the gunpowder empires - big red live€¦ · centuries: the ottoman empire, the safavid empire, and...

The Gunpowder EmpiresHow did gunpowder play a role in the development of empires?

Introduction

Fireworks explode at theopening ceremony of the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing, China.

On the night of August 8, 2008, the sky lit up over Beijing, China. Onthis evening, the world marked the opening ceremony of the 2008Summer Olympics. The four-hour event was a celebration of Chineseculture, history, and civilization. Throughout the evening, fireworkspunctuated several parts of the ceremony, and there was a massivefirework display at the end.

Although a spectacular fireworks display may seem typical of manymodern celebrations around the world, this aspect of the openingceremony was actually traditionally Chinese. Historically, China isconsidered to have four great inventions: paper, the compass,

T H E G U N P O W D E R E M P I R E S

2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

moveable type, and gunpowder. Gunpowder, one of the mainingredients in fireworks was instrumental in creating the display thatfilled the night sky with color and light.

Gunpowder has played a more important role throughout history thansimply creating fireworks. Using gunpowder, the Chinese built newweapons, and by the end of the 13th century had developed an earlytype of gun. Eventually, people across Eurasia learned of thesedevelopments through travel, trade, and warfare.

Gunpowder transformed warfare and, thus, the ability of nations andempires to grow and survive. Traditional defenses and armamentswere no match for the new gunpowder weaponry. Small armies withthese weapons could now defeat larger armies without them. Access togunpowder led to the emergence of new powers, known as gunpowderempires. Three such empires arose in Eurasia in the 15th and 16thcenturies: the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the MughalEmpire.

In this lesson, you will learn about the development of gunpowder inChina and how the Chinese used this technology to their advantage.You will explore the growth of the Gunpowder Empires in terms of theirmilitary might as well as their centralization of power. Finally, you willexamine the impact of gunpowder on European powers.

1. The Development of Gunpowder

Gunpowder was an accidental discovery. In the 800s C.E., Daoistalchemists working for the Tang emperor sought the key to everlasting,or at least prolonged, life. These alchemists knew that differentcombinations of natural ingredients could cure ailments such as anupset stomach or a headache. This led some to believe that if the rightmix of ingredients could cure common ailments, there must be one thatcould cure death.

The search for the right life-prolonging mixture proved risky. Thealchemists’ methods and concoctions could be haphazard and theresults dangerous. Many injured themselves, and some even burntdown buildings, in their quest to find the right mix of ingredients. Thiseffort eventually led to the creation of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, andsaltpeter. The Chinese called this mixture huo yao, or “fire drug,”because of its explosive properties. Huo yao would later be known by adifferent name: gunpowder.

When the Chinese realized that this explosive combination would not


Level: A 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

provide immortality, they found other uses for gunpowder. One use wasthe creation of fireworks, which were made by packing gunpowder inbamboo or paper tubes. When the tubes were lit on fire, the fireworkwould explode with a loud bang. Fireworks were often used to celebrateevents such as weddings and religious holidays. Some also thought thatthey could scare away evil spirits. Gunpowder was even used to createan early form of signal flairs.

The version of gunpowder initially developed by Chinese alchemistswas not the explosive that it eventually became. Through ongoingexperimentation, they continued to try to find the right balance ofingredients. It was not until the 13th century that gunpowder waspowerful enough to explode metal casings.

The fire lance, or huo qiang,was one of the first weaponsdesigned to be usedspecifically with gunpowder.Early versions caused moreshock than damage.However, as gunpowderimproved, the effects of thefire lance became somewhatsimilar to that of modernshotguns.

Gunpowder and Early Weapons The earliest use of gunpowder inweapons likely occurred during the 10th century. This early weaponwas a modified arrow called the huo jian or “fire arrow.” These arrowswere equipped with a small package of gunpowder enclosed in paper or



bamboo. A fuse attached to the package was lit before an arrow wasshot toward its target, causing the projectile to burst into flames as itsailed through the air.

One of the first weapons designed specifically for the use of gunpowderwas the fire lance, or huo qiang. Developed in the 10th century, the firelance is considered a precursor to the gun. Initially, the fire lance was aspear-like weapon with a bamboo tube for gunpowder. When ignited, itwould send a stream of flames in the same direction as the spear.

Over time, the fire lance evolved, transitioning from a spear-likeweapon to a more gun-like device. It also became more effective asbamboo tubes were replaced by metal ones. These more durable metaltubes could be stuffed with projectiles, such as bits of metal, stone, andpottery, which would then be forcefully launched from the tube. Theeffectiveness of the launched projectiles led to the development ofweapons more closely related to the modern gun.

Fire lances also influenced the development of larger weapons,including cannons, bombs, and catapults, which all used projectiles. Forexample, as technology improved, larger fire lance-like devices werebuilt and placed on frames or wheels. These early cannons, known aserupters, were filled with arrows or metal balls that were shot atenemies. Similarly, bombs came to be made of pottery or metal, andcatapults flung gunpowder-filled tubes. When these devices exploded,they rained debris on those standing nearby. These projectiles causedfar greater death and destruction than fire alone, and they changed theway in which wars were fought.

The Mongols Spread Gunpowder In the centuries after gunpowderwas created, the recipe stayed in China. Gunpowder was essential toChina’s ability to fight outside threats, and this desire to protect itselffrom invaders helped spur more innovation. To further protect itself,China banned the export of saltpeter and sulfur, resulting in gunpowderbecoming a Chinese monopoly. It remained this way until the Mongolinvaders were able to overcome the Chinese in the 13th century.

The gunpowder weapons used by the Chinese enabled them to defendthemselves against the Mongols for decades. However, the Chinesecould not maintain this advantage forever. As the Mongols conqueredparts of China, they recruited Chinese troops to fight for them. Thesetroops brought gunpowder weapons and helped the Mongols developtheir own. Such weapons helped the Mongols conquer the Chinese andfinally defeat them in 1279, after which the Mongol leader Kublai Khanestablished the Yuan dynasty.



The Mongols’ conquering of China was part of an ongoing campaign toexpand their territory beyond Mongolia. Before gaining control of China,the Mongols had taken regions of Central Asia. As the Mongols movedwest, they successfully employed gunpowder weaponry in battle andthus introduced it to other parts of Eurasia. By 1300, Mongol territorystretched from the Pacific in the East to the Danube River in the Westand included all of Central Asia and parts of Russia, Eastern Europe,and the Middle East.

This 13th-century illustration shows a rocket battery employed by theMongols. The battery consisted of individual projectiles, such asarrows, with either individual fuses or a single fuse. Often the boxcontaining the rockets was wider on top to help them spread as theywere unleashed toward their target.

2. The Ottoman Empire

On April 6, 1453, the Ottoman Turks began their attack on the city ofConstantinople. They bombarded the Byzantine capital with artillery,blasting away at the city’s walls. After nearly two months of siege, theOttomans broke through the walls and captured the city.Constantinople was in Islamic hands.

The fall of Constantinople had a major effect on Europe and Asia. Thecity had once halted the Muslim advance into Europe. Now, that



obstacle was gone. A new Muslim empire controlled the EasternMediterranean and its trade routes to Asia.

The rise of the Ottomans also underscored the growing importance ofgunpowder weapons in the formation of powerful states and empires.Constantinople’s walls had been built and maintained over centuries,but they were no match for cannons, some of which were reportedlymore than 26 feet long, weighed 25 tons, and fired 1,500-pound stoneballs that could travel over a mile.

After the capture of Constantinople, the Ottomans went on to build oneof the largest empires in history. At its height in the 1600s, theOttoman Empire controlled Southwest Asia, coastal North Africa, andlarge parts of Europe.

The Ottomans created a vast, wealthy, and prosperous empire, andbecame the leaders of the Muslim world. They ruled over a widevariety of diverse societies and cultures.

Origins and Expansion The Ottomans were a Muslim tribal groupthat emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 1200s. They tracedtheir origins to Turkish nomads who had migrated from Central Asiacenturies before. They took their name from Osman, a powerful warrior



chief who united various tribes and began a campaign of conquest in1299.

By the early 1300s, the Ottomans were expanding into Byzantineterritory. They took the towns and cities south of Constantinople andthen crossed into Europe. It was during this period that the Ottomansbegan using gunpowder weapons. The exact origin of their knowledgeof gunpowder is unknown, but the Ottomans quickly created units oftroops that specialized in producing and using firearms. Additionally,they created large cannons to bombard cities and breach city walls.

By 1400, the Ottomans had captured much of the Balkan Peninsula.Under the leadership of the Ottoman sultan, or ruler, Mehmet II, theOttomans were able to take the city of Constantinople. They renamedthe city Istanbul and made it their capital.

Under Mehmet, also known as the Conqueror, and his successors, theOttomans continued to expand the empire. They took the rest of theBalkans, including Greece, and the lands around the Black Sea. Theyoccupied Mesopotamia and parts of Arabia, Palestine and Syria, Egypt,and North Africa. They seized Hungary in 1526 and almost capturedVienna. Many of these conquests took place under their greatest sultan,Suleyman I. Known as Suleyman the Magnificent, he ruled from 1520 to1566.

By the mid-1600s, the Ottomans ruled an empire nearly the size ofancient Rome. They controlled rich agricultural lands and prosperoustrading cities. They also occupied the holy cities of Mecca and Medina,giving them claim to leadership of the Muslim world. They maintainedtheir empire by creating a strong, efficient government.



Suleyman the Magnificentwas an Ottoman sultan whoruled from 1520 to 1566. Thisminiature painting shows himon horseback surrounded byhis army in battle againstHungary in 1526. On the leftside of the image, note thecannons and soldiers withmuskets.

Organization of the Empire The Ottoman state was highlycentralized. All power flowed from the sultan, who governed as anabsolute ruler. For six centuries, the royal family of Osman kept thethrone, passing it down through male members of the family. There wasno clear line of succession, however. The sultan’s heirs had to fight forpower. So, when one of them gained the throne, he typically had hisbrothers and other male relatives killed or imprisoned to preventchallenges to his rule.

The sultan sat at the top of a large political structure. Directly beneathhim was the grand vizier, the chief minister in charge of thegovernment. The grand vizier met with other ministers and militaryleaders in a governing council called the divan. Beneath these high



officials lay a large bureaucracy of lesser officials who served thegovernment at all levels. A network of provincial governors managedthe conquered territories and linked them to the central government inIstanbul.

The Ottoman bureaucracy was a merit-based system. Most officialsgained office based on their abilities, not their social position. Such asystem is called a meritocracy. Other states, notably China, developedsimilar systems. In the Ottoman state, however, many of the topofficials were captives. These captives, most of them Christians, weretaken from conquered lands in Anatolia and the Balkans. They werebrought to Istanbul, where they were converted to Islam and trained fora life in government service.

To ensure a steady supply of captives for government service, theOttomans levied a tax called the devshirme. This tax requiredconquered regions to provide a regular allotment of enslaved childrento serve the sultan. Many of the boys were trained for military serviceand became part of an elite fighting force called the janissaries.Because of their training and allegiance to the state, the janissarieswere renowned as the best soldiers in the world.

The brightest and most capable captives, however, were groomed forgovernment office. The most successful became ministers, judges, andgovernors. One famous example was Ibrahim Pasha, the son of a Greekfisherman, who was sold into slavery and entered the household ofSuleyman the Magnificent. He later married the sultan’s sister andbecame the grand vizier, second in power only to the sultan.

The Ottomans divided society into two broad classes: the rulers and theruled. The rulers were members of the military and governing class,which included both Muslims and non-Muslims. They did not pay taxes.The people being ruled included taxpaying commoners, such asfarmers, artisans, and merchants.

A Diverse Society Ottoman society was ethnically diverse, with largenumbers of Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Armenians, Turks,and Arabs. The Ottomans were generally tolerant of different culturesand religions. They allowed Orthodox Christians and Jews to practicetheir faith, subject to certain restrictions and special taxes. Althoughsecond-class citizens, non-Muslim groups were organized in separatecommunities that were given the right to manage their own religiousaffairs.

The Ottomans were less tolerant of Shi’a Muslims. As Sunnis, they saw



the Shi’a as a challenge to their authority and often persecuted them.They also waged long and vicious wars with the Safavid Empire ofPersia. The Safavids were a Shi’a state that bordered the Ottomans tothe east.

The two men in elaboratedress in this 1513 illustrationwere Ottoman janissaries.The janissaries were an elitefighting force that wasoriginally composed of youngcaptives who had beentrained by the Ottomans for alife of military service. Thejanissaries were highlyrespected for their militaryskill. They became a powerfulpolitical force within theOttoman Empire.



Under Suleyman, the Ottomans developed a strong legal code. Thiscode was based on shari’ah, or Islamic law, but it also included non-Islamic provisions for situations that were not covered by shari’ah.Suleyman’s law code provided a uniform legal system regardless ofpeople’s social and religious origins. For that reason, he was also knownas the Lawgiver.

A Gradual Decline Suleyman’s reign was the high point of theOttoman Empire. After his death in 1566, Ottoman power graduallydeclined.

One early blow occurred in 1571 at the Battle of Lepanto. This navalbattle off the coast of Greece pitted the Ottoman navy against acombined European fleet. The Europeans dealt the Ottomans a stingingdefeat, their first major loss in battle. The Ottomans recovered andeven conquered more lands. However, they were dealt another harshblow in 1683, when they again failed to take Vienna, the capital ofAustria’s Hapsburg Empire. By this time, the Ottoman’s image ofinvincibility had been shattered.

In addition, a series of increasingly weak and corrupt sultans led theOttoman Empire in its final centuries. One reason for this weaknessmay have been the Ottoman policy of imprisoning possible heirs to thethrone, which included the sons of the reigning sultan. As prisoners,these contenders to the throne did not receive the education or trainingthey needed to rule the empire. Those who eventually rose to powermismanaged the empire, and the central government lost power andauthority.

The Ottomans also suffered from economic problems. By the 1600s,European countries had developed new sea trade routes to Asia thatbypassed the traditional land routes across Ottoman territory. Thisreduced the amount of revenue the Ottomans could earn from trade.An influx of silver from the new American colonies also lowered thevalue of the Ottoman currency and caused inflation.

The Ottoman rulers took steps to modernize in the late 1700s. Thesultans and their ministers adopted reforms in an effort to strengthenthe economy and government. But by this time the empire wasshrinking. At the same time, Europe was growing more powerful. TheOttoman Empire survived until the early 1900s, but was finallydissolved in 1923, after World War I.



The Battle of Vienna in 1683 shattered the Ottoman’s image ofinvincibility. This 18th-century painting shows the Ottomans layingsiege to Vienna. Fighting occurs in the distance, closer to the city,while the hillsides are dotted with Ottoman encampments. The siegebegan nearly two months before the battle.

3. The Safavid Empire

To the east of the Ottoman Empire, another empire emerged at thebeginning of the 16th century. The Safavids of Persia grew from a sectof Sufi Islam into rulers of a major empire that controlled large parts ofsouthwest Asia from 1501 to 1722. At its height, the empire stretchedfrom the western Caspian Sea to the border of India.

The Safavids united Persia under their rule and played a major role inthe re-emergence of Persian identity. As with the Ottomans, gunpowderweaponry helped increase the Safavids’ power. However, they onlyrecognized the importance of these weapons after being defeated bythe Ottoman in battle.

Building a Dynasty The Safavid dynasty was founded by Ismail I in



1501, but its origins date to the Safavid Sufi sect in the 14th century.The sect was founded in Ardebil, Azerbaijan, by Sheikh Safi al-DinArdebili. Safi served as a spiritual adviser to the leaders of the Il-Khanate, the Mongol rulers of Persia. His status as a spiritual leaderrose further as his children married the children of other powerfulspiritual leaders. He also gained political clout by becoming involved inTurkmen tribal affairs in Anatolia, Azerbaijan, and the Caucasus. As theOttoman dynasty began to emerge, the Safavids became spiritualleaders of the clans that opposed the Ottomans.

The Safavid Empire reached its height in the first half of the 1600s. Theempire united Persia and helped bring about the re-emergence ofPersian identity after centuries of foreign rule.

Safi’s descendants had similar political and spiritual aspirations. Around1450, Sheikh Junaid, the leader of the Safavids, was exiled fromAzerbaijan to eastern Anatolia because of his political ambitions. InAnatolia, he began to organize a confederacy of Turkmen followers,who viewed him as a spiritual leader and almost divine. Additionally,Junaid consolidated his power by marrying into the family of the leaderof the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, which ruled parts of eastern Anatolia,Persia, and modern-day Iraq.



After Junaid’s death in 1460, his son Haidar became the Safavid leader.Haidar returned to the Safavid ancestral city of Ardebil with hisTurkmen, now known as the Qizilbash, in an attempt to conquer regionsaround Ardebil. However, he was killed in battle in 1488, and his sonswere left to carry on the Safavid legacy. One of those sons was Ismail.

Although the Aq Qoyunlu had tried to limit Haidar’s political ambitions,infighting over succession prompted some factions to seek Safavidsupport. This enabled Ismail to gain power in Azerbaijan and eventuallyconquer its largest city, Tabriz. It was here in 1501 that Ismail namedhimself shah, establishing the Safavid dynasty. He declared Tabriz hiscapital.

As shah, Ismail was very involved in managing state affairs. He hiredPersians to handle governance and fiscal management and built theQizilbash into an organized military force. Although Ismail followedShi’a Islam, he was tolerant of people who were from different ethnicand religious backgrounds. He even hired Sunnis for administrativepositions. His successes also increased the loyalty of other Sufi orders,members of which converted to Shi’ism.

Additionally, Ismail sought more territory for his dynasty and undertooka decade of conquest, gaining control of parts of eastern Anatolia, partsof modern-day Iraq, Kurdistan, and the central Iranian Plateau. In 1510,he began campaigns against the Mongol leader Timur Lang’ssuccessors, the Timurids, and conquered a region that includedmodern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.



In 1501, Ismail I namedhimself shah and establishedthe Safavid dynasty. Thisstatue in Azerbaijancommemorates his reign.

The Safavids Embrace Gunpowder As Ismail expanded Safavidterritory, he initially did so without the aid of gunpowder weapons.Though gunpowder weapons had been introduced to Persia by the AqQoyunlu, the Safavids only recognized the need for modern weaponryafter being defeated by the Ottomans in 1514 at Chaldiran.

As the Shi’a Safavids gained more power, the Sunni Ottomansincreasingly viewed them as a threat. The Ottomans were especiallyconcerned about growing support for the Safavids in central andeastern Anatolia. Selim I, the Ottoman ruler, tried to repress support forthe Safavids by banning Shi’ism and massacring its adherents. Armedwith muskets and cannons, the Ottoman army then marched intoPersia and battled the Safavids at Chaldiran. The Ottomans defeatedthe Safavids and moved on toward the capital, Tabriz. European threatsin Constantinople, however, prompted them to leave.

Although the Safavids’ loss at Chaldiran was largely a result ofgunpowder weapons, it ultimately led the Safavid Empire to become agunpowder empire. Ismail worked to rebuild his weakened army by



introducing a musket corps. His successors would take further steps tobuild the Safavids’ arsenal.

After the defeat at Chaldiran, Ismail withdrew from governing. Duringthis period, the Safavid army recovered, but there were still concernsabout its organization. Moreover, in Ismail’s absence, Qizilbash clansbegan battling each other for power.

Consolidating Power When Tahmasp, Ismail’s 10-year-old son,ascended the throne in 1524, he inherited an empire that was unstableand plagued by factionalism. Qizilbash clans were still fighting, Persianelites were clamoring for more power, and Sunnis felt increasinglyalienated as Shi’ism became more popular. Despite his youth, Tahmaspsoon proved himself a capable leader.

In the 1530s, Tahmasp started to consolidate his power. In part, he didthis by reducing the power and influence of the Qizilbash. He appointedPersian officials in roles that had traditionally been held by Turkmen.He created a corps of golam, slave soldiers, who were not Qizilbash.Tahmasp also began taking land run by Qizilbash chieftains and placingit under Safavid control.



The Qizilbash were Turkmensupporters of the Safavids.They first served as a militaryforce under Ismail. Over time,they became a powerful forcein government. SeveralSafavid rulers, includingTahmasp, worked to reducetheir power and influence. InOttoman Turkish, Qizilbashmeans “red head.” This wasreflected in Qizilbashsoldiers’ hats.

Tahmasp tried to act as a unifying power. He standardized weights andmeasures. He was the first to produce coins with Persian, rather thanArabic, inscriptions. He also tried to spread Shi’ism and standardizeShi’a religious practices by basing them around scripture. This served tofurther alienate the Qizilbash, who still held folk beliefs, as well asSunnis. Part of the push to spread Shi’ism stemmed from the capitalbeing moved from Tabriz to Qazvin around 1550. This former Sunnistronghold was further from Ottoman threats and surrounded by high



mountains. Qazvin would remain the Safavid capital for around 40years.

After Tahmasp’s death, he was succeeded by two of his sons, one afterthe other: Ismail II in 1576 and Mohammad in 1578. The reign of bothwas relatively short, however. Ismail II died one year after taking thethrone, and, in 1587, Mohammad was forced to abdicate to his son, 16-year-old Abbas. Abbas went on to become the greatest Safavid leaderand served until 1629.

A strong and independent ruler for most of his reign, Abbas sought tomaximize personal control over the empire and centralize power. Heworked to develop Persia into a bureaucratic state and implementedpolicies similar to Tahmasp’s to limit attempts, particularly by theQizilbash, to undermine his power.

Like Tahmasp, Abbas employed golam from Armenia, Georgia, andCircassia. These soldiers formed the basis of a standing, paid army,similar to the Ottoman janissaries. They were also equipped withmodern gunpowder weapons. In contrast, the Qizilbash continued toemphasize cavalry warfare as part of their social status.

Additionally, unlike the Qizilbash, golam soldiers lacked tribal affiliationsand were loyal only to the shah. They also converted to Shi’a Islam.Importantly, this professional fighting force ensured that the Qizilbashwould not be able to dominate the military. These changes alsoprovided social mobility for non-Persians—some of whom becamegovernment leaders and officials.

Abbas also established a program of forced migration to removeQizilbash tribes from their traditional centers of power, furtherdecreasing their influence. Despite all this, Abbas made sure that theQizilbash continued to play a significant role in the Safavid governmentand military, carefully balancing competing interests to his ownadvantage.

To reinforce his own power, Abbas moved the capital to Isfahan in thelate 1590s and made the city into a monument to Safavid rule. Thecenterpiece was the new town square, the Meidan-e Shah. On eachside, the square was surrounded by a building reflecting the height ofSafavid architecture: the Ali Qapu Palace to the west, the Shah Mosqueto the south, the Mosque of Sheikh Lotfallah to the east, and anentrance to the Grand Bazaar with murals showing Abbas’s militaryvictories to the north. Each building represented an element of theSafavid Empire: the monarchy, religion, military, and trade.



Shah Abbas moved the Safavid capital to Isfahan in the 1590s. The cityand especially the town square are monuments to Safavid rule. Thispicture shows the Shah Mosque at the southern end of the square.

Abbas also established a new migration policy that brought Armeniansto the capital. The presence of Armenians, known as expert merchants,in Isfahan attracted traders and linked the city to an extended tradenetwork. Generally, Abbas encouraged trade and developedinfrastructure to support it. He constructed new roads that connectedthe far reaches of the empire and extended to the borders. He alsoreestablished road security and built caravanserais, hotels that servedcaravans, throughout the empire.

To further increase trade and improve diplomatic relations, Abbaswelcomed traders from Europe and even allowed Europeans toestablish Christian missions in Persia. However, Abbas had ulteriormotives. He wanted to use the Europeans as sources of firearms andweapons and to gain allies in the Safavids’ ongoing struggle against theOttomans.

A Short-lived Empire Although Abbas is regarded as the greatestSafavid leader, some of his policies also hastened the decline of theempire. To prevent competing claims to the throne, he moved his



grandchildren, including his successor, Safi I, to the harem, thesecluded part of the palace where the women of the royal householdlived. In the harem, they were raised in a manner that left themunprepared to rule. Subsequent shahs followed suit, creatinggenerations of ill-equipped leaders.

Shah Abbas, who ruled from1588 to 1629, is regarded asthe greatest Safavid leader.He centralized power, builtPersia into a bureaucraticstate, and developedinfrastructure to support theempire’s growing trade.Despite his accomplishments,his policies helped hasten thedecline of the empire.

The policy of placing tribal land under Safavid control—which wasstarted by Tahmasp and ramped up by Abbas and later shahs—reducedits long-term productivity and, thus, its income. Government



supervisors lacked the incentive that tribal leaders had to invest incaring for the land to ensure its productivity.

The Safavids faced other long-term economic challenges as well. Theempire lacked significant gold and silver deposits and depended onforeign sources for these precious metals, making its economyvulnerable. As trading patterns changed, the weak Safavid currencywas unable to compete in a marketplace dominated by Europeans.Moreover, traders increasingly bypassed the empire altogether as searoutes became more popular.

To save money, the Safavids reduced military spending. This weakenedthe Safavids’ ability to stop insurrections and foreign invasions. Crownlands even had to be returned to tribal control.

By the early 18th century, the Safavid Empire was no longer stable. Thearmy was plundering villages, local governors were assisting bandits onunsecure roads, and crops were failing. Meanwhile, Shah SultanHusain, who came to power in 1694, continued to fund buildingprojects, despite being unable to fund the military.

In 1721, the Afghans invaded the southeast and captured the city ofKerman. The Afghans continued on to Isfahan, which despite a lack ofartillery, they blockaded for six months. In October 1722, Shah SultanHusain surrendered and crowned the Afghan leader shah.

4. Mughal India

In the 1500s, a new empire arose in India under the Mughal dynasty.The Mughals were Muslim Turks with ethnic roots in Central Asia. Likethe Ottoman and Safavid, the Mughals built a large empire with the aidof gunpowder weapons and an efficient, centralized government.

Founding the Empire The founder of the Mughal dynasty wasBabur, a descendant of the Mongol leaders Timur and Genghis Khan.Mughal was the Persian word for “Mongol.” At the age of fifteen, Baburlaid siege to the city of Samarkand, in present day Uzbekistan, andafter seven months, finally captured it. However, Babur only held thecity for 100 days. A rebellion in his home city of Fergana broke outamongst nobles who had favored his brother. As he marched to recoverFergana, another uprising in Samarkand by a rival prince stole that cityfrom him as well. The loss of his land in Central Asia led Babur to movesouth and conquer Afghanistan. His eyes were, however, set on India.



The Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent around 1700, nearly200 years after it was founded. Its territory covered of parts ofmodernday India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

For 300 years, a group of Muslim states known as the Delhi Sultanatehad ruled most of northern India. In 1526, Babur invaded India. NearDelhi, he confronted the army of Sultan Ibrahim at the Battle ofPanipat. The sultan had 100,000 troops against Babur’s 12,000.However, Babur’s soldiers were well trained and equipped with artilleryand muskets, whereas Sultan Ibrahim’s troops lacked these modernweapons and had never encountered them before. This technologicaladvantage helped Babur’s small army conquer Sultan Ibrahim’s troops.

Babur later wrote:

I put my foot in the stirrup of resolution and my hands onthe reins of confidence in God, and marched against SultanIbrahim. . . . The sun had mounted spear-high when theonset began, and the battle lasted until midday, when theenemy was completely broken and routed.

—Babur, Baburnama

Although Babur may have credited his success in battle to hisconfidence in God, he also owed a debt to the Ottomans. He, and later



his descendants, hired Ottomans as military advisers and gunsmiths.

At Panipat, based on Ottoman advice, Babur supplemented his force ofarchers with firearms and cannons. Gunpowder weapons were decisivein the battle. Moreover, they frightened Sultan Ibrahim’s elephants,prompting them to flee and trample their own soldiers. However,gunpowder weaponry was not the only innovation Babur employed.Familiar with Western and Central Asian military techniques, Baburdivided his troops into units to surround the enemy. Sultan Ibrahim’sfrontal attack was no match for Babur’s forces.

Using tactics similar to those he used at Panipat, Babur went on toconquer most of northern India, where again his opponents had neverencountered muskets or artillery. In 1530 he died, leaving the throne tohis son Humayun. His son was a poor ruler, however, and lost most ofthe territory his father had gained. When Humayun died in 1556, he leftonly a small kingdom around Delhi to his son Akbar.

A Golden Age Akbar was just 13 years old when he took power. Hewas a brilliant leader who soon revived the Mughal Empire. Akbarushered in a golden age of Indian civilization that lasted for more thantwo centuries.

During his 40-year reign, Akbar continued to expand the empire,ultimately conquering more than half the Indian subcontinent. But hisgreater skill was in governing. He divided India into provinces anddistricts and established an efficient system of administration. He alsoreformed the tax system to reduce taxes on peasant farmers.

Akbar ruled as an Indian, not as a foreign conqueror. He knew that hisrule could succeed only with the support of India’s diverse population.He promoted tolerance by allowing his subjects—whether Sunni or Shi’aMuslims, Hindus, or Sikhs—to worship as they pleased. He eliminatedunfair taxes on Hindus and appointed Hindu leaders to high positions ingovernment. He invited Hindu, Muslim, and Christian scholars to hiscourt and even hired a Jesuit tutor for his son. Despite his tolerance,however, he was ruthless in putting down opposition. When a Hinduprince defied his authority in 1568, he sacked the prince’s city andmassacred its defenders.

Art and culture flourished under Akbar’s rule. The Mughal Empirebrought together cultural traditions from the Indian, Persian, and Arabworlds. Persian was the official court language. It blended with localtongues to form Hindi, the main language of modern India, and Urdu,the official language of Pakistan.



In addition, Akbar valued learning and promoted the arts. Poetry andpainting, particularly miniature painting, flourished in Mughal India.Mughal architects mixed Islamic and Indian styles to create buildingswith great domes, arches, and minarets. These buildings werebeautifully decorated with carvings, mosaics, and other intricatedesigns.

Akbar died in 1605, leaving behind a strong and orderly empire. Therulers that followed over the next century maintained the empire,though with less skill.

Shah Jahan, Akbar’s grandson, ruled for three decades, from 1628 to1658. He is best known for his lavish court life and the construction ofthe Taj Mahal. Built in memory of his wife, this building—with its marbledome and splendid gardens—is one of the world’s architecturaltreasures.

Built over two decades beginning in 1632, the Taj Mahal wascommissioned by Shah Jahan to serve as the tomb for his wife. Itblends elements of Indian, Persian, and Islamic design and isconsidered the finest example of Mughal architecture.



The next ruler, Aurangzeb, held power for five decades, until 1707. Hewas a fervent Muslim who abandoned Akbar’s policy of tolerancetoward Hindus. He removed Hindu officials from government andreinstated the much-hated taxes on Hindus. At the same time, hecarried out a long and bloody military campaign that brought most ofsouthern India into the Mughal Empire. Under his rule, the MughalEmpire reached its greatest size.

Trade and Interaction The success of Mughal rule depended on thevast wealth and resources of the Indian subcontinent. During theMughal era, India’s economy was larger than that of any Europeannation. It supported a population of some 150 million people, muchlarger than Europe’s. Abundant farmlands, particularly in the GangesRiver plains of northern India, produced large harvests of rice, sugar,and other crops. Industries made a wide range of goods, from cottoncloth to gold jewelry.

Trade and commerce were critical to the Indian economy. For centuries,India’s position on sea routes across the Indian Ocean had spurred thegrowth of trade. These trade routes connected India with China and theSpice Islands to the east, and with Southwest Asia, Africa, and Europeto the west. This maritime trade brought great wealth to India.

Along these trade routes, Mughal merchants and Sufi missionaries alsospread Indo-Muslim culture and the Islamic faith. During the Mughalera, many people in Southeast Asia—particularly Indonesia—convertedto Islam. Indonesia is a largely Muslim country today as a result of thiscultural exchange.



This illuminated page is fromthe Baburnama, the memoirsof Babur. They show Baburvisiting the Hindu Temple ofGurh Kattri.

During this era, European traders also came to India, drawn by itsmany riches. The Portuguese arrived in 1505, and during the 1600s, theFrench, Dutch, British, and Danish also established trading stations onIndian shores. They exchanged silver from the Americas for cottoncloth, spices, and other Indian trade goods.

The Mughal Decline By the 1700s, European influence in India wasgrowing. Meanwhile, Mughal power was in decline. Aurangzeb’s focuson conquest had distracted attention from other critical needs anddepleted the royal treasury. His harsh policies toward Hindus had alsoturned many Indians against Mughal rule. “Your subjects are trampledunderfoot,” one Indian wrote. “Every province of your empire isimpoverished.” Rebellions broke out, and various regions separatedfrom the Mughal state. The empire began to unravel.

A series of weak Mughal rulers was unable to reverse the decline. By



the late 1700s, Britain had taken advantage of this weakness andgained effective control over large parts of India. The Mughal rulerbecame a figurehead, with no real power. Mughal rule officially lasteduntil 1857. But by the early 1800s, India was essentially a Britishcolony.

5. The Gunpowder Revolution in Europe

By the end of the 13th century, gunpowder had arrived in Europe. Itsemergence was instrumental in the development of early modernEuropean nations, including England, France, and Spain.

Gunpowder Arrives in the West The specifics of gunpowder’sintroduction to Europe remain a mystery. Evidence indicates thatgunpowder was brought to Europe sometime in the middle of the 13thcentury by a combination of travelers, traders, and possibly invaders.Others believe that it might have been invented there independently.

One of the most common theories is that travelers to and from Asiabrought the idea of gunpowder to the West. One of the most famousstories about the origin of gunpowder in Europe involves Marco Polobringing fireworks with him when he returned to Venice from China in1295. However, gunpowder likely reached Europe before Marco Polo’sreturn. European missionaries and traders visited the Mongol court asearly as the 1230s, and historians speculate that these travelers mayhave brought gunpowder, or knowledge of it, back to Europe. They alsosuggest that these Europeans might not have been aware ofgunpowder’s potential as a weapon.

Additionally, knowledge of gunpowder may have been transmitted viathe Arab world. Documents from 1249 indicate that the Egyptians hadbeen using saltpeter to manufacture gunpowder for decades. Duringthis era, sea routes connected China with the Red Sea. It is possiblethat Egyptians either learned this information on their travels or sawfirearms carried by ships arriving from China.

Gunpowder and weapons also reached Arabs and Muslims as theMongols moved westward. In the 1256, they established the Il-Khanate,which included Persia, Syria, and parts of Anatolia. The localpopulations were directly introduced to these weapons and startedmanufacturing them. In the decades that followed, several booksexplaining the production of gunpowder and weapons were written inArabic. With Muslims traveling across Eurasia, from Spain to India, it islikely that they helped transmit gunpowder and advanced weaponry, orrelated texts, on their journeys.



This 1326 illustration is believed to be the earliest European depictionof a cannon. This picture was created around the time when cannonswere first being produced in Europe. However, they were not actuallyused in battle until 1346, when the English defeated the French at theBattle of Crécy.

Some historians believe that the Mongols may have introducedgunpowder directly to Europe in 1241 at the Battle of Mohi. The battlewas fought during the Mongol invasion of Europe against the Hungarianarmy. The Mongols defeated the Hungarians in part by catapultingexplosives at them. Although the Mongols had gunpowder weapons atthis time, it is not clear that these explosives were made fromgunpowder. However, historians have speculated that they were andthat the Mongols also employed early firearms.



Knights from France and Genoa used cannons to bombard the fortifiedtown of Mahadia in Tunisia, North Africa in 1390.

During the period when information about gunpowder was spreadingwestward, Roger Bacon, an English friar and philosopher, devised hisown recipe for gunpowder. Published in his Opus Majus in 1267, Bacon’sformula was the first European reference to gunpowder, and itsingredients were the same as those in the Chinese formula: saltpeter,charcoal, and sulfur. Moreover, Bacon recognized the potentialdangerous uses of this substance. However, his idea may not havebeen as original as it seemed. Bacon read Arabic and could have gottenhis idea from one of the Arabic texts on gunpowder. Alternatively, hemay have received information from a friar who had been to the Mongolcourt.

The Gunpowder Revolution By the 1320s, Europeans wereproducing their own gunpowder and weapons. They developed cannonsfor use on land and sea. They designed new fortifications to resistartillery attacks. They also created trained, professional armies thatrelied on guns rather than pikes and spears. These advances, known asthe gunpowder revolution, had a major impact on warfare.



Absolute monarchs ruledEurope between 1500 and1800. Louis XIV of Franceembodied the principle ofabsolutism. He was king ofFrance from 1643 to 1715.

Additionally, innovations in weaponry enabled European monarchies toenforce their rule militarily and to secure their borders and sometimesexpand them. However, they cost a lot of money. European rulers paidfor their new military power with taxes, bank loans, and the wealthgained from global trade and commerce. During this period, the mostpowerful European states spent an increasing share of their revenueson the military. This commercializing of warfare was a key factor in thegunpowder revolution.

Absolute Rule in Europe Supported by large militaries withadvanced gunpowder weaponry, powerful monarchs began to takecontrol in the 1500s in western Europe. Previously, feudal lords and theCatholic Church had limited the power of kings and queens. But, withthe collapse of feudalism and the weakening of the Catholic Church,monarchs did not have challenges to their authority. Between the 16thand 18th centuries, many monarchs centralized power and authorityunder their rule. Because these rulers had absolute power, their form of



rule was known as absolutism.

Absolute monarchs claimed that their right to rule came from God, aconcept known as divine right. This notion of Godgiven authority wasnot new. China’s Mandate of Heaven, which claimed that the ruler’spower stemmed from divine authority, had existed for hundreds ofyears. A Chinese emperor who governed poorly, however, could losethis mandate and be overthrown. In contrast, European monarchsargued that any attempt to remove them or limit their power wasagainst God’s will. King James I of England spoke to Parliament in 1609saying, “. . . kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and situpon God’s throne, but even by God himself are called gods.” Formonarchs who believed in divine right and absolute rule, the ruler andthe state were inseparable. King Louis XIV of France expressed thisbelief when he reportedly said, “L’etat, c’est moi,” meaning “I am thestate.”

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned about three gunpowder empires thatemerged in Eurasia in the 15th and 16th centuries. Theseempires gained power with the aid of gunpowder weapons andmaintained control over large territories.

Cultural Interaction The gunpowder empires incorporated manydifferent peoples and cultures, and their development reflected thesediverse cultural influences.

Political Structures These three empires built strong, centralizedstates to govern their territory. They created official bureaucracies tomake government more effective. Nevertheless, most rulers heldabsolute power.

Economic Structures Trade and commerce became increasinglyimportant in all three empires. Each was located along extended tradenetworks that stretched from Europe to China.

Social Structures Eurasian states imposed class structures designedto maintain social and political order. However, they each offered someform of social mobility, particularly for those who worked ingovernment.

