ISLAMIC GUNPOWDER EMPIRES Ch.2.4

The Beginning of the Ottomans By 1300, the Byzantine Empire had begun to shrink Mongols had destroyed previous Muslim kingdoms like the Seljuk Turks Anatolia was inhabited by nomadic Turks with a long history of invasion Anatolian Turks saw themselves as ghazis, or warriors for Islam (think of them like the Christian Crusaders) Turkish ghazis followed a strict Islamic code of behavior and wanted to take land from the infidels (unbelievers)

The Beginning of the Ottomans Osman Bey was first great leader who built a small Turkish state in Anatolia 1300-1326 Territory expanded through conquest Success of Ottomans based on use of gunpowder and highly trained military One of the first to use cannons to break city walls Ottomans continued to expand into Byzantine territory and leader claimed the title of sultan (overlord) Ottomans were tolerant of people they conquered

Tamerlane (Timur the Lame) Ottoman expansion was only disrupted by Tamerlane, a powerful Central Asian warlord Conquered Russia and Persia Burned Baghdad Expanded into northern India Timur defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and Ottoman sultan was captured Timur died in 1405 with no successor and the threat ended

Succession Issues What was the problem with succession in previous Muslim empires? Mehmed I defeated his brothers to become the next important sultan Later sultans would kill all their male relatives upon coming to power in order to prevent rivalries

MEHMED II (MEHMED THE CONQUEROR) Ottomans had conquered lots of Byzantine territory, but not the declining city of Constantinople Constantinople was located on the Bospherous and was an important city militarily and economically Ottomans conquered the city April 1453 (cannons played a large role) Mehmed II went to Hagia Sophia and changed it to a mosque Mehmed II encouraged the reconstruction of Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul

Selim the Grim Came to power in 1512 by killing his father, brothers, nephews, and all but one son Known for the Battle of Chaldiren 1514 when the Ottomans defeated their Shiite neighbors, the Safavids Captured the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, as well as India

SULIEMAN I (SULEYMAN) THE MAGNIFICENT Ruled for 46 years beginning in 1520 Impressive military leader who conquered new territory and expanded Ottoman control over the entire eastern Mediterranean 1529- attempted to conquer Vienna, Austria but failed- ended Ottoman westward expansion

SULIEMAN I (SULEYMAN) THE MAGNIFICENT Simplified taxation system Streamlined the bureaucracy- gave him the title of Lawgiver Studied poetry, history, geography, astronomy, math, and architecture Sinan- architect who designed Mosque of Suleiman in Istanbul Enthusiastic patron of the arts

Ottoman Government Structure Highly efficient government structure Ottoman Sultan Imperial Council (including viziers) Many drawn from the devshrime Local administrators Military commanders Tax collectors Millets Muslim, Christian, and Jewish

Ottoman Government Organization Janisarries- Christian children taken through the devshirme system who were educated and converted to Islam Trained as soldiers and had huge power of the military Millet System- freedom of worship to other religions, especially people of the book Each religious group or millet was headed by an administrator who reported to the sultan and collected taxes Prevented lots of conflict between religions, but caused people to identify themselves first by religion and caused issues later

Decline of Ottomans Because of the succession issues and the practice of eliminating rivals (usually strangled to death), few effective successors existed- this led to a series of ineffective rulers Sultans would keep one son alive in the harem, isolated from society 1571- Battle of Lepanto- defeat of the Ottoman navy by Europeans Ottomans did not readily adopt new military technology from the West- janissaries often prevented this to keep their positions

The Beginning of the Safavids Developed from a group of militant Sufis Claimed they were descended from Muhammad and were Shiite Muslims Shiites were persecuted by the Ottomans and the two groups were enemies Built a powerful military to defend from Sunnis

Safavids Safavid military wore red hats so were called Red Heads 1499- leader of the Red Heads was Isma’il Seized most of Iran and took title of shah (king) Shiite Islam was official religion No toleration for other religions and infidels were killed Defeated by Ottomans at Battle of Chaldiren in 1514- led to even more animosity between Sunnis and Shiites

Shah Abbas (Abbas the Great) Golden age of Safavids Limited the power of the Red Heads and made the army more loyal to the shah Modern artillery Patron of the arts- grew artists from as far away as China to the Safavid empire Built beautiful capital of Isfahan Safavids were known for their artwork and craftsmanship, especially their carpets

Decline of the Safavids Shah Abbas eliminated his sons as many other Muslim rulers did, so the shahs after him were inept 1722- Afghan tribes began invading, Ottomans attacking from the west 1736- Sunni ruler seized power named Nadir Shah Afshar and created a new Persian empire He was cruel, hated, and eventually murdered by his own army 1747- he was killed and the empire ended

Legacy of the Safavids Persian culture survives till today Shiism still survives and there is still intense hostility between Shias and Sunnis

Deterioration of Imperial Leadership Succession disputes lead to isolation Ottoman princes become lazy through luxury Attempts to isolate them compounds the problem

Economic and Military Decline Foreign trade controlled by Europeans Military, administrative network expensive to maintain Janissaries mutiny when paid with debased coinage, 1589, other revolts follow Unproductive wars European military technology advances faster than Ottomans can purchase it

Cultural Conservatism Europeans actively studying Islamic cultures for purposes of trade, missionary activities Islamic empires less interested in outside world Swiftly fell behind in technological development E.g. Jews from Spain establish 1st printing press in Anatolia in late 15th century But printing of books in Turkish and Arabic forbidden until 1729