Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean, Chapter 19

Islamic Empires Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals Sometimes called gunpowder empires Recent historical study has balanced the previous presentation of these empires European travelers described courts of immense wealth and told stories of capricious nad despotic actions of rulers But there is a less studied record of diverse societies following a sound legal and moral order, which paints a different picture than the doings of their rulers

Ottomans to 1750 Founded around 1300, they extend into Eastern Europe in the 1400’s, then Syria and Egypt in the 1500’s Seemed to resemble the early Islamic empires for their successful conquests But also resembled the modern, centralized states of European states of the time Ends in 1922, and survives massive changes, and the increasing power of European states

Expansion Control of the strategic link between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean Combined the traditional skills of the Turkish cavalry with new gunpowder technologies At first the Ottomans focused on the conquest of the Christians of the Balkans and Greece In 1453 they used massive cannon to destroy defensive walls and take Constantinople Then Syria and Egypt Moved into Central Europe, and laid siege to Vienna in 1529 Fought Venice for control of the Eastern Mediterranean Merchants from India and Sumatra asked the Ottomans for Naval help against the Portuguese These early centuries considered the Golden Age of the Ottomans, when they gave Europeans a run for their money

Institutions By the 1520’s considered the best organized and powerful state of both Europe and the Islamic world One aspect of this success were Janissaries, Christian prisoners of war from the Balkans who were foot soldiers and trained to use cannon and guns Lived in barracks and trained all year long Then the Ottomans extracted a tax of male children from Christian villages Placed in Turkish families to learn the language, then sent to the sultan’s palace in Istanbul for additional training, depending on their talents Some became commanders and heads of government departments

More Institutions The Islamic Turkic cavalry were given land grants and administered conquered lands, collected taxes and kept order Reported every summer for a campaign And they had an effective navy Hugely diverse, cosmopolitan—majority Christian, but a long tradition of local justice and family decisions dependent on religious institutions and laws of the area Ottomans saw the Sultan as providing justice for the people, and the military providing protection The people, in turn, supported both with taxes

Change in a Successful Formula As gunpowder weapons became more important, the Turkic cavalry lost power, lost land grants and became an unhappy element of Anatolia With devastating revolts, the spread of muskets and banditry Janissaries took advantage of their growing influence and changed laws governing them, they could marry and engage in business It became less necessary to force conscription as families passed on their Janissary status But they also became a less effective military force

Growing Weakness Increasingly the Sultans stayed home and did not lead their armies Janissaries became a powerful faction, and less of a military force Tax farming (in return for a tax, you could be the tax collector of an area) took the place of military small landholders Not to the advantage of the locals Tax farmers tended to live elsewhere Conditions in the countryside deteriorated And increasing focused on the production of products for European markets The old routes of trade through Ottoman lands became much less important as Europeans found their own ways to the Indian Ocean

Loss of Control Slowly Europeans were able to negotiate/force advantageous trade agreements and dominate Ottoman trade Ottomans continued to rule cities, but Europeans were able to get the terms they wanted Because the once efficient Ottoman military was torn apart by change and rebellion Increasingly, Sultans lost control to local rulers, who varied from place to place and pursued policies to enrich themselves

Safavids Present day Iran Cavalry paid through land grants Also hugely diverse, but less involved in the Indian Ocean Shi’ites Rose as a result of dysfunction in the Eastern Ottoman Empire The leader Ismail, at 16, proclaimed himself the Shah of Iran, insisted on Shi’ia Islam Who are waiting for the return of the 12 th Iman, who disappeared in the ninth century To some extent, a people apart in the world of Islam

Isfahan vs Istanbul Istanbul a great port, well connected to two worlds, many cultures Isfahan, less visited by Europeans, far inland, less diverse Istanbul focused on the palace of the Sultan Isfahan focused on a great central plaza Both built for walking, few wheeled vehicles Both cities of strong guilds of artisans Women seldom seen in both Islamic codes allowed women to retain her property after marriage, and there are records of women engaging in business—though not in public

Safavid Collapse The main trade product were “Persian” carpets hand-made of knotted silk or wool Struggled to pay for the arming their troops with gunpowder weapons An army made mostly of slaves taken in raids Mismanagement of taxes led to a failure of the army to prevent an Afghan takeover in 1722

Mughals A land of Hindus ruled by Muslims descended from Central Asians Babur claimed to be a descendent of Genghis Khan He defeated the last Sultan of Delhi in 1526 His grandson Akbar established an effectively administered state 100 Million inhabitants in Mughal India Extensive trade and intensive agriculture, which made India internally prosperous Political entities never hugely important in India, given the power of Hindu social ideas and their prosperous economy

Akbar Strived for social harmony among his Hindu subjects, not just territory and wealth Married a Hindu, to ensure future rulers would have ancestry from both faiths In legal disputes between Hindus, local custom or Hindu law used In legal disputes between Muslims, Shari’a law was used Akbar made himself the last resort in disputes Akbar also attempted to make a new Faith, incorporating elements of Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Sikh and Christian elements, with himself at the center His attempt did not survive him, but he did create a tolerant court

Decline Akbar’s zealous great grandson Aurangzeb looked to traditional Islam and placed restrictions on Hindus And power truly declined after his death in 1707 Various parts of India broke apart as powerful viziers established independent states Bad luck to lose that unified state at the time of increasing European military innovation and economic power

Maritime Islam Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals demonstrate difficulties with maintaining a land empire given new military innovations The presence of Muslim captains, shipbuilders, sailors and traders in all trading cities of the Indian Ocean following a common law, religion and speaking a common language gave them enormous strength to resist European trade in the region Even when local people converted to Christianity they were not treated equally by Europeans

Muslims in Southeast Asia Islam took root in coastal cities with trade quite late, possibly as late as the 14 th century, and as result of Muslims from India Muslim unity strengthened the resistance to Europeans, generally seen as aggressive Most areas of SE Asia where Islam was a presence, tended to adopt a somewhat less orthodox version Although over time, visits to Mecca and scholars who studied in the Islamic heartland made them more like Muslims elsewhere

Muslims in Coastal Africa Muslim rulers governed the East African Ports that the Portuguese began to visit in the late 15 th century—the Swahili coast Difficult to connect these cities given difficulties with travel A variety of products desired by others, such as gold, ivory, beeswax, tree resins, wood, gold, and slaves (taken to Arabian ports) The Portuguese conquered all these ports, except Malindi Although Arabs retook many of these ports—leaving the Portuguese with Goa, Mozambique, Macao and Timur in the Indian Ocean A tradition of Arab “pirates” harried the shipping of Europeans

The Dutch in Java Established a capital city, Batavia, present day Jakarta Although not autocratic at home, the Dutch were pushy in their colonies Insisting on trade monopolies Suppressing various uprisings of local rulers In the 17 th century the Dutch went from being middlemen in the trade, to producing products themselves on plantations Not just a trading town, but an administrative capital of a conquered land