1. The Muslim World and Africa (730 B.C.-A.D. 1500)
Lesson 4 The Ottoman and Safavid Empires

2. The Muslim World and Africa (730 B.C.-A.D. 1500)
Lesson 4 The Ottoman and Safavid Empires
Learning Objectives
Explain the impact of the Ottoman empire on Eastern Europe.
Describe the characteristics of Ottoman culture.
Explain how Abbas the Great strengthened the Safavid empire.

3. The Muslim World and Africa (730 B.C.-A.D. 1500)
Lesson 4 The Ottoman and Safavid Empires
Key Terms
Ottomans
Istanbul,
Suleiman
janizaries
Safavid
shah,
Shah Abbas the Great,
Isfahan
Qajars
Tehran

4. Growth of the Ottoman Empire
By the 1400s, two powerful new empires had emerged in the Middle East: the Ottoman and the Safavid empires. Both were Muslim empires, and both ruled diverse peoples. Most important, both owed their success in part to a new military technology, gunpowder. For this reason, the Ottoman and Safavid empires are often called “gunpowder empires.” Gunpowder led to the use of new weapons such as cannons that blasted through defensive walls. Later, muskets made a new kind of army possible, giving firepower to ordinary foot soldiers and reducing the importance of mounted warriors.

5. Growth of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans Conquer Constantinople
Suleiman the Magnificent
Ottomans Control Trade
Ottoman Government

6. Growth of the Ottoman Empire
Until the Ottomans invaded, the high, thick walls and well-positioned defenses of Constantinople had repelled invaders for a thousand years.

7. Ottoman Society
Ottoman society was divided into classes, each with its appointed role. At the top were “men of the sword”—soldiers who guarded the sultan and defended the state—and “men of the pen”—scientists, lawyers, judges, and poets. Below them were “men of negotiation,” such as merchants, tax collectors, and artisans who carried out trade and production. Finally, there were “men of husbandry,” or farmers and herders who produced food for the community.

8. Ottoman Society Religion in Ottoman Society
Treatment of Conquered Peoples
Literature and the Arts
Decline of the Ottomans

9. Ottoman Society
Under the Ottoman empire, trade thrived and many people attained great wealth, particularly local rulers.

10. Ottoman Society
The janizaries, or the elite military force made up mostly of converted Christians, suppressed any revolt within the Ottoman empire because they controlled the military, even dethroning Sultan Beyezid II.

11. The Rise of the Safavids
By the early 1500s, the Safavid (sah FAH vid) dynasty had united an empire in Persia (present-day Iran). Sandwiched between two expansionist powers—India and the Ottoman empire—the Safavids often engaged in warfare. Religion played a role in the conflict. The Safavids were Shiite Muslims who enforced their beliefs in their empire. The Ottomans were Sunni Muslims who viewed the Shiites as heretics.

12. The Rise of the Safavids
Abbas the Great
A Center of Art and Trade
The Decline of the Safavid Empire

13. The Rise of the Safavids
Shah Abbas used the formal setting of his court and also mingled informally with his people in order to provide a just rule for the Savavid empire.

14. The Rise of the Safavids
Analyze Maps At its greatest extent, the Ottoman empire stretched across three continents, while the Safavid empire controlled most of what is today Iran. Into what regions did the Ottoman empire expand under Suleiman?

15. Quiz: Growth of the Ottoman Empire
Why did conquering Constantinople strengthen the Ottoman empire?
A. It helped in overcoming the Safavids.
B. It allowed expansion into Africa.
C. It gave the Ottomans a trading center and a governmental and cultural capital.
D. It prevented the rise of Portuguese and European navies.

16. Quiz: Ottoman Society
Given the importance of class divisions in the Ottoman empire, the best hope for the sons of those peoples the Ottomans conquered was to become
A. janizaries.
B. merchants.
C. tax collectors.
D. farmers.

17. Quiz: The Rise of the Safavids
How did the fact that the Safavids were Shiite Muslims affect relations with the Ottomans?
A. Even though they shared a common religion, they were also neighbors, so they constantly fought over disputed territories.
B. Both were united in their determination to win a holy war against Christian Europe.
C. Ottomans attacked Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan, forcing the Safavids to fight Afghanistan.
D. Religious differences increased conflict between the two empires because each was composed of a different sect of Islam.