B.S.R7

Chapter 21:

The Muslim EmpiresEarly Modern Period

Before Ottoman Dynasty

Turkic-speaking people from central Asia were soldiers and administrators in Islamic civilization. Usually, in the service of Abbasid caliphs.

Seljuk Turkic kingdom of Rum, located in eastern Anatolia in the Asia Minor, collapses due to the invasion by the Mongols in 1243. Mongols did not directly rule Anatolia, which fell into chaos

Turkic people, fleeing Mongols and in search of treasure, flooded the region in the last decades of the 13th century.

Osman Gaziعثمان سلطان

غازى

Born: 1258 in Anatolia

Died: 1326

Reign: 1299-1326

oWith the Byzantine Empire weakening to his west; to his east Seljuk Turks were distracted by the

Mongols, Anatolia was promising

oRecruited Ghazi warrior, fighters for the expansion and defense of Islam.

oDue to these defenders, an Empire’s

foundation was crafted.

o

The Ottomans

By the 1350s, Ottomans had

advanced from the Asia Minor across

the Bosporus straits into Europe.

In mid-14th century, they had

bypassed Constantinople, and entered into large portions of

the Balkans. Ottoman Empire, 1566

The Fall of Constantinopl

eBy the mid-15th century,

the Ottomans, the former ally and enemy of the Byzantines, was now strong enough to

capture the city.

For seven weeks in the spring of 1453, the forces of the sultan,

Mehmed II, numbering over 100,000, attacked

the walls of the city.

It was not until a gap was formed in the wall that the army was able to reach the city and

loot the treasures promised by the sultan.

The Continuing Expansion

Two centuries after the conquest of

Constantinople, Ottoman rulers extended into Syria and Egypt and across north Africa.

Expansion continued through the Balkans into Hungury and around the

Black and Red seas.

Ottomans became a naval power in the

Mediterranean Sea, and with the help of galley

fleets,

The Continuing Expansion

They also drove the Venetians and Genoese

from much of the eastern Mediterranean and often threatened

southern Italy.

The Ottomans had risen to become the protector of the Islamic heartlands

and avoided Christian Europe.

The Ottomans remained a major force in Europe

until the late 19th century

A State Geared to Warfare

Turkic cavalry, mainly responsible for earlier

conquest from 13th to 16th centuries, developed into a

warrior aristocracy

They were granted control over land and peasants.

After the 15th century, warrior classed members competed with religious leaders and

administrators for control of the Ottoman bureaucracy.

As the warrior aristocracy power shank, they formed regional and local bases

support.

These competed with the sultan and the central

bureaucracy for revenue and labor control.

Janissaries

In the mid-15th century, the imerial armies were

dominated by infantry troops called Janissaries.

With the control of the weaponry vital to Ottoman

success in warfare with adversaries, making them the most powerful force in

the Ottoman military.

By the late 15th century, they convert their military

service into political influence in court politics.

By the mid-16th century they had the power to overthrow sultans and

decide which of his sons will replace him.

The Sultans and Their Court

Supposedly, the Ottoman rulers were absolute

monarchs.

Ottoman rulers survived by playing off the competing factions within their state.

These included religious and legal scholars.

Muslim, Christian, and Jewish merchants were important.

large bureaucracy headed by a vizier had great power in

the state.

Vague principles of imperial succession led to protracted

strife and weakened the empire.

Constantinople Restored and the Flowering of Ottoman

Culture

The imperial capital at Constantinople combined

the disparate cultures under Ottoman rule beginning with

Mehmed II.

New rulers restored the city after the invasion.

Church St. Sophia became one of Islam's grandest

mosques.

Suleyman the Magnificent built the Suleymaniye

mosque in the 16th century.

Constantinople became the trade center dealing with products from Asia, Africa,

and Europe.

Most citizens were merchants or artisans and where closely regulated by

the government.

By the 17th century, Turkish became dominate language.

Suleymaniye Mosque

Sophia Mosque

The Problem of Ottoman Decline

The empire continued to be brutal until the late 17th century.

At this point, their empire was too extensive to be maintained from its available resource base and transport system.

The bureaucracy was corrupt, and regional officials used revenues for their own purposes.

Oppressed peasants and laborers fled the land or rebelled.

Sultans and their sons were confined to the palace; they became weak and idle rulers managed by court factions.

Conflict increased and military efficiency crumbled.

Military Reverses and the Ottoman Retreat

The Janissaries blocked needed military reform and allowed their state to lose ground to European

rivals.

A Spanish-Venetian victory at Lepanto in 1571 ended Turkish

control of the eastern Mediterranean.

By then, Portuguese had sailed around Africa into the Indian

Ocean.

Causing the braking of the Muslim dominance over Indian trade.

Problems worsened by inflation stimulated by New World gold and

treasures.

In the 17th century, a few able sultans attempted to counter the

empire's decline.

The collapse of the Safavids removed an important foe.

Major changes occurring within the European world were not matched

by the Ottomans.

The Janissaries and religious leaders blocked Western

innovation.

The Shi’a Challenge of the Safavids

The Safavids profited from the struggles of rival Turkic groups after Mongol invasions. (Sounds familiar)

The Safavids were Shi'a Muslims from a family of Sufi preachers and mystics.

In the early 14th century under Sail al-Din, they fought to purify and spread Islam to Turkic people.

After 1501, Ismâ'il seized Tabriz and was proclaimed shah.

His followers conquered most of Persia.

The loss meant that Shi'ism was blocked from further westward advance.

Shah Ismâ'ilBorn: 1487 in Ardabil, Iran

Died: 1524

Reign: 1501-1524

Goal was to make Shi’i Islam the official religion of Iran.

At age 14/15 he was placed Shah of Azerbaijan.

At age 23/24 he had conquered all of Iran.

In 1510, he moved against the Sunni Uzbeg tribe,

resulting in The Battle of Marv.

There he demolished the Uzbek forces, and crafted

Muhammad Shaybani’s skull into a fancy drinking goblet…

(That’s just nasty)

He had attempted to extinguish the Ottoman

Empire, but fail at The Battle of Chaldiran

Politics and War under the Safavid Shahs

Tasmaph I, became shah in 1534 and restored dynastic

power.

Under Abbas I (1587-1629), the empire reached its peak.

The rulers brought the Turkic warriors under control; they

were specified to villages and peasant labor.

Leaders gained important posts in the state and posed a

constant threat to the shahs.

Persians were recruited into the imperial bureaucracy for

stability.

The Safavids recruited captured slave youths into the army and

bureaucracy, and were very important during the reign of

Abbas I.

They became the backbone of his army and formed posts.

They controlled firearm use and received training from

European powers.

State and Religion

The Safavids originally wrote in Turkish, but later Persian,

after Chaldiran.

They adopted elaborate Persian traditions of court

custom.

The initial aggressive Shi’a ideology was modified as the

Safavids drew Persian religious scholars into the

bureaucracy.

Religious teachers received state support, and teaching in

mosque schools was supervised by religious

officials.

The empire gradually converted to Shi'a Islam,

which developed into an vital part of Iranian identity.

When the power of the dynasty declined, religious

leaders became more independent, but still served

their rulers.

Elite Affluence and Artistic Splendor

Abbas I attempted to make his empire a major center of international trade and Islamic culture.

Internal transport conditions were improved, and workshops were made for silk textiles and

carpets.

Iranian merchants were encouraged to trade.

Abbas devoted special attention to building projects in his capital of Isfahan.

Society and Gender Roles: Ottoman& Safavid

They initially were dominated by warrior aristocracies who shared power with the monarch

The warriors gradually left the rulers' courts for residence on rural estates where they exploited the peasantry

Both empires encouraged the growth of handicraft production and trade

Women endured the social disadvantages common to Islamic regimes

Women were subordinate to fathers and husbands and had few outlets for expression outside of the household

The Demise of the Safavid Empire

Abbas I, fearing plots, had removed all suitable

heirs.

The progression of a weak grandson began a

process of dynastic decline.

Internal strife and foreign invasions shook

the state.

In 1772, Isfahan fell to Afghani invaders.

An adventurer, Nadir Khan Afshar, emerged from the chaos as shah

in 1736.

Unfortunately, his dynasty and its

successors were unable to restore imperial

authority.

The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India

Turkic invaders, led by Babur, invaded India in 1526 after being

driven from Afghanistan.

They sought riches but remained when prevented from returning

northward.

Babur's forces, using similar military tactics and technology to the Ottomans, crushed the Muslim Lodi dynasty at Panipat in 1526.

In 1527, he defeated a Hindu confederation.

In two years, Babur held much of the Indus and Ganges plains.

The first Mughal ruler was a talented warrior who also

possessed a taste for art and music, but he was a weak

administrator.

His death in 1530 brought invasion from surrounding enemies.

Babur's successor, Humayan, fled to Persia, and led return invasions into India restoring control in the

north by 1556.

Akbar and the Basis for a Lasting Empire

Humayan's 13-year-old son Akbar took the throne and immediately had conflict with Mughal enemies.

Akbar defeated them, and the monarch became a ruler with great military and administrative talent.

His armies joined Mughal conquests in northern and central India.

Akbar crafted a policy of resolution with his Hindu subjects; he encouraged intermarriage, abolished head taxes, and respected Hindu customs.

Hindus rose to high ranks in the administration.

Akbar invented a new faith integrating Muslim and Hindu beliefs to join his subjects.

The Hindu and Muslim warrior aristocracy were granted land and labor for their loyalty.

Hindu local notables were left in place if taxes were paid.

Social Reform and Social Change

Akbar attempted to introduce social changes

that would benefit his subjects.

One was a reforms to regulate the

consumption of alcohol.

He strove to improve the position of women.

He encouraged widow remarriage and

discouraged child marriages.

He prohibited sati and attempted to break

isolation through creating special market

days for women.

Mughal Splendor and Early European Contacts

Even though most of his reforms were not successful, Akbar held a powerful empire by his death in 1605.

Not much territory was added by his successors, but the regime reached the peak of its luxury.

Most of the population lived in poverty, and India fell behind Europe in invention and the sciences.

By the late 17th century, the Mughals ruled over a major commercial and manufacturing empire.

Indian cotton textiles were world famous and gained a large market in Europe.

Artistic Achievement in the Mughal Era

The 17th-century rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan continued the policy of

tolerance toward Hindus along with other

elements of Akbar's administration.

Both preferred the good life over military

adventures.

They expanded painting workshops and built great architectural

works, including Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal, often

blending the best in Persian and Hindu

traditions.

Court Politics and the Position of Elite and Ordinary Women

Jahangir and Shah Jahan left the details of daily administration to

subordinates, allowing their wives to input influence.

Nur Jahan, Jahangir's wife, dominated the empire for a

time through her party.

Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan, also collected power.

While the life of court women improved, the position of

women elsewhere in society declined.

Child marriage was popularized, widow remarriage died out, and privacy for both Muslim and Hindus increased.

Sati spread among the upper classes.

The lack of opportunity for a productive role meant that the

birth of a girl became a discouraging event.

The Beginnings of Imperial Decline

Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan's successor, inherited a declining empire and unable

to reverse the process.

He pushed two goals: to control all of India and to rid Islam of Hindu

influences.

By 1707, he had conquered most of India, but the warfare had drained the treasury, the bureaucracy and military.

Internal revolt and the growing self-rule of local leaders were not dealt with.

Hindus in imperial service were kept from the highest posts, and measures

against Hinduism were begun.

The head tax was restored.

By the end of his rule, his large empire was plagued by internal conflicts.

The Marattas of Western India and the Sikhs in the northwest tense imperial

resources.

By the beginning of the 18th century, state revenues and power passed to

regional lords.

Causing a return to a pattern previously predominant in South Asia.