1. Chapter 16: Gunpowder Empires
Ottomans
Safavids
Mughals

2. Empire Builders, 1683

3. Ottoman Empire

4. Rise of Empires: Ottoman
Osman ( )
Unites Turks against Mongols
Mehmed II ( )
Conquered Byzantine Empire
Renamed city Istanbul
Absolute monarchy; centralized state
Methods
Ghazi (Muslim religious warriors)
Gunpowder
Janissaries
Devshirme—”Blood Tax”

5. Political Systems: Ottoman
Sultans were at the head of the empire
The position of sultan was hereditary
Many deaths among family members
took place because of this
Empire at its height under Suleyman
Reigned
Mother was Christian
Came to power through murder of brothers
Conquered lands in Europe, Asia, Africa
Conquered Syria, Holy Land, Egypt
Conquered Hungary, Croatia, Rumania
Siege of Vienna in failed
Built powerful navy to rule Mediterranean
Encouraged development of arts
Beautified Constantinople with mosques

6. Social Systems: Ottoman
Social Hierarchy
Warrior aristocracy become landed elite
Merchants and artisans
Guilds
Trade controlled by Jews and Christians
Peasants face heavy burdens from landowners
Slaves (ghulam)
Christian males 8-15 were conquered and trained in palace school for work
Gender Roles
Women subordinate to fathers and husbands
Few scholarly or artistic opportunities
Seclusion and veiling were imposed on women of all classes
Elite women influence politics
Hurrem Sultan
Could participate in trade and moneylending

7. Economic Systems: Ottoman
Timar system
Askeri was given a share of the agricultural taxes of a designated region
Usually consisting of several villages
In return for military service as cavalryman, assisted in provincial government
They were exempt from taxation.
Gradually became hereditary
Timar was not feudalism
Timar-holder did not dispense justice (Sultan did)
Central government was active and crucial
Timar more like Japanese shogun system
Tahrir
The tahrir took place when a new area was conquered
Team of officials surveyed, recorded by sanjak
Names of all adult male farmers
All sources of wealth in the area
Their yields and the taxes paid on them

8. Religious Systems: Ottoman
Millet System
Each millet was headed by its own religious dignitary
Chief rabbi in the case of the Jews
Patriarchs for the Greek Orthodox, Armenian communities
Heads of millet were responsible to Turkish sultan
Advised sultan on affairs in the community
Was punished by sultan for problems of the community
Each community was responsible for
The allocation and collection of its taxes
Its educational arrangements
Internal legal matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance
In the pre-modern Middle East
Muslims were NOT ruled by millets, they were ruled by Quran
Muslims were tolerant of other religious

9. Culture: Ottoman Rebuilt Constantinople (Istanbul) Coffee Houses
Suleymaiye (Blue) Mosque
Built Aqueducts
Coffee Houses
Center of social life
Read poetry & have scholarly discussions
Architecture
Mimar Sinan compared to Michelangelo
Blue Mosque, Istanbul

11. Decline of Empires: Ottoman
The problems began with Selim II.
The training of officials declined.
Members of the elite were busy making their own fortunes, so local government grew more corrupt and taxes rose.
Wars depleted the imperial treasury.
Biggest problem was the influence of Western Europe.
Clothes, furniture, tobacco and coffee were introduced.
Some sultans tried to fight the trends of Western Europe.
One outlawed tobacco and coffee. If he caught anyone taking part in immoral or illegal behavior, he had them immediately executed
Ottoman conservatives
Resisted innovations like the telescope, printing press
Resisted western military innovations, industrialization
Discouraged merchants, commercialism

12. Safavid Empire

13. Rise of Empires: Safavid
Turkish conquerors of Persia and Mesopotamia
Founder Shah Ismail (reigned )
Under Ismail, the Safavid took control of much of Iran and Iraq
Claimed ancient Persian title of shah
Battle of Chaldiran (1514)
Sunni Ottomans persecuted Shiites
within Ottoman empire
Qizilbash considered firearms
unmanly; lost battle

14. Political Systems: Safavid
Shah Abbas the Great ( )
He usurped the throne from his father and imprisoned him. He later killed the man who helped him get the throne.
Revitalized the Safavid empire
Modernized military
Centralized administration
New capital at Isfahan
Permitted European merchants and missionaries
Sought European alliances
To help attack the Ottoman Turks and regain lost lands
Couldn’t keep all territorial gains, but did get Azerbaijan back

15. Social Systems: Safavid
The role of the shah was that of a king.
The social structure was:
Shah
Bureaucracy and landed classes
Common people
Women and Religion
When Shah Abbas died, religious orthodoxy, a pressure to conform to traditional religious beliefs, increased.
Women were to give up freedom for a life of seclusion and the wearing of the veil.

16. Economic Systems: Safavid
Long-distance trade was most important
Shared sections of east-west trade routes with the Ottomans early on in empire
Offered silk, carpets, and ceramics to Europeans

17. Religious System: Safavid
The official religion was Shia Islam
The Shiites supported the shahs at first (Ismail was a Shi’ite Muslim).
They sent preachers to different areas to convert members of the Ottoman Empire.
Followers were qizilbash (or "Red Hats")

18. Culture: Safavid Isfahan was the jewel of the Safavids
it is still that for modern-day Iran
The “queen of Persian cities”
Central mosque, shown here
Artistic Achievements
Silk weaving flourished
Carpet weaving flourished more and Persian rugs are still prized today.
Riza-i-Abbasi is the most famous artist of this time.
He made beautiful works about simple subjects such as oxen plowing, hunters, and lovers. They used soft colors and flowing movement in painting.

19. Decline of Empires: Safavid
Religious Reasons
Shiite leaders urged shahs to persecute Sunnis, Sufis
Non-Muslims lost many protections
Military decline
Imported European weapons but never made their own
Arsenals outdated; tactics outdated; systems outdated
Rise of Banditry, Piracy
In countryside, many poor peasants took to banditry
On seas, many ports and merchants too to piracy
Trade disrupted, made Europeans mad, who often retaliated

20. Mughal Empire
Babur
Akbar the Great

21. Rise of Empires: Mughal
Babur ( )
Traced descent from Mongols
Not motivated by religious fervor
Founder of Mughal ("Mongol") dynasty in India
Central Asian Turks invaded India and seized Delhi in 1526
By 1530, Mughal empire embraced most of India

22. Political Systems: Mughal
Akbar (reigned )
A brilliant, charismatic ruler
Created centralized, absolutist government
Encouraged religious tolerance between Muslims and Hindus
Eliminated head tax on Hindus, banned sati
Aurangzeb ( )
Expanded the empire to almost the entire Indian subcontinent
Revoked policies of toleration: Hindus taxed, temples destroyed
His rule troubled by religious tensions and hostility
Arrival of Europeans: permitted them to trade, establish bases

23. Social Systems: Mughal
Women and marriage
Encouraged widow remarriage
Discouraged child marriage
Outlawed sati
Women and society
Discouraged female seclusion
Women were warriors and advisors in political matters.
They could own land and do business.
Special market days for women.
Women and Hinduism
The isolation of women was practiced in upper class Hindu families.
A lot of Hindu practices went unchanged by Mogul rule

24. Economic Systems: Mughal
Mughal empires less attentive to foreign or maritime trading
Mughals permitted stations for English, French, and Dutch
Europeans gradually excluded Indian influence

25. Religious Systems: Mughal
Religious diversity and tolerance under Akbar
Advocated “divine faith” called Din I‘-ilahi
Emphasized loyalty to emperor
Catholic missionaries welcomed at court of Akbar
Sikhism
Founded by Guru Nanak ( )
Blend of Islam & Hinduism
Personal salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on God

26. Culture: Mughal Architecture Miniature painting flourished in Iran
Fatehpur Sikri, Mughal capital, created by Akbar
Combined Islamic style with Indian elements
Site abandoned because of bad water supply
Taj Mahal, exquisite example of Mughal architecture
Shah Jahan built it for his favorite wife, Mumatz Mahal.
It combines Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic styles.
Miniature painting
flourished in Iran

27. Decline of Empires: Mughal
Aurangzeb’s policies deterred the Hindus
Rise of Sikhs
Rise of Christians with coming of Europeans
The British were the final straw.
Sir Robert Clive became the chief representative of the British East India Company.
He took control of Indian trade by taking Bengal. The BEIC could now tax the lands surrounding Calcutta.
The Indians practiced guerilla warfare against the British.
The British moved inland. Trade brought money to the British. The British were in India to stay.