1. The Ottoman Empire Safavid Dynasty
The Muslim Empires
The Ottoman Empire
Safavid Dynasty

2. The Turks Anatolian Peninsula given by Seljuk Turks Expanded westward
Bosporus and Dardanelles
Expanded into the Balkans
An elite guard called Janissaries
Christians converted to Islam
Knowledge of firearms.

3. Ottoman Empire Mehmet II Sultan Selim I (Selim the Grim)
Laid seige to Constantinople, 1453
Renamed Istanbul
Sultan Selim I (Selim the Grim)
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Arabia
Holy cities there.
Caliph= defender of the faith and successor to Muhammad.

4. Ottomans Muslims Preferred to administer through local rulers.
Pashas= govt appt’d officials
Centralized government
Killing off all contenders:
Killed brothers & close friends.

5. Europe Advanced into the Balkans, but stopped by Hungarians.
Suleyman I,
Went up the Danube and took Belgrade.
Conquered most of Hungary and moved into Austria, but were defeated at Vienna in 1529.
1683 tried again, but Europeans defeated them. (never again!)

6. Nature of Ottoman Rule “Gunpowder Empire”
Empire formed by outside conquerors who unified the regions that they conquered through their mastery of firearms.
Sultan – supreme authority (hereditary)
Struggles over succession
Centralized Administration
Harem (private domain)
Wives, queen mother

7. Rule, cont’d. Imperial council Grand vizier Sultan sat behind a screen
Empire divided into provinces

8. Religion & Ottomans Sunni Muslims
Ulema= advisors; legal system; schools
Generally tolerant of non-Muslims
Non members paid a tax
Most in Euro areas remained Christian

9. Ottoman Society Divided society was divided into five categories:
Men of sword – soldiers
Men of pen – scientists, lawyers, judges, poets
Men of negotiation – merchants, tax collectors, artisans
Men of husbandry- farmers and herders
Millets – religious communities (Greek Christians, Armenian Christians, Jews)
All land belonged to the Sultan
Women: almost equal to men.
Allowed to own and inherent property
Could not be forced to marry
In some cases could get divorced.
Some worked in government

10. Problems in the Empire Executed two sons suspected of treason.
Began to lose territory.
Internal disintegration.
Sultans became less involved in govt.
Training of officials declined.
Nepotism.
Central bureaucracy lost touch w/ rural areas.
Corruption, wars debt,
Cultural changes countered – executions….

11. Safavid Empire

12. The Rule of the Safavids
Ardent Shittes, or Shia
Founded by Shah Ismail
Called himself Shah, or king.
Sent preachers out to convert people in Ottoman Empire.
Ordered massacre of Sunni Muslims in Baghdad in 1508.
Capital moved from Tabriz to Isfahan.

13. Shah Abbas
Ruled from 1588 – 1629
Used a similar system to janissaries in Ottoman Empire.
He centralized government power unto himself
He used force and diplomacy against the Ottomans; he allied himself with the enemies of the Ottomans.

14. The Fall of the Safavid Empire
Dynasty lost vigor after Shah Abbas
Successors didn’t have the talent/political skills.
Intellectual freedom
Religious orthodoxy increased.
Affected women
The Safavid declined because of the growing power of the Shia clerics.
They challenged the authority of the shah.
They persecuted the non-Shias.
Persia sank into a long period of social anarchy

15. Political and Social Structure
Turkish + Persian
Political System organized like a pyramid.
Shah
Bureaucracy and landed classes.
Common people

16. The Shah
Shah Ismail was believed to be a direct successor of Muhammad.
Shia Islam was the state religion.
Available to subjects.
Faces engraved in cups.
Shahs controlled the power of the aristocracy.
Government controlled the land.
Government positions based on merit (not birth)

17. Economy and Trade Large Urban Middle Class involved.
Most goods traveled by horse or camel caravan.
Roads were poor, but government provided resting places.

18. Safavid Culture
Science, medicine, mathematics was equal to that of other societies in the region.
Beautiful Architecture.
Metalwork, elaborate tiles, glass
Isfahan, modern-day Iran.
Silk
Carpet weaving.