DIFFERENT NAMES FOR SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

world system (world system theory) A concept developed by the American historian Immanuel Wallerstein to refer to an economic unit extending beyond the boundaries of an individual nation-state by virtue of trade networks and economic alliances.

Iranian Plateau: 1.Fairly high 2.Surrounded with mountains 3.Bridge between Central Asia and the Mediterranean Basin world systems

Iranian Plateau: 4.Similar mountain ranges with Anatolia 5.Slightly cooler winters… 6.And relatively warmer summers than Anatolia 7.Significantly different agricultural production

Iranian Plateau: 7.Significantly different agricultural production WHY?

Iranian Plateau: 8.Significantly less year-long precipitation than Anatolia 9.Mostly warm and arid soil 10.Significant regional differences between north west and southeast

Iranian Plateau: Mostly arid & not good for agriculture On significant commercial routes Significant regional differences

Pre-Islamic Iran Sasanian Empire: Zoroastrianism as the religion of the imperial family Religious tolerance against Jews, Christians and other belief systems Why?

Practical reasons for tolerance: War with the Byzantine Empire Agricultural production Pre-Islamic Iran

CE Umayyad caliphate and “Arab elitism” Islam in the Plateau

Loose control by notables and Persian and other ethnic mercenaries Development of a judicial structure Central Asian influence and Sufi networks

Islam in the Plateau Autonomous kingdoms by 9 th century

Islam in the Plateau Turkic tribes come in as mercenaries in the 10th century

Islam in the Plateau From mercenaries to kings: Ghaznavids of 11 th century

Islam in the Plateau The expansion of the “Great Saljuqs” in the 11 th and 12 th centuries

The Ilkhanid Empire of the Mongols A “Khanate” of the Mongols Settled in the plateau in the 13 th century Centralized their administration in 14 th century Allied themselves with urban bureaucrats, merchants and the ‘ulama

The Timurid Empire of the Mongols Emphasized Islam as a unifying factor in the plateau. Samarkand, Bukhara and Herat became important centers

Empires of Mercenaries: Tribal alliances and adaptation Military power and taxation An age of Mercenaries

The Safavid Empire Safavid movement (founded by Shaykh Safi al-Din in the 14th century) was a Sunni Sufi movement It became particularly powerful in northwest plateau and Anatolia in the 15th century Shah Junayd ( ) and Shah Isma’il ( ): birth of a Shi‛i Iran Shah Abbas: Expansion of the Safavid Empire—Isfahan

Do you notice anything peculiar in the way these empires changed over the time?