1. The Gunpowder Empires 1450-1750
Muslim Empires
The Gunpowder Empires

3. Three Dynasties New dynastic empires: Why had Muslim unity dissolved?
Mongol invasion of the 13th and 14th century
New dynastic empires:
Ottomans – peaked in the 17th century’
Safavids – Persia and Afghanistan
Mughals (Mogul) - India

4. The Ottoman Empire

5. The Fall of Constantinople, 1453

6. Mehmed II’s Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

7. Ottoman Dominance
Turkic people who took over after the Mongols defeated the Seljuks
1453 captured Constantinople – Sultan Mehmed II
Extended to include Middle East (Selim I)
North Africa, southeastern Europe (Suleiman)
Invaded Vienna in the 16th and 17th century / also conflicts with Venice
Vast navy superiority in Mediterranean

8. Ottomans: military
Early warrior aristocracy = Turkic Horseman (eg: feudal nobility/askeri)
Warrior class built up power by seizing land
conscripted youth from conquered lands - janissaries
janissaries expanded under Sultan Selim I
Greatest expansion/height under Sultan Suleiman “the Lawmaker”

9. Devshirme -Recruitment of the Children

10. Sultans and Court
Absolute Monarchs who focused on maintaining justice (adala)
Large bureaucracies were formed that involved every ruler and son
There were vague principles of imperial succession which led to strife
new sultan would often execute brothers – later imprisonment

11. Ottoman Government
Sultan – Absolute Power – Caliph – Islamic Orthodoxy
’adala - justice
Kanuna – body of law; Shari’a +
Diwan – “couch”; Close advisory council to Sultan; vizier- chief minister
Ulama Courts – Religious Courts
Firman: Public declarations of laws and taxes
Theoretically: Sultan was to protect the people from the corrupt tax collectors, government officals, local officials, courts – so needed absolute authority
Courted public opinion with propaganda; spies at Friday prayers to get sense of public opinion

12. Important Sultans
Mehmed II – conq. Constantinople
Selim I – conq. Syria & Egypt
Suleiman Kanuni/ the Magnificient – huge gain in Europe
<Selim II / the drunkard>
Kara Mustafa – attempted conquest of Austria again ---lost

13. Flowering Culture
Constantinople became the capital of empire as Istanbul
Hagia Sophia turned into a mosque – model for other Turkish mosques
Artisan classes were very important
Turkish language legacy by the late 17th century
Artistic legacy in poetry, ceramics, carpet, and architecture

14. Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul

15. Ottoman Weaknesses Too extensive; but slow…..decline
New territory became less available which slowed growth
Corrupt bureaucracy and regional officials used money for personal gain
Oppressed peasants led revolts and/or left land
Civil strife increased and military efficiency deteriorated
Conflicts with Venice/ Portuguese/Spain

16. Ottoman Decline Spanish-Venetian naval victory in 1571
Muslims lost control of eastern Africa to Portuguese
Commercial decline was aggravated by inflation caused by New World bullion led to commercial decline
Religious leaders blocked western inspired innovation
Weaker, lazier less attentive Sultans

17. 1663 – invasion of Vienna – eventually thwarted
--Parthenon blown up by the Venetians
1699 – Peace of Karlowitz – Austria took Hungary & Transylvania
Wars with Russia continual

18. Ottoman & Safavid Empires, c. 1683

20. Safavids
Muslims in Azerbaijan region (probably Azeri) fought to purify and spread Islam to Turkic peoples – started out as a religious order
Warrior groups called: quizilbash

21. Safavid dynasty THE GUNPOWDER AGE
1501 – Ismail seized Tabriz and was proclaimed Shah
Was defeated at Chaldiran in 1514 by the Ottomans –
THE GUNPOWDER AGE

22. State and Religion
Shah Ismail – instituted forced conversion to Shi’ite Islam
Shi’ite religious establishment in each city
Actively anti-Sunni
Shahs descent from imams
Tension between Shi’a ulama (esp. ayatollahs) and govt
Shia mullah’s/ulama didn’t really think the Safavid rulers were of the true line of Ali – ultimately undermined the govt

23. Safavid Shah Shah Abbas I شاه عباس بزرگ (1587-1629) –
Empire reached its zenith
Persians counterbalanced the role of the Turkic warriors
Used capture youth to fill military and bureaucratic positions
Incorporated Persian court etiquette
Created infrastructure for trade and Islamic culture

24. Society and Gender in Ottoman and Safavid
Dominated by Warrior class/nobility (askeri / quizilbash)
Nobility controlled the peasantry
“slave” infantry & bureaucracy
Artisans worked in Imperial workshops
Safavid less market-oriented than Ottoman
Women did not enjoy many outlets especially among the elite

25. Elite Affluence & Artistic Splendor
Abbas encouraged trade and commerce
Rugs, silk
Poetry : Sa’di
Isfahan was heaven on earth

26. The Royal Academy of Isfahan

28. Decline of the Safavid Weak succession after Abbas
Internal strife between Turkic and Persian ethnic groups
Foreign invasion from Afghani invaders

29. The Mughal Empire

30. Mughals
Turkic invaders led by Babur invaded India in 1526 – sought plunder not conquest
Stayed when prevented from going north
Babur’s forces defeated Hindu confederation in 1527 – He then ruled the Indus and Ganges plains

31. Babur

32. Mughal weakness
After Babur died in 1530 he left no central political infrastructure
Feudal structure
He also left no competent heir
Humayn fled to Persia – from Persia launched attacks into India
Humayn restored control of the North by 1556

33. Mughal’s Lasting Empire
Humayn’s son Akbar succeeded to the throne
Akbar was an outstanding military and administrative talent
Policy of reconciliation with Hindu subjects
Abolished head taxes
Respected Hindus and allowed them in the administration
Hindu Nobility stayed if taxes were collected and paid

34. Akbar’s Social Agenda Encouraged intermarriage and Widow remarriage
Discouraged child marriage
Prohibited sati
Discouraged consumption of alcohol
Created special market days for women only

35. Akbar’s Legacy & European Contact
Social reforms failed in the immediate future (including child marriage and sati)
After his death no new territory was added
Most of the population lived in poverty
Developed major commercial and manufacturing Empire in Indian cotton textiles

36. Court Politics & Women Nur Jahan – wife of Jahangir
“The Twentieth Wife”
Mumtaz Mahal – wife of Shah Jahan I
Ordinary women’s rights decline under Jahangir and Shah Jahan
Nur Jahan – gained considerable power at court because Jahangir was addicted to alcohol and opium
20th wife of Jahangir – but became his favorite
Power struggle with brother; between sons
Retired to perfume making & poetry
Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum) – married prince Khurrum (Shah Jehan); he only had 2 other wives- whom he essentially ignored
14 children (7 died young); Taj Mahal built for her tomb – 22 years to build; body was housed elsewhere until complete
Shah Jehan deposed by Aurangeb & put under house arrest

37. Nur Jahan Mumtaz Mahal

38. Mughal Era Achievements
Taj Mahal – Shah Jahan
blends Persian and Hindu traditions

39. Mughal Decline
Aurangzeb fought many wars in India to reclaim much of the land that had been lost – depleted the treasury
created resentment by beginning religious reform to rid Islam of Hindu influences – created internal weakness
By early in the 18th century power passed to regional lords away from imperial control – allows for European inroads…