict and tension in future relations between these two branches of Islam

Safavid Isfahan is the capitol. Not as cosmopolitan (diverse) as Istanbul. Speak mostly Persian and use it in government. Can broadly be considered a more modern and smaller Persian Empire (culturally) Money from Persian rugs, most people live on subsistence farming. Practiced Flagellation per the beliefs of Shiism Isfahan – notice blue tile on dome

Mughal

Mughal - 1520 -1760 Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and united the Hindu and Muslim kingdoms of India. He was a descendant of Mongol conquerors Mughal is Persian word for Mongol. Defeated last sultan of Delhi in 1526, and expanded west using guns/cannons Cotton-based economy – engaged heavily in silver – cotton trade w/ Europe, not realizing how worthless silver had become in Europe from inflation

Mughal Akbar (not to be confused with admiral Akbar) is considered the greatest of the Mughal rulers – wanted to unite all of India Removed dhimmi tax (tax on non- Muslims), married a Hindu princess, showing an effort to remove barriers between Muslims and Hindus Spoke Urdu – Syncretic blend of Persian and native Indian language (modern day Hindi).

Mughal § Akbar made new “Divine Faith” incorporating Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Sikh and Christian beliefs. § Sikhism (last major world religion we will introduce) developed under Guru Nanak using meditation to seek enlightenment and drew on Hindu and Muslim religious beliefs. No caste (social class) – great example of syncretism § Created in the context of a divided India in an effort to unite Hindus and Muslims

Mughal Shah Jahan ruled from 1628 to 1658. He is best known for the Taj Mahal – an Islamic mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This is the finest piece of Mughal architecture. It combines Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic styles. Continued use of monumental architecture to legitimize rule! SYMBOL OF DIFFUSION/ SYNCRETISM!

Mughal Aurangzeb took over from his father, Shah Jahan. He’s a jerk. Undoes all of the unifying efforts of Akbar, and turns India into a hostile environment, leading to rebellion Mughal breaks apart from outside and inside forces, leaves them open to European arrival (British)

What to make of all of this The rise and fall of these Land empires represents a changing world order. Power was once represented by size of land holdings and armies, but the inability for any of these empires to grow to the size of the past (Mongols, Romans, Persians), suggests that there has been a permanent shift in how power is gained and maintained. As these empires fall in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, a new source of power emerges: Power from maritime trade, naval power, and ownership of colonies (Imperialism). The trade these empires have with Europe is further securing the emerging strength of European empires. Meanwhile, Europeans ships, maps, and navigation tools are better, joint-stock companies made trade on a global scale “efficient & flexible” allowing empires like the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and British to dominate both Atlantic and Indian Ocean Trade. In this period Christianity missionizes intensely through Indian Ocean Trade Routes (Jesuits), yet despite this many maintain their Muslim faith, something that started to symbolize a resistance to European dominance in East Africa, South, East and SE Asia.