The Muslim Empires summary
The Muslim Empires summary
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The Muslim Empires summary
Chapter 26 The Muslim Empires
- Introduction
Between 1450 and 1750, the growth of three great empires, continued trading contacts, and the dissemination of the Islamic faith typified the Islamic zone. Although the growth of the Western trade system had relatively little internal impact on the Muslim empires, the Western nations were establishing the commercial bases for economic dominance after the eighteenth century.
In the wake of the nomadic incursion of the Mongols and the armies of Timur, three great empires coalesced: the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid. These three empires were characterized by military power based on gunpowder, political absolutism, and a cultural renaissance. The empires differed in the ethnic complexity of their territories and their allegiance to Shi'ism or Sunni Islam.
- The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders
- Introduction
The Mongols destroyed both the Abbasid empire and the Seljuk dominance of the Middle East. In the aftermath of the Mongol withdrawal, the Ottomans under Osman became the dominant force in Asia Minor. By the middle of the fourteenth century, the Ottomans had extended their control over the lands of the Balkans. Temporarily untracked by the advance of Timur's forces, the Ottomans recovered under Mehmed I. In 1453, Mehmed II besieged and conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. In the two hundred years after the fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans extended their control over much of the Middle East and North Africa. Ottoman navies seized control of the eastern Mediterranean while land forces pressed into southeastern Europe.
- A State Geared to Warfare
Ottoman society was based on war. The original Turkic cavalry developed into an aristocracy with much control over land and resources. The aristocracy yielded Constantinople to the sultans, but built up local power bases. By the mid- fifteenth century, the sultans came to rely on infantry forces, the Janissaries, forcibly conscripted from among the conquered Christian populations of the Balkans. Given control over firearms and artillery, the Janissaries became the most potent part of the Ottoman military and became involved in court politics.
- The Sultans and Their Court
Sultans maintained power by balancing other sources of authority the Janissaries, the military aristocracy, and the religious scholars. Ottoman administration, although brutal, was often efficient. Over time, the elaborate Ottoman court grew isolated from the people. A vizier headed the central bureaucracy of the empire and often wielded the real authority within the government. Sons of sultans got experience through posts as regional military commanders or governors. Without a principle of succession, deaths of sultans often led to civil and external strife among the rival claimants.
- Constantinople Restored and the Flowering of Ottoman Culture
Following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, sultans restored the city and began a campaign of building. The most spectacular additions were mosques, such as the Suleymaniye. Sultans also sponsored the construction of schools, hospitals, and rest houses. Bazaars and markets did business in international goods. Coffee houses provided a public forum for debate and religious discussion. The artisans of Constantinople formed guilds. Unlike the West, the Ottoman government retained close supervision of commerce and guild organization. By the seventeenth century, the primary language of the Ottoman court was Turkish.
- The Problem of Ottoman Decline
The Ottoman Empire managed to maintain its vigor into the late seventeenth century. At that time the empire, which was overextended, began to retreat from its most distant borders in Europe and the Middle East. Once the Ottoman Empire began to contract, its administrative structure, which had always depended on military expansion, began to deteriorate. Venality and corruption became more apparent at all levels of the bureaucracy. Oppressive taxation sparked resistance and flight among the peasantry. The ability of individual sultans also declined after the seventeenth century. Later sultans were often reduced to puppets dominated by viziers or the Janissaries.
- Military Reverses and the Ottoman Retreat
The Janissaries resistance to any military technology that might threaten their dominance caused the Ottoman Empire to fall behind Western nations. Ottoman armies became less threatening to the West. On the seas, the Ottoman defeat at Lepanto in 1571 signaled the end of their dominance of the Mediterranean. The Portuguese feat of reaching the Indian Ocean ended Muslim monopoly of trade with Asia. The influx of Bullion from the New World in the sixteenth century unsettled the stagnant Ottoman economy and introduced inflation. Competent sultans temporarily halted the Ottoman decline, but technological and cultural conservatism continued to cause the Ottoman Empire to disregard important changes in Europe. The Ottomans became progressively weaker in comparison to their Western rivals.
- The Shi'ite Challenge of the Safavids
- Introduction
Like the Ottomans, the Safavids emerged following the political wreckage of the Mongols. Of the Muslim empires, the Safavids alone adopted Shi'ite theology. The dynasty had its origins in a family of Sufi mystics. The first prominent member of the family, Sail al-Din was an evangelist among the Turkish tribes near the Caspian Sea. The family achieved military success under Isma'il. In 1501, Isma'il was proclaimed shah at Tabriz, the first capital. Although the Safavid successor of Isma'il extended their control to Iran and what is now Iraq, they were turned back by the Ottomans at the battle of Chaldiran in 1514 from attempts to penetrate farther west.
- Politics and War Under the Safavid Shahs
Following the defeat at Chaldiran, Isma'il's government deteriorated into a succession crisis. Order was restored under Tahmasp I, and Shah Abbas I extended Safavid territories to their greatest extent. The Turkic cavalry was, as in the Ottoman Empire, eventually established as a regional aristocracy that exploited the agrarian population. Increasingly, positions at the Safavid court were held by Persians to offset the Turkish aristocratic influence. Also like the Ottomans, Tahmasp I began the practice of recruiting a military force from among slaves captured in southern Russia. Shah Abbas I used the slave regiments and even elevated members of the unit to provincial governorships. Abbas imported European technology and military advisors to aid the Safavids in their conflicts with the Ottomans.
- State and Religion
After Chaldiran, Persian became the primary language of the court. Shahs also developed elaborate court rituals based, in part, on their claims to be descendants of one of the Shi'ite imams. The state officially supported Shi'ite theology and supervised education of religious leaders. Much of the Safavid population was converted to Shi'ism, occasionally by force. Shi'ism thus became a critical aspect of Iranian culture. When the rulers weakened, religious leaders, or mullahs, became an alternative source of authority, although never strong enough to challenge the shahs.
- Elite Affluence and Artistic Splendor
Shah Abbas I was most heavily involved in cultural patronage and commercial expansion. Abbas encouraged trade with Asia and Europe. He engaged in a program of public works, particularly at his capital of Isfahan. His financial support for the construction of mosques in Isfahan resulted in a series of spectacular architectural designs.
- Society and Gender Roles: Ottoman and Safavid Comparisons
The social hierarchy of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires was similar. The elite consisted of the military aristocracy in the countryside and the shahs and their courts. As the central government weakened, depredation of the regional aristocracy led to discontent and flight in the countryside among the peasantry. Both dynasties encouraged the growth of artisan organizations and craft production. Rulers in both governments fostered international trade, although the Safavid economy remained more constricted and less market oriented. Women in Ottoman societies faced legal and social restrictions. Households were patriarchal. There is some evidence that women of the Islamic heartlands opposed the increasing social restrictions. Many women remained active in trade.
- The Rapid Demise of the Safavid Empire
The Safavid decline after the reign of Abbas I was rapid. Abbas removed all obvious successors during his lifetime. Following his death, there was no capable heir. Subsequent rulers proved ineffective. Internal disorder plagued the empire, despite occasional able shahs. In 1722, the capital at Isfahan fell to Afghan tribesmen, effectively ending the dynasty. Order was temporarily reestablished under Nadir Khan Afshar, who proclaimed himself shah in 1736.
- The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India
- Introduction
In 1526 Babur, who had lost his kingdom in central Asia to other Turks, invaded India from Afghanistan. The booty from his raids in India supported unsuccessful campaigns to recover his initial kingdom. Babur's troops defeated the last of the Lodi rulers of Delhi at the battle of Panipat. Within two years of his entry into India, Babur controlled much of the Indus and Ganges River valleys. He established a capital at Delhi, but did little to reform the previous Lodi administration. He was succeeded in 1530 by his son Humayan. Within a decade rival forces drove Humayan into exile with the Safavids. Only in 1556 was Humayan able to restore the Mughal rule in India. He died within a year of his restoration.
- Akbar and the Basis for a Lasting Empire
Humayan's successor, Akbar, was the most successful of the Mughal rulers. Akbar rapidly developed a more centralized military and administrative system to govern India. After consolidating his hold on the government by 1560, Akbar expanded Mughal control over the Indian subcontinent. He attempted to join the Hindu and Mughal aristocracies of India through intermarriage. As a further incentive for Hindus to support the Mughal regime, Akbar abandoned the traditional Islamic tax on unbelievers. Hindu advisors and bureaucrats filled the Mughal administration. Akbar's most imaginative attempt to bridge the cultural differences between the Islamic elite and Hindus was his introduction of a new religion, the Din-i-Ilahi, which sought to combine beliefs of many faiths. The Muslim and Hindu aristocracy were granted lands in the countryside in return for pledges of military support. Local administration remained in the hands of local Hindu rulers who promised loyalty to the Mughals.
- Social Reform and Social Change
Akbar sought to improve living conditions through public works, living quarters for the urban poor, and regulation of alcohol. The ruler attempted to improve the condition of women in India. He permitted remarriage of widows, discouraged child marriages, and prohibited the practice of sati. Akbar encouraged merchants to establish separate market days for women.
- Mughal Splendor and Early European Contacts
Despite his administrative and military successes, Akbar's attempts to unify Muslims and Hindus failed. Mughal India reached the peak of its prosperity under Akbar's successors, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The Mughal cities and military power impressed European visitors, although the more perceptive noted the poverty of the masses and the lack of military discipline and advanced technology. Europeans came to India with products from Asia to exchange for the valuable cotton textiles of the subcontinent. Indian cotton became fashionable among all classes in Britain.
- Artistic Achievement in the Mughal Era
Neither Jahangir nor Shah Jahan attempted much administrative reform. Fundamental alliances between the Mughals and the Hindu elite remained unchanged. Both rulers favored an elaborate court. Jahangir and Shah Jahan were renowned patrons of the arts. Miniature painting and building were two of the areas that received much royal largesse. The Taj Mahal is only one of the famous structures completed during this era.
- Court Politics and the Position of Elite and Ordinary Women
In the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, royal women played an important role. Outside of the elite, the position of women in Indian society declined during the later Mughal era. Child marriage once again became popular, and widow remarriage effectively died out. Seclusion and veiling were common. Sati spread among upper-class Hindus.
- The Beginnings of Imperial Decline
The last of the powerful Mughals, Aurangzeb, inherited an empire in which expenditures for art and architecture rivaled military outlay. He determined to extend Mughal control to the entire Indian subcontinent and purify Islam of its Hindu influences. His successful campaigns to enlarge the Mughal Empire drained his treasury and increased his enemies. Even during his successful campaigns in the south, rebellions broke out in the north. Local rulers became increasingly autonomous.
Aurangzeb's religious policies threatened to break the long established alliance between the Mughal administration and the Hindu elite. Attempts to halt construction of Hindu temples and reimpose the tax on unbelievers increased resistance to his regime. Following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, rebellions tore the Mughal Empire apart. Islamic invaders, Hindu separatists, and Sikh revolutionaries caused centralized political control to break down. Regional political control under various rulers became the norm in India. Instability opened the door for European intervention.
- Conclusion: The Rise of Europe and the Eclipse of Islamic Civilization as the Pivot of the World Order
Internal weaknesses were sufficient to destroy the Muslim empires, but each also failed to recognize the threat to their dominance posed by the rise of the West. In technology and science, the Muslim regions fell behind as European nations advanced. Failure to take account of Europe also resulted in economic weakness. European trade empires in Asia removed one of the sources of profits for Islamic merchants. Inflation assaulted the regional price structure. What commerce that existed was often in the hands of religious minorities with contacts in Europe. Muslim contempt for what they regarded as the barbaric West proved to be a dangerous underestimation of European power.
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The Muslim Empires summary
CHAPTER 20: THE MUSLIM EMPIRES
Pages 448 – 475
SUMMARY
- The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders
From the devastation that the Mongol invasions brought to much of the Islamic heartlands, a new power arose in the 13th and 14th centuries. Founded by yet another Turkic people migrating from the central Asian steppes, the Ottoman dynasty gradually built an empire in the Eastern Mediterranean that rivaled the Abbasid imperium at its height. The Ottomans put an end to the Byzantine Empire and advanced into eastern and central Europe. The Ottomans built much of their empire on the ideas and institutions of earlier Muslim civilization. Internal weaknesses and the counteroffensives of their Muslim and European rivals reduced Ottoman power by the early 18th century. Increasingly the dynasty was forced to attempt administrative and social reforms to cope with the challenges from the expansive Western powers.
The Shi’ite Challenge of the Safavids
The Safavids founded a dynasty and conquered the region that makes up the present-day nation of Iran. From that point onward, Iran has been one of the strongest and most enduring centers of Shi’ism within the Islamic world. Under the Safavids, the Iranian region was restored as a center of political power and cultural activity at a level that it has rarely enjoyed since.
The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India
In the first decades of the 16th century, nomadic invaders established the most
powerful of a succession of Muslim dynasties in South Asia and spread the
power of the Mughal dynasty through most of the Indian subcontinent. Under
their rule, a brilliant civilization blending Hindu-Islamic cultures arose. By the
early 17th century, a familiar pattern of dynastic decline took hold. Wars of
succession and internal revolts led to a recurrence of political fragmentation and
sectarian strife that had dominated so much of south Asia’s long history.
Conclusion: The Rise of Europe and the Eclipse of Islamic Civilization
The internal causes of the decline of these Muslim empires were sufficient to destroy the gunpowder empires. But each state was also undermined because none of the dynasties took the rising threat from Europe seriously. While they called on Westerners for advice and trade, these states failed to take strong measures to meet the challenges of European overseas expansion, strengthen their economic foundations against penetration, and take an interest in Western learning.
CHAPTER REVIEW
What is a gunpowder empire and how is technology critical to its success?
What factors influenced the rise of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals?
How did the Ottomans, Mughals and Safavids govern their empires?
What led to the decline of the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid empires?
In the Safavid Empire, what was the relationship between religion and state?
Describe the intellectual achievements of the Muslim gunpowder states.
Describe gender roles and society in the three Muslim gunpowder empires.
Describe the relationship between European and Muslim empires.
VOCABULARY
Gunpowder empire
Ottomans
Safavids
Mughals
Janissaries
Red heads (Red Turbans)
Shah
Vizier
Imams, Mullahs, ayatollahs
Sikhs
Marattas
Sati
Din-I-llahi
MAP EXERCISES: Muslim Gunpowder Empires
Map 20.1: The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires (Page 451)
Map 20.2: The Expansion of the Ottoman Empire (Page 456)
Map 20.3: The Safavid Empire (Page 460)
Map 20.4: The Mughal Empire (Page 467)
Which state governs the
Largest empire?
Most multicultural?
Most populous?
How would the answers above make government difficult?
Which empire is nearest to Western Europe?
How would proximity to Europe affect an empire?
What modern states (see back of book) does each empire rule?
Ottoman Empire
Safavid Empire
Mughal Empire
Which state would be most dependent on seapower? Why?
Which state would be the easiest and most difficult to defend? Why?
PHOTO ESSAY: Accomplishments of the Muslim Gunpowder Empires
Describe artistic accomplishments in (Pages 448, 455, 465, and 472)
Painting.
Architecture.
Describe military accomplishments in (Pages 453 and 458)
Army.
Naval.
VISUALIZING THE PAST: The Basis of Imperial Power (Page 469)
What empire has the largest resource base? Why did you conclude this?
What empire would be most threatened by internal difficulties? Why?
How should this government rule its state most effectively?
Which nations would be most threatened by European navies? Why?
Which nation is most multinational? Why?
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS: An Islamic Traveler’s Laments (Page 459)
Document Analysis
Who wrote the document? (Attribution includes biographical references)
What is the author’s point of view?
How reliable is the document? Why?
What was the intent or purpose behind the document?
Who was the intended audience?
What is the document’s tone?
Conclusions
How might the Muslims’ neglect of Western studies have hurt or hindered Muslims in the future?
What reasons does Abu Taleb give for his fellow Muslims’ neglect of western studies?
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
What event was most directly responsible for the rise of the gunpowder empires in Turkey, Iran, and India and similar states in Tsarist Russia and Ming China?
The invention of gunpowder
The collapse of the Mongol Empire and its khanates
The arrival of West European merchants in the area
The revival of trade across Eurasia
Steppe nomads founded all five states
The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires possessed all of these shared characteristics EXCEPT all:
originated in Turkish nomadic cultures of the steppe.
were Muslim led.
were based on conquest and the use of military technologies.
began with absolutist rulers and efficient bureaucracies.
ruled predominantly Muslim populations.
The chief source of rivalry between the Ottomans and Safavids was
rivalry over control of trade in the Indian Ocean.
disagreement over the treatment of Christians within their empires.
religion – the Ottomans were Sunni and the Safavids were Shi’ites.
dynastic – both dynasties arose within the same ruling family.
their treatment of Hindu subjects.
The Ottoman advances into Central Europe ended
with their defeat by Germans, Poles, and Italians at the siege of Vienna.
when the Safavids invaded the Turkish empire.
with the Christian naval victory at Lepanto.
when Russia invaded the Turkish empire and reconquered Istanbul.
after France and Spain attacked the Ottoman Empire.
The class which initially dominated the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal states and social hierarchy was
descendant of slaves (Mameluks).
a military aristocracy.
the clergy.
the merchant class.
largely composed of intellectuals and scholars.
In order to supply its elites Janissaries and palace bureaucrats with soldiers, the Turks
used feudal troops.
relied on old Muslim nobles and aristocrats.
forcibly conscripted young Christian boys, converted them to Islam, and trained them.
imported trained foreigners and mercenaries.
relied on Muslim clergy.
All of these developments weakened the absolute and efficient rule of the Ottoman government EXCEPT:
powerful factions within the Janissaries and court bureaucrats.
harem politics by rival wives and their sons, who were potential heirs.
the hedonistic lifestyles of many sultans.
corruption and graft.
the development of a vizier or chief administrator who ran the bureaucracy.
Succession to the Ottoman throne when the previous sultan died was
from father to eldest son.
decided by the Muslim clerics and Quranic law.
based on military successes and accomplishments.
unclear, which caused great confusion including civil wars.
determined by the sultan’s eldest sister, whose eldest son inherited the throne.
Which of these statements about the decline of the Ottoman Empire is TRUE?
Ottoman institutions were weak and failed to support the empire.
foreign wars and defeats were responsible for the decline of the empire.
internal corruption and harem life undermined Ottoman administration.
the empire was too poor to maintain a strong government or army.
domestic trade and agriculture were unaffected by the decline.
The Safavids arose to power in Persia primarily due to
their support for the Shi’ite cause.
an alliance with Portuguese merchants and soldiers.
their conversion from Islam to Christianity.
a monopoly on military technologies and guns.
their control of trade along the Silk Road.
With regard to the west Europeans and their institutions and technologies, the Ottomans and Safavids
borrowed freely and heavily any useful idea, tool, or institution.
were clearly superior to the Europeans in all respects.
heavily influenced West European political culture and military traditions.
had no contacts because they had no trade with West Europeans.
ignored and looked down upon all things Europeans, which later hurt them.
During their reign, Safavid policies in Persia
alienated the majority of the population.
fostered a sense of Persian religious nationalism and social unity.
fostered Turkish traditions and customs.
favored the Arabic language and Arab trained bureaucracies.
favored agriculture over trade and manufacturing.
Unlike the Ottomans and Safavids, the Mughals
favored trade.
were intolerant of religious differences.
avoided the use of advanced military technologies.
did not conquer lands for religious reasons.
never developed a strong centralized state or government.
Akbar the Great used of the following techniques to build a stable state in India EXCEPT:
led a well-trained, well-led military.
established an efficient bureaucracy and administration.
supported the arts and intellectual developments.
practiced religious toleration and reconciliation with the Hindus.
promoted foreigners, especially Europeans, to positions of power in India.
Religiously, Akbar favored
religious toleration and fostered his own invented faith.
Sunni Islam.
Shi’ite Islam.
conversion to Hinduism.
an atheism similar to the Confucian social philosophy.
Which of these statements about women in India during the Mughal Empire is TRUE?
Child-bride marriages were ended.
Seclusion (purdah) of upper class Hindu and Muslim women began.
Widow remarriage was ended.
The practice of sati (widow burning) ended.
The birth of girl children was seen as an unlucky event.
All of these contributed to the decline of the Mughal empire EXCEPT:
too many wars of conquest exhausted resources.
good government and needed reforms were ignored.
the arrival of the Europeans.
local leaders largely ignored the government and kept the taxes they collected.
the later Mughal religious policies favored Islam and alienated the Hindus and Sikhs.
ESSAY QUESTIONS
Compare and contrast the rise and institutions of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.
Compare and contrast the interaction of any one of these empires (Ottoman, Safavid, or Mughal) with the West to Russia’s interaction with the west.
Compare and contrast Portugal and Spain with any one of the “Gunpowder Empires” for imperial systems, governmental institutions, and military.
Compare and contrast empire building by gunpowder empires with any one classical or post-classical empire.
Compare and contrast religious policies of any one gunpowder state with Spanish religious policies.
How did India change from the Mauryan Dynasty to the Mughals?
How did gender relations in India change from the Aryans to the Mughals?
Compare the decline of any one of the gunpowder empires with the decline of any one classical or post-classical empire.
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