The Mongols and Genghis Khan Genghis Khan Kublai
The Mongols and Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Kublai Khan (Grandson of Genghis)
The Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace) • Under Mongol control, trade flourished throughout Eurasia. • The old trade networks were revived and travel through these networks was considered to be very safe.
Marco Polo
How did Marco Polo’s journey help inspire Europeans to think Globally? • Marco Polo’s accounts of his adventures through Eurasia, revealed how advanced and luxurious the east had become. These accounts aroused Europeans curiosity about the east and created a desire for the luxuries he had described.
The Gunpowder Empires (~1450 -1650)
What happens when an empire has access to technology which other people don’t possess?
Gunpowder Empires which arose in Islamic Eurasia, which possessed new technology (cannons, muskets, etc. ) which helped them control large and diverse empires with powerful centralized governments.
3 Main Gunpowder Empires • The Ottoman Empire • The Safavid Empire • The Mughal (Moghal) Empire
The Ottomans • Turkish nomadic people from Central Asia (like the Seljuk Turks). • Expanded through Asia Minor. • 1453 – Used cannons to blast holes in Constantinople’s defenses and capture it. Renamed it Istanbul.
The Ottoman Empire • The Ottomans established an empire which would last off and on until World War I ended (1918). • Adopted Sunni Islam as their religious and government (Sharia law) organization. • Very tolerant of the many religious groups within their empire. (Jews, Christians, etc. ) • Controlled the link between European and Asian trade.
The Janizaries
The Safavid Empire (Early 1500’s – 1722) • Controlled much of the old Persian empire. (modern day Iran) • Sandwiched between the other two Gunpowder empires. • Also Muslim, but Shiites. – Led to conflicts between them and their Ottoman Sunni neighbors.
Controlled the highly demanded silk trade.
• Non tolerance of other religions led to rebellions which would eventually end the Safavid empire. • However, Iran is still a strongly Shiite controlled nation.
The Mughal Empire (1526 -1857) • Modern day India, Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan. • Muslim armies had moved into the Indus Valley in AD 711. • Established Muslim Sultanates. (Sultans = Muslim rulers)
Muslim and Hindus Clash • Obvious differences between Hindus and Muslims led to religious clashes. – However, many Hindus converted to Islam to escape the caste system. – 1526 – Muslim Mongol and Turkish armies moved in and established the Mughal Empire. (Mughal = Persian for Mongol). – Mughal leaders controlled the lucrative and important Indian trade.
1947 - Pakistan is created due to tensions between Muslims and Hindus. 1971 Civil War turns east Pakistan into Bangladesh.
Overarching Question? ? • How did the establishment of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires affect Europeans? – These new and powerful empires controlled all of the key overland trade routes from Asia to Europe. • The Ottomans controlled the ends of the routes. • The Safavids controlled the Silk road and thus the Silk trade. • The Mughals controlled the important Indian trade. • If European Christians wanted the luxuries of the east, they would have to go through the Muslim middle-men.
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