1. Chapter 27
Gunpowder Empires

2. Who and what were the Gunpowder Empires?
Large multiethnic empires in Southwest, Central, and South Asia
Relied on firearms to conquer
Included – Russia, Ming & Qing China, Japan, Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.
Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal – high point of Muslim military and political power
All three declined by 1750 while sea based empires thrived

3. Overall Similarities
Besides all being Muslim based empires – they were
Nomadic Turks who spoke Turkish
Took over as Mongol khanates fell
Depended on large armies with artillery/cannons (gunpowder)
All rose to power due to military might coupled with weakness and corruption of empires they replaced
European competition amongst each other allowed these 3 empires to rise as well.

4. Tamerlane – Timur the Lame
Conquered central Asia = set in motion for the rise of 3 empires
Used gunpowder to build powerful empire
Used it also to protect routes on Silk Road
Most of his empire fell because
No effective political government structure
Costs of wars
Descendant – Babur would take over & rule India (Mughal Empire)

5. Ottoman Empire 1300s-1918
Mehmed II (responsible for the fall of Constantinople 1453)
Constantinople to Istanbul is created (Sunni Muslims)
Expanded into Black Sea & Balkans area (Christian lands)
In 14th cent – they started the devshirme system = Christian boys recruited by force to serve in Ottoman Empire as “slaves”
Some served in government
Others became Janissaries (elite soldiers) – allowed social mobility
Overtime their power grew, along with viziers (head of government) – both challenged sultans power
War with Venice –
Built powerful navy but unable to win – Venice pays annual tribute
Expanded into Middle East and N. Africa
Istanbul becomes center of Islamic world

6. Ottoman Empire
Suleiman the Magnificent (often called the greatest of the Ottoman rulers)
Significance –
expanded the empire into central Europe
enforced religious tolerance
oversaw a period cultural & artistic activity (ex: ceramics, textiles, architecture, and calligraphy)
established an effective government bureaucracy–known in the Islamic world as “Suleiman the Lawgiver” for his legal reforms

7. Ottoman Decline
Prior to decline – Istanbul was economically vibrant and cosmopolitan
Political and economic corruption led to decline
Reached limits of expansion
Inept rulers and problems of succession (steppe tradition)
Lost control of Mediterranean and parts of Indian Ocean to Europeans (Sick Man of Europe)
Central gov’t lost control of local gov’t –
Local officials taxed peasants – led to peasant revolts
Janissaries demand for more pay
Rulers reduced amount of land owning cavalrymen to pay Janissaries
Economic inflation
Value of silver declines becomes of influx
Tax revenues laws remained the same (religious laws limited gov’ts ability to reform taxes) therefore silver collected had less value

8. Cultural Isolation
Islamic clerics insulated the empire from new cultural and tech developments in Europe
Viewed their civilization superior to European (sound familiar?)
This attitude kept them from understand changes taking place in world
Coffee houses allowed for intellectual & social exchanges
Printing press brought by Jews expelled from Spain
But not allowed to print in Turkish or Arabic = untouched by print revolution

9. Safavid Empire
A Shiite based empire clashed with Sunni Ottomans (present today)
Ruled central government via theocracy (present today)
Had no real navy or natural barriers for defense
Shah Abbas I
Ruled during height of Safavid
Also used Christians for military service
Invited European advisors and technology
Took control of the strait of Hormuz = allowed British to begin interest in Iran
Isfahan not as cosmopolitan nor did it have favorable merchant policies as Istanbul
Decline
Sunni Pashtuns (Afghanistan) took Isfahan = centralization and tax problems arose for Safavid
Inflation of silver also caused similar problems
Lost territory to Ottomans and Russians

10. Ottoman and Safavid – Comparisons
Similarities
Both land powers (did not focus on the sea even though Ottoman navy much larger than all 3)
Used a land grant system to support an army
Both began to decline around the same time (1750s)
Role of women in society (they could retain their property after getting married, but seldom in public. They could also divorce).
Differences
Although mostly Sunni, there was religious tolerance in the Ottoman Empire (early on),
Strictly Shia in Safavid
Culture (Arabic vs. Persian languages), (architecture included more turquoise & mosaic tiles in Safavid)
The Safavids were at first reluctant to adopt gunpowder

11. Mughal Empire 300 year dynasty
Babur’s (founder) grandson Akbar ruled during height
Akbar – most capable
Extended empire south and westward
Strong centralized gov’t with zamindars (local officials)
Brought enormous prosperity and stability
Zamindars paid with land grants (eventually grow corrupt)
Kept more tax monies to themselves and built private armies
Tolerant of all religions (also married Hindu women)
Gave Hindus positions in gov’t
Hindus exempt from poll taxes
Shah Jahan continued Akbar’s policies
Built Taj Mahal for his deceased wife
Mughal’s combined Islamic art = decorative geometric designs
Aurangzeb – empire weakened by corruption & enemies
Not tolerant of Hindus
Mughals lose power to British by 19th cent

12. The 3 Muslim Empires Similarities
Land grant systems (soldiers got land for service for which they could tax inhabitants) - similar to feudalism/Theme System?
Land powers, no real emphasis on a navy–Muslim–Decline around the same time
All three decline with rising European trading co. and harm politics (internal family tension)
Differences
Mughal India much farther away from the heart of the Islamic / Arab world, even more so than Safavid
Religious toleration (Ottomans allowed people to hold onto prior identities.
Safavid was strict Shia became more tolerant
Mughal was tolerant then became intolerant)