CHAPTER 19: ISLAMIC GUNPOWDER EMPIRES

All were Islamic, All were militaristic, all left behind artistic and architectural legacies… but never

modernized

Rise of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires

• Warrior leaders of all three were:

• From Nomadic Turkic Backgrounds

• Spoke forms of Turkic

• Took advantage of power vacuums left by the breakup of the Mongol Khanates

• Relied on armies with artillery and cannons

The Rule of Tamerlane

• Moved out of Samarkand to

conquer most of Persia and part

of India

• Eurasian steppes were the

birthplace of the ghazi idea

(Blending of Nomadic values

and Islamic holy fighter)

• His conquest was very violent

and massacred some 100,000

Hindus before the gates of Delhi

• Finally he championed literature

and built structures still standing

today in Samarkand

Fall and Legacy of Tamerlane

• Built a government depended on the military and use of heavy artillery

• Never left effective political structure in many of the areas he conquered

• Two manor forces would clash continually that gave rise to these three empires, the Mongols vs the Islamic Forces

The Ottoman Empire: Mehmed II

• Called the Conqueror Ruled 1451-1481, conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul

• Topkapi Palace began construction during his reign

• Because of his navy, he conquered the areas around Venice and forced them to pay him a

yearly tax

• Istanbul became a major center of Islam later on

More on Mehmed II’s Empire

• To staff the military and government, used a selection system called devshirme, Christian boys ages 8-20 were taken by force who were subjects were forces to serve

• The most famous group called Janissaries formed elite forces in the Ottoman Army

• Becoming a Janissary provided a path of upward mobility, but still called slaves of the state

On to Suleiman I

• Ottoman Empire reached

it’s peak during his rule from 1520-1566

• Ordered many mosques,

forts and other great buildings constructed in cities under his control, such as the Suleimani Mosque in Istanbul

• Also known as the Lawgiver because he reformed the empire’s

legal system

Ottoman Economy• Traders served as the middlemen

of the Silk Trade Road, and controlled slave and gold trade in North Africa

• Made trade agreements with France, which later on hurt them… how?

• Many business deals were signed in the empire’s coffeehouses

• New crops from the Americas came to be grown in the empire like cotton and tobacco, the use later was officially prohibited, but still used throughout

Social Classes

• Built around a warrior aristocracy, which competed with the ulama (scholars and experts in Islamic Law) for positions in the government

• The Military and Janissaries tried to mount a couple against the sultans

• Sultans were at the top with viziers or strong advisors having more influence

• Merchants and artisans formed a small middle class with peasants below, and finally slaves

• Some people were impressed, or forced into service in the navy or other places… possibly more than a million between the 1500’s and 1800’s

• Finally, the empire was tolerant towards Jews and Christians, but could only live in parts of certain cities

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

• After the Reign of Suleiman, they fell victim to weak sultans and strong European neighbors

• Became known the “Sick Man of Europe.” Why?

• Began to grow more insular and less tolerant of non-Muslims, while Slavery there continued into the twentieth century

• Fell finally after World War I

Continuities and Change Under the

Ottomans

• Trade, arts, and culture of the area all were continuities

• While it changed form the Justinian’s Law to Shariah Law

• Istanbul remained the western end of the overland Silk Roads

• The Ottomans helped restore Istanbul to it’s former glory and made it a cultural center once again

The Safavids: Ismail

• At 14 or 15, conquered most

of Persia and proclaimed

shah(King or emperor) in

1501

• Denied legitmacy of rule to

any Sunni, causing hostilities

with the Ottoman Empire.

This lives on even today

• Fighting between the Safavids

and Ottomans kept them

from becoming much of a

threat to Europe

Shah Abbas I

• Presided over the Empire at it’s height

• Soldiers were often Christian boys pressed into service, imported European weaponry, and relied on Europeans to advise his troops

• In 1622 they took control of the Strait of Hormuz with the help of English Ships, which began a long history of British interest in Iran

The Fall of the Empire

• After Shah, rulers continued military spending, with falling revenues, weakening it’s economy

• Eventually replaced by the Zand Dynasty in 1760

• Women were veiled and restricted in their movements as provided by Islamic law, but barely mentioned in Safavid histories, showing a lack of political influence

Mughal India: Founded by Babur, but lets

talk about Akbar

• Ruled from 1556-1605 Akbar proved to be the most capable of the Mughal rulers

• All people had the right to appeal to him for final judgement

• Paid government officials called zamindars were given grants of land instead of salaries

• After him, however, the zamindars kept more of the money and built their own personal armies

More on Akbar

• Was tolerant of all religions

• Provided land grants to Sikihism, developed from combination of Islamic Sufism and Hinduism

• He exempted all Hindus from all taxes paid by non-muslims in the empire

• At it’s time, the Mughal Empire was one of the richest and best-governed states in the world

Shan Jahan

• Basically the guy who built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his

wife (he ruled from 1627-1658)

Decline of the Gunpowder Empires

• Resulted from pressure from European trading companies

• Also weak or corrupt leadership, and expensive armies

• In Mughal India, there was a deep religious division between Islam and Hinduism, as were between the Sunni Ottomans, and Shia Safavids