1. Empires and Encounters
WHAP Chapter 14
Ottomans, Russian, Mughals, Qing

2. Colonization, Anyone?
Everyone who wants to be a world power is trying to build empires at this time.
These were building in their home areas (land based empires):
Russians looking for warm-water ports                
Ottoman Empire reestablished some of the older political unity of the  Islamic heartland
Qing dynasty China doubled in size
Mughal Empire of India pulled together Hindus and Muslims

4. The Russian Empire
A small Russian state centered on Moscow began to emerge ca
Moscow began to conquer neighboring cities
over three centuries grew into a massive empire
early expansion into the grasslands to south and east was for security against nomads
expansion into Siberia was a matter of opportunity (especially furs), not  threat

6. Peter the Great
The Russian Tsars prior to the 17th century followed the absolutist model of Ivan IV, which was founded upon fear, secrets, and deception.
As a result, the tyrannical rule of the Tsars kept Russia from any sort of modernization. It was a stagnate and backward country until the reign of Peter the Great.

7. Peter the Great

8. Peter the Great Peter the Great was responsible for:
developing a civil service within Russia-creating employment
bringing the Orthodox Church under his control-regulating its wealth
decreasing the power of the Russian nobility
introducing new ideas, education, and manufacturing techniques into the country

9. Catherine the Great Catherine the Great was responsible for:
establishing a code of written laws
opening schools and building hospitals
restricting the power of the church
Expansion of the Russian Empire

11. Analysis of “The Great’s Rule”
The reforms instituted by Peter and later Catherine were an attempt to modernize Russia.
However, because Peter ignored the issue of serfdom and Catherine eventually suppressed any liberty she offered to serfs, neither of them seriously addressed the issues of serfdom and the consequences of that oppression.

12. The Russian Empire
Conquest was made possible by modern weapons and organization
defeated peoples swore allegiance to the tsar and paid tribute
 Conquest brought devastating epidemics, especially in remote areas of  Siberia—locals had no immunity to smallpox and measles

13. The Russian Empire Pressure to convert to Christianity
Provides a unifying ideology and supports leadership
some tolerance of Islamic subjects
Large-scale settlement of Russians in the new lands, where they outnumbered the native population (e.g., in Siberia)
Discouragement of pastoralism – trying to modernize the economy and keep peoples close and under control.
Many natives were assimilated to Russian ways

14. The Russian Empire
With imperial expansion, Russians became a smaller proportion of the overall population
Rich agricultural lands, furs, and minerals helped make Russia a great  power by the eighteenth century
Became an Asian power as well as a European one, have minor influence in North America. 

15. The Russian Empire Long-term Russian identity problem
expansion made Russia a very militarized society
reinforced autocracy (rule by one)
Colonization experience was different from the Americas
conquest of territories with which Russia had long interacted
conquest took place at the same time as development of the  Russian state
The Russian Empire remained intact until 1991

17. Why is this map missing a full key?

18. Where did the Ottomans come from?
Name came from “Osman,” a leader of a western Anatolian nomadic group who began expansionistic moves in the 14thcentury.
Gradually these nomads took over Anatolia and became the border between Islam and Byzantine Christian

19. Evolving Ottoman State
Built their empire by absorbing the Muslims of Anatolia (most Ottomans became Muslims) and by protecting the Greek Christians in Anatolia.
On the promise of obedience and payment of the jiyza, Muslims guaranteed the lives and property of Jews and Christians.
The Ottomans came to rule:
Serbs
Bosnians
Croats
other Orthodox peoples
The people who submitted to Ottoman domination (voluntarily) were treated well, but those who opposed and fought the Ottomans…the Ottomans were ruthless.
The Ottoman empire became a “frontier empire” composed of many ethnicities and religions

20. Sultan Mehmet II (1451-1481) Was one of the greatest Sultans
Called the Fatih(the Conqueror)
During his rule all of Turkey/Anatolia was brought under his control and the Byzantine Empire was defeated

22. Imperial Phase of the Ottomans
The Conquest of Constantinople = the Imperial phase of the Ottomans Constantinople was renamed Istanbul
Mehmet II cleaned up the city and began many building mosques, markets, water fountains, baths, and other public facilities

23. Movement into Istanbul
Mehmet II encouraged people to move to Istanbul
Bribed people from the Ottoman territories with homes and jobs
Many Jewish people, who were cruelly oppressed in Western Europe (aka Reconquista), moved to Istanbul and found Turkey to be a “haven” = a mass migration of Jewish people soon followed

24. Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the “Lawgiver” Sultanic law codes
Reformed the government
Balanced the budget
Reinforced Islamic law
Built palaces, mosques, schools, libraries, hospitals, roads, bridges, etc.
Cultural explosion (pax Ottomanica) –literary, artistic, architectural and scientific achievements

26. Turkish Coffeehouses
During Ottoman times coffeehouses were places where men would come together and form public opinion.
They first opened as a place for people to wait before going into the mosques for prayer and soon became a place where men would meet outside of the home.

27. Turkish Coffeehouses
Professional groups started having “their” own coffeehouse; where people in their society would go to discuss important decisions and ideas.
Coffee’s history in Turkey began in the 16th century.
Traditionally served in small cups and drunk in one gulp.
We will discuss coffee again soon.

28. Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was the Islamic world’s most important empire in the early modern period
Long conflict (1534–1639) between Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavid
the Ottoman Empire was the site of a significant cross-cultural encounter
in Anatolia, most of the conquered Christians converted to Islam
in the Balkans, Christian subjects mostly remained Christian                                                                     

29. Ottoman Empire
In the Balkans, many Christians welcomed Ottoman conquest
Ottoman taxed less and were less oppressive
Christian churches received considerable autonomy
Balkan elites were accepted among the Ottoman elite without  conversion
 Devshirme: tribute of boys paid by Christian Balkan communities
boys were converted to Islam, trained to serve the state
the devshirme was a means of upward social mobility

30. Balkans in Ottoman History

31. Decline of the Ottoman Empire
Decline was caused by
Weak leadership
Corrupt government officials
Powerful Janissaries and Janissary revolts
Heavy taxes which led to peasant revolts

32. Decline of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was very diverse ethnically + nationalism = many groups wanting their freedom
New World silver flooding the market and causing silver to inflate = inflation
Trade routes changing to bypass the Middle East in favor of water routes
Loss of intellectualism = loss of innovation = fall behind the Europeans in technology

33. Chinese Empire

34. Chinese Empire
Qing dynasty (1644–1912) launched enormous imperial expansion to the north and west
Qing rulers were Manchu nomads who conquered China
 Nomads of the north and west were very familiar to the Chinese
80-year-long Chinese conquest (1680–1760)
motivated by security fears
China evolved into a Central Asian empire
                       

35. Chinese Empire
Conquered territory was ruled separately from the rest of China through the Court of Colonial Affairs
considerable use of local elites to govern
officials often imitated Chinese ways
but government did not try to assimilate conquered peoples
little Chinese settlement in the conquered regions
 Russian and Chinese rule impoverished Central Asia, turned it into a backward region
nomadic society was largely destroyed

37. Mughal Empire Muslims and Hindus in the Mughal Empire
Mughals united much of India between 1526 and 1707
The Mughal Empire’s most important divide was religious
some 20 percent of the population was Muslim; most of the rest were Hindu
Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) attempted serious accommodation of the Hindu majority
brought many Hindus into the political-military elite
imposed a policy of toleration
abolished payment of jizya by non-Muslims
created a state cult that stressed loyalty to the emperor
Akbar and his successors encouraged a hybrid Indian-Persian- Turkic culture

39. Mughal Empire Mughal toleration provoked reaction among some Muslims
Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) reversed Mughal policy, tried to impose Islamic supremacy
Aurangzeb banned sati (widow burning), music and dance at court, various vices
destruction of some Hindu temples
Re-imposition of jizya
Aurangzeb’s policy provoked Hindu reaction
Opposition movements fatally weakened the Mughal Empire after 1707