Chapter 18

The Muslim World Expands, 1300-1700

What do you know about the Muslim World?

Chapter 18 Section 1- The Ottomans Build a Vast Empire

• Anatolian Turks saw themselves as warriors for Islam or ghazis.

• The most successful ghazis was Osman who people in the West called Othman and his followers the Ottomans.

• Osman built a small Muslim state in Anatolia between 1300 and 1326.

Military Success

• The Ottomans’ military success was based on the use of gunpowder.

• Osman’s son Orkhan I declared himself sultan, meaning “overlord” or “one with power”.

• The Ottomans acted kindly to the people they conquered.

• Mehmed II or Mehmed the Conqueror completes the conquest of Constantinople.

• Constantinople made trade easier for the Ottoman Empire.

• Constantinople became Istanbul and was open to people of many religious backgrounds.

• Ottomans take Islam’s holy cities. ( Mecca, Medina, and Cairo)

Ottoman Empire

Suleyman the Lawgiver

• Suleyman the Lawgiver came to the throne in 1520 and ruled for 46 years.

• Empire reaches its limits under Suleyman.• Suleyman became the most powerful monarch on earth. • The massive Ottoman Empire required an efficient

government structure and social organization.

Chapter 18 Section 2- The Mughal Empire

• Muslim nomads, who called themselves Mughals, invade what is now India

• Between the 13 and 16th centuries a series of Sultans (33 to be exact) ruled the a divided territory

• Babur was a Mongol leader and descendant of Genghis Khan

• The Moghal Empire was founded when Babur defeated the last of the sultans in 1526 and united the territories

(Babur defeated the Sultan at the Battle of Panipat where they used gunpowder for the first time in India)

Babur Unites an Empire

• Akbar, Babur’s grandson, ruled the Empire from 1556 to 1605 after his father, Babur’s son, lost most of the territory Babur had gained

• Akbar lead with wisdom and tolerance and under his rule the empire grew considerably

• Believed that military power was the root of his strength

Akbar’s Golden Age

“School of Thought” by Akbar-A king must always be aggressive so

that his neighbors will not try to conquerhim

Military Power and political wisdom…A winning combination

• Akbar equipped his armies with heavy artillery such as cannons which enabled him to invade walled cities

• He appointed rajputs as officers, turning potential enemies into allies

Akbar’s Golden Age

Rajputs: members of landowning clans in India and Pakistan

• Akbar too, was a Muslim

• He firmly defended religious freedom and allowed his people to practice different faiths

• Allowed natives and foreigners, Hindus and Muslims to participate as government officials

- This contributed to the quality of his government

Akbar’s Golden Age

The Languages of the Mughal Empire under Akbar• Persian was the language of Akbar’s court and of high culture

• Common people spoke Hindi, a mixture of Persian and local language, and one of the most widely spoken languages of India today

• Out of the Mughal armies came a new language Urdu (Akbar’s soldiers, like his officials, came from a variety of backgrounds and cultures)

Akbar’s Golden Age

Miniatures- small, highly detailed, colorful paintings used as book illustrations or kept in albums

Tulsi Das- a poet, retold the epic love story of Rama and Sita in Ramcaritmanas

Architecture- a style known for massive but graceful structures decorated with intricate stonework depicting Hindu themes; still known as Akbar period architecture

Art and Literature of the Mughal Court

Akbar’s Successors

Jahangir and Nur Jahan- Akbar’s son, Jahangir, left the affairs of the state to his wife, Nur Jahan. She ruled with an iron hand.

Jahangir was tollerant of all religions (like his father) until his son, Khusrau, rebelled and turned to the Sikhs- a nonviolent religious group. The Sikhs became the target of Mughal hatred.

Akbar’s Successors

Shah Jahan- Jahangir’s son and successor

Could not tolerate competition- secured his throne by assassinating all possible rivals

Built the Taj Mahal, a memorial to his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

The people of the empire suffered from famine and heavy taxes to support their rulers extravagant life-style

Akbar’s SuccessorsAurangzeb- The third son of Shah Jahan took power after his

father became ill by executing his oldest brother and putting his father in prison

Aurangzeb was an aggressive empire builder who expanded the Mughal empire to its greatest size, but…

The power of the empire weakened because largely because of Aurangzeb’s oppression of his people

Not as open-minded as his successors, he taxed non-muslims and dismissed Hindus from government. He also banned the construction of new temples and had Hindu monuments destroyed. Hindu rajputs rebelled.