The Muslim Empires, 1450-1800

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THE MUSLIM EMPIRES, 1450-1800

The Ottoman Empire The Rule of the Safavids The Grandeur of the Moguls

The Ottoman Empire

Objectives: 1. Discuss how the Ottoman Turks used rearms to expand their lands and appointed local rulers to administer conquered regions 2. Characterize the creation of a strong Ottoman Empire with religious tolerance and artistic achievements

Rise of the Ottoman Turks


A new leader, Osman, built a new power in the *Anatolian Peninsula The Osman Turks were originally peaceful pastoralists When the Seljuk Empire began to decline in the 14th century, the Osman Turks expanded creating the *Ottoman Empire

Eventually, they controlled the *Bosporus and the Dardanellestwo straits separated by the *Sea of Marmara By the 14th century, The Ottoman Turks expanded into the *Balkans The ruler took the title sultan and created a strong military and an elite guard called *janissaries

Expansion of the Empire


The Fall of Constantinople
Under *Mehmet II, the Ottomans moved to end the Byzantine Empire and laid siege to Constantinople The Ottomans used massive cannons (26 foot barrels launching stone balls weighing 1,200 pounds) Constantinople fell in 1453 and was sacked for three days

Western Asia and Africa


They made Constantinople their new capitalremaining it *Istanbul The Ottoman Turks dominated the Balkans and the Anatolian Peninsula *Sultan Selim I, (1514-17) took control of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Arabia and declared himself the new caliph (controlling Mecca)

They advanced along the African coast controlling regions through local rulers *pashas, appointed ofcials who collected taxes on behalf of the Ottoman Turks

Europe
They took the Romanian territory of Walachia, Hungary, and into Austria as far as Viennatheir advance stopped in 1529, defeated by the HRE The Ottoman Empire remained occupied with internal problems By 1683, the Ottomans marched on Vienna, but were repulsed and were no longer a threat to central Europe

The Nature of Ottoman Rule


The Ottomans were a *gunpowder empire, formed by outsiders who unied regions through conquest by means of advanced artillery The head of the Ottoman system was the *sultan, supreme authority in both politics and militarya hereditary position.

They created a centralized administrative system and the sultan became isolated in Topkapi Palace and in his *harem The chief minister, the *grand vizier, led council meetings and the administration of the kingdom

Religion in the Ottoman World


Ottomans were Sunni Muslims only the descendants of the Umayyads are the rightful rulers The sultans gave their religious duties to a groups of religious advisers known as the *ulema Islamic law and customs were applied to all Muslims in the empire Non-Muslims paid a tax, but were allowed to practice their religion

Ottoman Society
The Empire was divided by occupation: ruling class was at the tope followed by four main groupspeasants, artisans, merchants, and pastoral peoples All land was ultimately owned by the Sultan Women were subject to the same restrictions as in other Muslim societies, but could own and inherit property and had limited divorce rights

Problems in the Ottoman Empire


The Empire reached its high point under Sleyman the Magnicent (1520-1566) He executed his two sons on suspicion of treason, leaving the empire to the lesser son Selim II Sultans eventually became less involved in government and constant wars depleted the treasury

The empire was strongly inuenced by ideas from the West wearing Western clothes and purchasing Western furniture and art The Europeans borrowed Ottoman military technology and also bought Ottoman art and furniture

Ottoman Art
Architecture was the greatest Ottoman contribution to art *Sinan, the greatest of all Ottoman architects, built 81 mosques His masterpiece was the Suleimaniye Mosque in Istanbul Silk industry resurfaced and boomed under Ottoman rule

Objectives: 1. Discuss how the Ottoman Turks used rearms to expand their lands and appointed local rulers to administer conquered regions 2. Characterize the creation of a strong Ottoman Empire with religious tolerance and artistic achievements

The Rule of the Safavids

Objectives: 1. Relate how the Safavids used their faith as a unifying force to bring Turks and Persians together 2. Describe how the Safavid dynasty reached its height under Shah Abbas

After the collapse of the empire of Timur Lenk power shifted to a new dynasty called *Safavidsardent Shiites from *Azerbaijan, near *Caspian Sea It was founded by *Shah Ismail and in 1501, they seized Iran and Iraq Ismail sent missionaries to Anatolia to convert the Turkish tribes and ordered the massacre of Sunni Muslims; The Shiite faith unied the Safavid

Rise of the Safavid Dynasty

Glory and Decline


Under *Shah Abbas (1588 to 1629) the Safavids reached the high point of their glory He strengthened his army and armed them with the latest weapons Shah Abbas moved against the Ottomans, aided by the European states After the death of Shah Abbas, the Safavid dynasty lost its vigor

Persian women had considerable freedom during the early empire, ultimately lost under the Safavid The Afghan peoples invaded and seized the capital of Isfahan, causing political c to emerge

Political and Social Structures


The majority of the people were Persian but the society was a blend of Turkish and Persian elements The Social Pyramid: the shah were at the top, the bureaucracy and landed classes in the middle, and common people at the bottom

The Role of the Shah


The Safavid rulers were supported by the Shiites, believing the shah was a direct successor of the prophet Muhammad This shah appointed senior positions in the bureaucracy based on merit rather than birth

Persia witnessed an extraordinary owering of the arts during the reign of Shah Abbas from 1588 to 1629 Silk weaving based on new techniques ourished and carpet weaving exploded *Riza-i-Abbasi created exquisite works on simple subjectsfarming, hunters, and lovers

Safavid Culture

Objectives: 1. Relate how the Safavids used their faith as a unifying force to bring Turks and Persians together 2. Describe how the Safavid dynasty reached its height under Shah Abbas

The Grandeur of the Moguls

Objectives: 1. Explain how the Moguls united India under a single government with a common culture 2. Discuss how the introduction of foreigners seeking trade opportunities in India hastened the decline of the Mogul Empire

The Mogul Dynasty


In 1500, the Indian subcontinent was divided into a number of Hindu and Muslim kingdoms The Moguls established a new dynasty and brought a new era of unity to the region The founder of the Mogul dynasty was *Babur, descendant from Timur Lenk and from Genghis Khan

They had smaller forces but more advanced artillery Babur captured *Delhi and established his power in North India

The Reign of Akbar


Baburs grandson was only 14 when he came to the throne By 1605, he had brought Mogul rule to most of India The empire appeared highly centralized but was actually a collection of semi-independent states held together by the emperor Though Muslim, he adopted a policy of religious tolerance particularly Hindu practices

The upper ranks of the government bureaucracy were lled with non-native Muslims with lowerlevel positions called *zamindars lled with Hindus All peasants were required to pay 1/3 of their annual harvest to the state

Akbar died in 1605 and was succeeded by his son Jahangir who strengthened the central government His Persian son *Shah Jahan expanded the boundaries of the empire into the *Deccan Plateau but failed to deal with domestic problems Raised taxes to fund building projects and war efforts The empire was ripped apart by his two sons*Aurangzeb put his brother to death and imprisoned his father

Decline of the Moguls

By 1650, British trading forts had been established at Surat (now *Calcutta) and *Chennai British success in India attracted rivalsthe French established their own forts Sir Robert Clive served as the chief representative in India of the East India Company, a private company empowered by the British Crown He fought any French or Indian threat in India

The British in India

He forbade both *suttee, gambling, and drinking, reversing the Mogul policies of religious tolerance Hindus were forced to convert to Islam In reaction, revolts against imperial authority broke out in provinces throughout the empire In 1739, Delhi was sacked by the Persians, who left it in ashes

The Indian ruler of Bengal had attacked Fort William in 1756 The British garrison was thrown into the underground prison called the Black Hole of Calcuttanearly all died Clive led the Battle of Plassey in Bengal, a victory over a Mogul-led army; From this victory, the BEI Company could collect taxes around Calcutta In the eighteenth century, the BEI Co. pressed inland

Society and Daily Life in Mogul India

The Muslims ruled a large Hindu population Major differences existed in the role of WomenMogul women held an relatively equal position (property, business, etc.) Islamic law restrictions also were placed on women, but Hindu class structure was the most effective social construction for keeping women in their place Child marriage remained common

Mogol Culture

The Mogols brought together Persian and Indian inuences in a new and beautiful architectural style *Taj Mahal, built in *Agra by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal Another major artistic achievement of the Mogul period was in paintinga blend of Persian and Indian culture Akbar encouraged artists to imitate European art forms

Objectives: 1. Explain how the Moguls united India under a single government with a common culture 2. Discuss how the introduction of foreigners seeking trade opportunities in India hastened the decline of the Mogul Empire

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