OTTOMAN & SAFAVID EMPIRES

EXPANDING THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

A. Muhammad II conquered ConstantinopleB. Suleiman- Golden Age 1520-1566

1. Ruler of the largest empire in Europe and the Middle East

OTTOMAN CULTURE

A. Used a vizier (high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government) & council

OTTOMAN CULTURE

B. Social Organization

1. Men of the pen2. Men of the sword3. Men of negotiation4. Men of husbandry

a. Millets – non-Muslim religious communities

OTTOMAN CULTURE

C. Janissaries: Elite Ottoman army D. Decline:• Advancement in European industry while the Ottomans

stuck to agriculture

SAFAVID EMPIRE

A. Abbas the Great (1588-1629)1. Had great support of his people because of his

tolerance

SAFAVID EMPIRE

B. Decline1. Too much pressure from Ottoman armies2. Sunni Afghans rebelled3. 1700’s- Qajars defeated the Sunnis and made

Tehran the new capital of Iran

** Both the Ottoman and Safavid empires shared the Muslim tradition of Sharia