 There were a nomadic group known as the Turks who would take over the territory that was once dominated by the Mongols.  They would also capture Constantinople and take over much of the former Byzantine Empire.  After 1453 the Turks would turn towards Europe and dominate most of the southern areas Europe, Greece, Balkans.

 The Gunpowder Empire  Under Sultan Mehmed II “The Conqueror” he will use strong military tactics and new innovations such as gunpowder to build up the Ottoman military.  By placing gunpowder in cannons the walled castles of Europe were now obsolete.

 There was a territorial division between the emerging Safavid Empire in Iran.  In the Battle of Chaldiran Selim I of the Ottoman Empire stopped the Safavid Empire, a boarder division that still exist today between Iran and Iraq.

 The son of Selim  Known as the Lawgiver in to the Ottomans.  Set his sights on taking over Christian Europe.  Invaded Belgrade and Eastern parts of Europe.  Tried to invade Vienna but was turned back  Attempted to take over the Mediterranean and the trade that was being developed.

 Venice challenged the Ottomans and the right to trade.  The Ottomans who were more of a land based military were never able to end the Italian control of sea trade and had to settle for the payment of tribute.

 How did the Ottoman's lack of control of the seas and sea trade going to hurt the Ottoman Empire during the Age of Exploration by Europeans?

Janissaries In the 1400’s Christian soldiers captured during battle (slaves) who were employed in the Ottoman military. Taught to speak Turkish, given military training. Some were selected to study Islam, liberal arts, and military strategy. Some became high ranking military officers who reported to the Sultan.

 What would incorporating these Christians into the military promote within the Ottoman Empire?

Many groups will leave European communities to live among the Ottomans People were able to practice their customs and religions such as the Jews who were discriminated against by the Europeans. The Ottomans offered order and control in which people felt protected and safe. With the payment of taxes most groups were allowed to live in peace among the Muslims

 Istanbul is the capital city.  Made the Ottomans wealthy because of the amount of trade crossing from Asia and the Middle East into Europe.  Hindu, Muslims and Christians will all trade in the city.

 Most women spent their time in the harmens of forbidden areas of their homes.  Women ran the households  Islamic women were allowed to retain property even after marriage and many women would involve themselves in managing inheritances and buying and selling real estate.  Women could also testify in court on their own behalf.

 Fatwas-Legal opinions issued by Muftis of legal advisors.  Based on interpretation of the Shari  Muftis were appointed by the Sultan so most rulings favored the Sultan  Not all fatwas dealt with religious matters  The ban on drinking coffee  Military campaigns

 Military campaigns became more taxing.  An influx of silver into the world in the 16 C. (where did the silver come from?) caused inflation within the empire.  Regular soldiers who were paid were replaced by the Janissaries  Emergence taxes needed to be raised by the Empire

 Results  By 1600’s there were revolts by unemployed and over taxed people in the empire.  The Janissaries now had increased power within the empire and control over the empire.  Military strength began to diminish because janissaries were more interested in non warfare activities.

 By the late 1500’s and early 1600’s the ruling family was worried about possible coups.  The Sultan was removed from the people and was no longer seen as a military leader.  The Sultan lost touch with matters of the empire and was seen as more as a figurehead.  Grand viziers or chief administrators now ran the government and the empire became fractioned.

 Land system grants were replaced with tax farming with allowed absentee landlords to tax farmers and profit without being present.  Farmers would now begin to resent the landlords and the government.

 Janissaries began to become involved in trade and they began to lose their military training and ideas.

 Trade  Port cities such as Izmir experienced a rapid population growth  Large influx of migration  Arrival of European traders  This influx of people lead farmers to turn from growing farm crops to growing cash crops for this new trade market.

 How would this new farming change help or hurt the empire?

 Tobacco  During the early part of the empire the use of tobacco was prohibited.  However Europeans wanted to increase the tobacco export and because of  The growing weakness of the Sultan’s rule and unable to enforce the rules and regulations of the empire  European sea control of the Indian Ocean and most sea trade routes  European were now able to get trade concessions and low duties on tobacco and open up and control trade with the Ottoman’s

 The Ottoman Empire was now dependent on the European economy and trade to survive.  The military was greatly weakened by loss of the Janissary system  The Sultan was out of touch with the people and spent money on himself and not the empire  Local governors now ran the empire and there was a loss of centralized power.

 Soon revolts were happening throughout the empire  Mamluks in Egypt will break free of the empire  Janissaries in Baghdad  Sinnis in Arabia  And finally Janissaries in Istanbul will force Sultan Ahmed III to abdicate  While the empire would not collapse until 1918 by 1750 the Ottoman Empire was in serious trouble.

 After the fall of the last Mongol leader Timur in 1405 there was a power struggle in Central and western Asia.  In 1502 in Iran Ismail of a Sufi brotherhood of the Safaviya would declare himself the Shah of Iran and ordered that the Shi’ite religion would be the religion of the region.

 Iran became a Shi’ite land surrounded by Sinni nations.  Iran would develop different from the Sinnis  Writing in Persian instead of Arabic  Sufi mystic traditions were followed  Islam would be spread by the military, using force if necessary

  Isfahan became the capital city which allowed for the trade of silk, wool carpets and fabrics  It was like Istanbul in trade however it was not a cosmopolitan city.  While Jews, Hindus and Armenians were in the city the land locked city was not visited by Europeans.  Because it was landlocked the city did not receive the volume of trade that Istanbul did.

 Under the Shi’ite system women were still restricted to the home and had to be fully covered when in public.  Women had to live in separate quarters in the house known as interiors  They were allowed to participate in  Business activities separate from their husbands  Testify in legal matters

 There was not enough need or want for the goods to support the economy.  The Shah needed the support of local chiefs for military men and in return large pieces of the empire were given to the local chiefs known as redheads because of their red turbans.  The Safavid shah lacked a solid economy and did not have strong control over the land.

 In the 1500’s the shah recruited slaves to fight with the new gunpowder technology.  Soon traditional nomadic warriors were clashing with these new soldiers in the empire causing an internal struggle for the shah to cope with.  Once Shah Abbas’s died new shahs were unable to control the factions in the empire.

 Silver form the New World brought and inflation problem to the empire.  Military funding was hard because of the inflation  The shah’s attempted to take back nomadic land to give to landowners and to tax.  However Nomadic groups still maintain strong militaries and stop the shah’s advancements  By 1722 the invading Afghans captured Isfahan and ended the Safavids rule.

 Both the Ottoman and Safavid could not keep up with the military spending to support a land based empire.  The empires could not compete with the growing wealth of Europe and European spending  High taxes caused internal problems within the Empires  Territorial conquest, expansion and amassing land based empires was not profitable in the now European sea based trade dominated empires.