Prompts Within the period from 1450 to 1750, compare the historical processes (e.g. political, social, economic) of empire building in the Spanish Maritime Empire with the historical processes of empire-building in ONE of the following: the Ottoman Empire OR the Russian Empire Within the period from 1450 to 1750 analyze similarities and differences in techniques of Imperial administration between the Spanish Maritime Empire and ONE of the following: Ottoman Empire OR Mughal Empire

Land Empires vs. Maritime Empires

Land Empires Control of huge lands & people Requires large military investment Vulnerable to land & sea routes Requires massive infrastructure investment Superior technology used to suppress natives Expanded contact with imperial subjects Dependence on native collaborators

Maritime Empires Control of trade via limited ports Production & shipment of commodities Colonization of limited territory Limited military confrontations & investments Exploitation of improved maritime technology Expanded exploration & control of distance areas Dependence on native collaborators

Comparing Empires Most maintained Absolutist rule (exception England and the Netherlands) All maintained and extended territories through gunpowder weaponry All dominated trade routes and gained revenue through protectionism Most were dominated by religion and were conflicted by religious pluralism Sugar, Spice and slave trade were fundamental to their economy. All will establish a policy of infrastructure building and religious zeal. All will contend with management of a multiethnic empire

Comparing Empires Maritime were predominantly Christian Some were privately invested Maritime empires were exploitative and competitive “gunpowder” empires were ruled through Islamic forces Overland Empires lost monopoly of Indian Ocean trade after Battle of Lepanto Interaction with the “West” was generally through ports established by European interests (Calicut, Goa, Aden) By 17 th century many Islamic Empires became fundamentally more conservative and increasingly more insular contributing to their declining commercial role.

Similarities The peak of Islam’s political and military power All based on military conquest All from Turkic nomadic cultures All absolute monarchies All ruled through Islamic Principles (Sharia, 5 pillars, Umma, Hadith) All rose to power after Mongols All controlled lucrative trade All utilized Jizya on Dhimmi Political influence of women in Harem ( seclusion of women whose son could take the throne)

Differences All were Muslim but Mughals ruled over a predominantly non-Muslim population Ottomans had large Christian minority Safavids were Shi’ite Muslims Mughal and Ottoman were more tolerant of women and non-Muslims Ottomans were Sunni led Mughal attempted to advance non-Muslims in government leadership Mughal leading exporter of Cotton Ottoman often at war with the “West” ( ex: Siege of Vienna, Battle of Lepanto) Safavid was landlocked Ottoman the only one with some naval power Mughal not directly involved with slavery Trade with the “West” limited by mostly by Mughal merchants ( French, English and Dutch merchants)

Unit 3: the Earl Modern Period, CE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISLAMIC GUNPOWDER EMPIRES

Agriculture: the basis of all three empires  Major crops: wheat, rice  Little impacted by new American crops  Imports of coffee, tobacco very popular  Coffee discovered in Jaffa Province (Ethiopia)  Coffee houses developed, a major social tradition  Peasants  Tended to be overtaxed, overworked by nobles  Many so mistreated that they abandoned their lands Demographics  Population growth less dramatic than in China, Europe  India: significant growth due to intense agriculture  Less dramatic growth in Safavid and Ottoman empires  All empires were multi-national, multi-religious  Trade  Long-distance trade important to all three empires  Minorities controlled trade in all three states in trade diasporas  Trade goods tended to be traditional arts, crafts; little manufacturing  Ottomans, Safavids shared parts of east- west trade routes  Safavids offered silk, carpets, ceramics to Europeans  Mughal empires less attentive to foreign or maritime trading  Mughals permitted stations for English, French, Dutch  Europeans gradually exclude Indian influence TRADE & DEMOGRAPHY

 Religious diversity  Created challenges to rule of empires  Uniformity hard with religious differences  Religious minorities  Generally tolerated in Islamic states  In Ottoman empire  Conquered peoples protected, granted religious, civil autonomy  Organized into quasi-legal millets to regulate own affairs  Much of population was Christian, Jewish  Each communities had own millet which handled judicial affairs  In India  Majority of population was Hindu  Early Muslim rulers closely cooperated with Hindu majority  Under Aurangzeb: Islam proclaimed state religion, nonbelievers taxed  In Persia - Safavid  Shia were fanatical  Forced conversion RELIGION

 Sponsored arts and public works  Golden Age of Islamic art, architecture  Mosques, palaces, schools, hospitals, caravanserais  Istanbul  Ottoman capital, a bustling city of a million people  Topkapi palace housed government, sultan's residence  Suleyman blended Islamic, Byzantine architecture  Isfahan  Safavid capital  The "queen of Persian cities “  The central mosque is a wonder of architecture  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 CULTURE

 Dynastic decline  Caused by negligent rulers, factions  Constant competition between factions within government  Former elite military units often became threats  Government corruption  Bribery became way of doing business  Many officials pocketed taxes, overtaxed, etc.  Harem politics  Rulers raised in harems let sex carry them away  Rulers took to drinking, partying too much  Rulers ’ mothers, wives jockeyed for position, sons  Tensions increased  Religious conservatives abandoned tolerance  Ottoman conservatives  Resisted innovations like the telescope, printing press  Resisted western military innovations, industrialization  Discouraged merchants, commercialism  Safavid Empire  Shiite leaders urged shahs to persecute Sunnis  Non-Muslims lost many protections  Mughal India  Aurangzeb's policies provoked deep animosity of Hindus  Rise of Sikhs  Rise of Christians with coming of Europeans DECLINE OF GUNPOWDER EMPIRES

 Economy and Military Expansion  Series of long and costly wars with no financial support  Economy Stagnated by 18 th century  Officials resorted to raising taxes to deal with financial problems  Official, unofficial corruption lost millions in revenue to state  Failure to develop trade and industry  Military decline  Imported European weapons but never made their own  Arsenals outdated; tactics outdated; systems outdated  Ottoman Empire  Even purchased military vessels from abroad  Europeans developed extremely modern militaries  India  Mughals refused to build a navy, let Europeans rule seas  Led to loss of Mughal provinces  Local princes, rulers assumed control, defied Mughals  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 REASONS FOR DECLINE

 Cultural conservatism  Muslims seldom traveled to the West, confident of their superiority  Science, technology ignored as it is western, threat  Ignorant of European technological developments  Hostile to European, Christian inventions, institutions  Social conservatism  Middle classes failed to develop in Muslim states  Growing gap between ruling elite, peasants/slaves  Growing antagonism between religious elites, ruling elites  Resistance to printing press  At first, Ottomans banned printing in Turkish, Arabic  Ban lifted in 1729; conservatives closed Turkish press in 1742  In India, Mughals showed little interest in printing technology  Xenophobia becomes a cultural trait of Islam  Foreign cultural innovations seen as a threat to political stability  Inability to grasp aspects of modern politics, state structures  Muslims cannot believe what is happening to them  More irritating that it is the Christian Europeans who are ruling CULTURAL INSULARITY

Comp Theses: Islamic Gunpowder Empires From both the Mughal and Ottoman Empires established large functioning bureaucracies through the establishment of religiously tolerant policies over large non-Muslim groups, both grew wealthy due to the control over lucrative trade routes, however, predominantly Hindu Mughal had advisors of government of many faiths while the Millet system of religious enclaves (communities) was the closest any non-Muslims have in governmental decision- making The Ottoman and Safavid Empires were both Turkic lead assaults for empire establishment after the vacuum of authority the Mongols built, both were dominated by Islamic rule ( Sharia,5 Pillars,Hadith) but the Sunni led Ottoman was far more tolerant than the Shiite led Safavid eventually going to war and signifying the beginning of the end for the Safavid.