Asian Empires

Today we will look at three empires in Asia:, China’s Qing dynasty The Mughal Empire The Ottoman Empire None had the global impact of Europe’s American colonies None were as devastating to the conquered peoples None were fundamentally changed by the process of expansion None found great riches

Qing Dynasty Expansion, 1680-1770 Secured control of China’s northern and western frontiers Creating the borders of modern China Motivated by security concerns Keeping out the Mongols and the Russians

Ruling the Empire Ruled it’s Central Asian empire separately from the rest of China Using local notables to run local affairs China wanted to run its empire without spending lots of money China did not assimilate local peoples Qing officials did NOT send settlers to newly acquired territories

Chinese conquests transform central Asia Land-based trade became less important -- replaced by oceanic trade Mongolian nobles lost their land to Chinese merchants Pastoral Nomads fled to urban areas

The Mughal empire, 1526-1707 Fragile control of Indian subcontinent Turkic Muslims warriors A rare period of relative unity on the Indian subcontinent Rulers were Muslims; most of the subjects were Hindu

Akbar The Great , 1556-1605 Mughal India’s most famous emperor Worked to accommodate the Hindu majority Married several Hindu princesses Incorporated Hindus into political and military elite Supported the building of Hindu temples He acted on behalf of Hindu women

The Mughal empire – A Blended Culture Indian – Persian – Turkic Later generations of Muslims rejected this cultural synthesis and religious tolerance They imposed Islamic law Majority Hindus begin to oppose Mughal rule India became divided – easy prey for the British in the 18th century

The OTTOMAN empire, 1300-1600 Massive expansion Islamic World’s most significant empire Turks at center of Islamic world Incorporated a large number of Arabs Incorporated Holy Cities Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem 1453 -- Capture Constantinople Rename it Istanbul

The Ottomans in Southeastern Europe The Balkans -- 81% Christians Ottoman officials were good to the Christians in the Balkans In the Balkans: Many Christians preferred Ottoman rule Beyond the Balkans: Ottomans seen as a threat to the rest of Europe.” “The Terror of the Turk”