The Islamic Empires  Three Islamic Empires dominate from southern Europe to Northern India from  Ottoman Empire (Southern Europe, Middle East, North Africa)  Safavid Empire (Persia)  Mughal Empire (Northern India)

Similarities  The peak of Islam’s political and military power  All based on military conquest  All from Turkic nomadic cultures  All absolute monarchies

Differences  All were Muslim but Mughals ruled over a predominantly non-Muslim population  Ottomans had large Christian minority  Safavids were Shi’ite Muslims

 With decline of Seljuk Turks, Ottomans expanded and founded the Ottoman dynasty  1300’s: Ottomans expanded into Balkan Peninsula Serbian defeat at Battle of Kosovo

 Janissaries: young boys taken from the Christian population. Boys were converted to Islam and trained as elite soldiers or administrators to serve the Sultan Janissaries

 Under the leadership of Mehmet II, the Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople  Fall of Constantinople in 1453 brought end to the Byzantine Empire  The Ottomans made the city their capital renaming it Istanbul Mehmet II enters Constantinople

 Greatest threat to Europe came under rule of greatest of Ottoman rulers, Suleyman I. Suleyman I

 The Ottomans laid siege to Vienna in 1529  Ottoman advance into western Mediterranean stopped at Lepanto in 1571 by Western coalition led by the Spanish

 Ottoman rule  A strong centralized government was established with the sultan at its head in Istanbul.  The position of sultan was hereditary- once in power, a sultan would murder all his brothers.  The private domain of the sultan was called the harem

 The imperial bureaucracy was controlled by the sultan through his chief minister, the Grand Vizier  Pashas collected taxes (giving a percentage to the Ottomans) and maintained law and order

 As Caliph, the sultan was the supreme religious leader but he delegated many duties to the Ulema, who administered the legal system and education  Islamic law applied to all Ottoman territory  The Ottomans were tolerant of non- Muslims - head tax  Non-Muslim religions were headed by an official who was responsible to the sultan

 Women had greater freedom under the Ottomans than in other Muslim nations  Could own and inherit property, could not be forced into marriage, and were permitted to divorce Women in the Ottoman court

 Safavids descended from Turkic tribesmen in northern Iran  Safavids – Shi’ite Muslims  Safi al-Din Ismail seized much of what is today Iran and Iraq Safavid soldier

 Selim I, the Ottoman sultan, marched against Safavids and won major victory  After more attempts by the Safavids to take Ottoman lands, the Ottomans forced the Safavid leader, Shah Abbas, to sign peace treaty Selim I

 Safavids reached peak of power under Shah Abbas  With help of Europeans, Shah Abbas attempted to take more lands from Ottomans Shah Abbas and wine boy

 The Safavids declined after death of Shah Abbas in 1629  Afghan tribesmen invaded and captured the Safavid capital and forced the royal family to flee to Azerbaijan, their original homeland

 Safavid rule comparable to the Ottomans  Safavids had vibrant middle class  Greatest area of productivity in Safavid Empire was textiles  Carpets were prized all over the world

 Founded by Babur, descended from Tamerlane and Genghis Khan  Invaded India from Kabul and conquered Delhi  Using that city as his base, he expanded into the subcontinent Babur

 After Babur’s death, his son, Akbar, continued the expansion until most of India was under his control  The Mughal Empire was the greatest empire in India since the Mauryans Akbar

 Although Muslim, Akbar adopted a policy of religious tolerance  Hindus served in lesser positions in his court and even Christians were present in the form of Jesuit advisors  Akbar even took a Hindu bride

 Local officials, called Zamindars, administered districts, taking a portion of the taxes as salary  Political stability and peace = period of growth in trade and manufacturing  Much of the trade was handled by Muslim merchants

 The Mughal dynasty went into decline after death of Akbar  Akbar succeeded by his son, Jahangir Jahangir

 Shah Jahan, succeeded Jahangir  In order to secure hold on power, he had all rivals murdered  Shah Jahan’s military campaigns and corruption in court impoverished state  His son, Aurangzeb, killed brother and imprisoned Shah Jahan  Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal for deceased wife Shah Jahan

 Aurangzeb tried to eliminate many of India’s social evils including sati  He forced Hindus to convert to Islam and forbade the construction of Hindu temples  Social unrest resulted in a number of revolts  Weakened from within, Delhi was sacked by Persians in 1739

 The Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French all sought influence in India  War between British and French  Increasing British influence under the East India Company

 Mughals and Hindus created a blended culture  Both Muslim and Hindu cultures restricted women  Purdah adopted by higher-class Hindus Full purdah