The Gunpowder Empires Ottomans Safavids Mughals and Early

The Gunpowder Empires Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals and Early Modern Europe 1450 1750 1

Rule of the Ottomans 2

The Ottoman Empire (1289 1923) • Osman leads bands of semi nomadic Turks to become ghazi: Muslim religious warriors – Captures Anatolia with light cavalry and volunteer infantry – Later, heavy cavalry – In Balkans, forced Christian families to surrender young boys to military service: devshirme – Often grew up to be exceptionally loyal Janissaries 3

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The Silk Rope or the Golden Cage • Beginning with the Sultan Bayazit I, policy of fratricide – Killed 19 of his male siblings and drowned 7 pregnant harem girls – Carried out by deaf, mute eunuch assassins used silk rope for strangulation – Became matter of written law for future sultans • Distance from throne at death of father, could decide next sultan. First order was to kill his brothers • Sultan Ahmet I broke fratricide tradition by imprisoning mentally challenged brother in the Kafe or Golden Cage. 5

Kafe or Golden Cage (interior) • Extravagant prison cell • Windows only on second floor • Slot for delivering food. 6

Sultan's Family Tree 7

Mehmed II (“the Conqueror, ” r. 1451 1481) • Capture of Constantinople, 1453 • Renamed Istanbul • Transformation from warrior sultan to emperor of “two lands” (Europe, Asia) and “two seas” (Black Sea, Mediterranean) • Planned to capture Pope, unsuccessful 8

Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520 1566) • Expanded into Asia, Europe • Besieged Vienna, 1529 • Develops naval power 9

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• I. The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders The Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires • Mid 1200 s, Mongols defeat Seljuks – Ottomans emerge dominant • Into Balkans, 14 th, 15 th centuries – 1453, take Constantinople • Expansion – Middle East, north Africa, Europe – Dominate Mediterranean A. A State Geared to Warfare--Military dominant – Turkic horsemen become warrior nobility – Janissary infantry – Conscripted youth from conquered peoples 11

B. The Sultans and their Court • Use factions against each other • Vizier • Oversees large bureaucracy • Succession • No clear rules Expansion of the Ottoman Empire C. Constantinople Restored and the Flowering of Ottoman Culture • Suleymaniye mosque, 16 th century • Commercial center • Government control of trade, crafts • Artisan guilds 12

D. The Problem of Ottoman Decline • Strong until late 1600 • Decline • Extended • Infrastructure insufficient • Dependent on conquest • End of conquest brings deficiencies • Regional leaders divert revenue • Sultans less dynamic 13

E. Military Reverses and the Ottoman Retreat • Janissaries • Conservative • Stop military, technological reform • Lepanto, 1571 • Defeated by Spain, Venice • Turks lose control of eastern Mediterranean • Portuguese outflank Middle East trade • Sail around Africa into Indian Ocean • Victories over Muslim navies • Inflation • Caused by New World bullion • Comes at same time as loss of revenue from control of trade 14

STRIPPING THE EMPIRE 15

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INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH 17

Armenian Genocide, 1915 18

The Safavid Empire • Ismail young military leader, r. 1501 1524 • Orphaned, parents killed by enemies • Becomes Shah, proclaims official religion of realm Twelver Shiism – Twelve infallible imams after Muhammad – 12 th imam in hiding, ready to take power – Wore distinctive red hat, called quzilbash (“red heads”) • Empire called Safavid, after Safi al Din (1252 1334), Sufi thinker 19

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Shiite Pilgrims at Karbala 21

Battle of Chaldiran (1514) • Ottoman Selim the Grim attacks Safavids • Heavy use of Ottoman gunpowder technology give them the upper hand • Ismail escapes, two centuries of ongoing conflict • Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588 1629) revitalizes weakened Safavid empire – Reforms administration, military – Expands trade – Military expansion 22

The Safavid Empire • II. The Shi’a Challenge of the Safavids • Safavid family – Sufi preachers, mystics – Sail al Din – Leads revival – 1501, Ismâ'il takes Tabriz – Named shah • Chaldiran, 1514 – Safavids defeated by Ottomans 23

A. Politics and War under the Safavid Shahs • Tahmasp I – Becomes shah • Abbas I (1587 1629) – Height of Ottoman Empire – Persians as bureaucrats • B. State and Religion – Adopt Persian after Chaldiran – Also Persian court traditions – Shi'ism modified – Spreads to entire empire • C. Elite Affluence and Artistic Splendor • Abbas I supports international trade, Islamic culture – Building projects – Mosques in Isfahan 24

D. Society and Gender Roles: Ottoman and Safavid Comparisons Commonalities • Warrior aristocracies • Move to rural estates after conquest • Threat to central power • Imperial workshops • Artisans patronized • International trade encouraged • Women lose freedom • Subordinate to fathers, husbands 25

– E. The Rapid Demise of the Safavid Empire – Abbas I – Removes heirs – Weak grandson inherits – Decline begins – Internecine conflict • Religious power of mullas weakens dynastic control – Outside threats from Afghani Kurds • 1772, Isfahan taken by Afghanis – Nadir Khan Afshar supports exiled shah and unites • Declares self Shah, 1736 26

The Mughal Empire • Zahir al Din Muhammad (Babur the Tiger), Chagatai Turk, invades northern India for plunder, 1523 • Gunpowder technology gives Babur advantage • Founds Mughal (Persian for Mongol) dynasty • Expands through most of Indian subcontinent 27

Akbar (r. 1556 1605) • Grandson of Babur • Wins fear and respect after throwing Adham Khan, leader of the army, out the window twice – Second time just to make sure he was dead • Created centralized government • Destroyed Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar • Religiously tolerant, promoted “Divine Faith” – Syncretic form of Islam and Hinduism 28

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Aurangzeb (r. 1659 1707) • Expands Mughal empire into southern India • Hostile to Hinduism – Demolished Hindu temples, replaced with mosques – Tax on Hindus to encourage conversion 30

• III. The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India • Babur • Driven from Afghanistan • Invades India, 1526 • Turkic Panipat, 1526 Defeats Muslim Lodi dynasty – Khanua, 1527 • Defeats Hindu confederation – 1530, death • Succeeded by Humayn The Growth of the Mughal Empire from Akbar to Aurangzeb 31 • Flees to Persia

– A. Akbar and the Basis for a Lasting Empire – Humayn's 13 year old son – Reconciliation with Hindus – New religion, Din i Ilahi • Blend of Islam and Hinduism – Toleration – B. Social Reform and Social Change Women – Position improved – Widows encouraged to remarry – Child marriages discouraged – Sati prohibited – Seclusion undermined by women's market days 32

• C. Mughal Splendor and Early European Contacts Death of Akbar • Reforms don't survive • Empire strong • Cotton textiles to Europe • Especially among laboring and middle classes • D. Artistic Achievement in the Mughal Era Jahangir and Shah Jahan, 17 th century • Continue toleration • Less energetic • Support arts • Taj Mahal 33

• E. Court Politics and the Position of Elite and Ordinary Women Nur Jahan • Wife of Jahangir • Head of powerful faction Mumtaz Mahal • Wife of Shah Jahan • Also powerful • Ordinary women • Position declines • Sati spreads among upper classes • Other of Akbar's reforms die out 34

• F. The Beginnings of Imperial Decline Aurangzeb • Succeeds Shah Jahan • Programs – Rule all India – Cleanse Islam of Hindu taint • 1707, controls most of India – Expensive, distracting • Other developments disregarded – Revolt – Autonomy of local leaders • Hindus exluded from high office • Non Muslims taxed • Marattas and Sikhs challenge rule 35

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 – Close relations with Sufism, ghazi tradition • 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) 36

Women and Politics • Women officially banned from political activity • But tradition of revering mothers, 1 st wives from Chinggis Khan • Süleyman the Magnificent defers to concubine Hürrem Sultana – Originally Roxelana, Ukrainian woman – Convinces husband to murder eldest son in favor of her own child 37

Agriculture and Trade • Columbian Exchange crops effect less dramatic change in Muslim empires – Coffee, tobacco important – Initial opposition from conservative circles, fearing lax morality of coffee houses • Population growth also reflects territorial additions and losses • Trade with English East India Company, French East India Company, and Dutch East India Company(VOC) 38

Population Growth 39

Religious Diversity • Ottoman Empire: Christians, Jews • Safavid Empire: Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians • Mughal Empire: Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Christians, Sikhs • Mughal Akbar most tolerant – Received Jesuits politely, but resented Christian exclusivity – Enthusiastic about syncretic Sikhism, self serving “Divine Faith” 40

Status of Religious Minorities • Non Muslim protected people: dhimmi – Payment of special tax: jizya – Freedom of worship, property, legal affairs • Ottoman communities: millet system of self administration • Mughal rule: Muslims supreme, but work in tandem with Hindus – Under Akbar, jizya abolished – Reaction under Aurangzeb 41

Capital Cities • Istanbul cultural capital of Ottoman empire, massive monumental architecture • Rededication of Hagia Sofia church as Aya Sofiya mosque • Ishafan major Persian city • Akbar builds magnificent Fatehpur Sikri – Chooses site without sufficient water supply, abandoned – Taj Mahal example of Mughal architecture 42

Deterioration of Imperial Leadership • Ottoman princes become lazy through luxury – Selim the Sot (r. 1566 1574) – Ibrahim the Crazy (r. 1640 1648) • Attempts to isolate them compounds the problem • Religious tensions between conservatives and liberals intensify – Role of women • Wahhabi movement in Arabia denounces Ottomans as unfit to rule – Force destruction of observatory, printing press • Safavid Shiites persecute Sunnis, non Muslims and even Sufis 43

Economic and Military Decline • Foreign trade controlled by Europeans • Military, administrative network expensive to maintain – Janissaries mutiny when paid with debased coinage, 1589, other revolts follow • Unproductive wars • European military technology advances faster than Ottomans can purchase it 44

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 1 st printing press in Anatolia in late 15 th century – But printing of books in Turkish and Arabic forbidden until 1729 • Handwritten books preferred, but weak levels of dissemination 45

THE END 46