1. The Middle East

2. Overview Mesopotamia, Egypt River Valleys Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, etc. Persia Islamic Empire – Umayyad Dynasty – Abbasid Dynasty – (stretching to India) Delhi Sultanate Seljuks, Mamluks Mongols Ottomans, Safavids, (stretching to India) Mughals

3. Persian Empire Talking about the O.G. Persians, c. 550 BCE – 330 BCE – Fought Greece a lot – Very tolerant of other faiths – Good imperial bureaucracy

4. Foundation of Islam Creates a new religion Quickly spreads via missionary armies – Cultural and linguistic expansion First trans-regional religion and empire Ali and Sunni-Shi’a split: first succession problem

5. Umayyad Dynasty Early Muslim rulers focused on military expansion Obsessed with booty – Only let Arab Muslims fully share in conquests – Expanded, gathered luxury, but did little to rule effectively

6. Abbasid Dynasty Overthrow Umayyads by pushing for inclusion Allow converts and People of the Book to have near equal status Imperial bureaucracy – Inefficient – Dominated by nobles (vizier) who were Persians, then Seljuk warlords Weak when conquered by Mongols Culturally very significant

7. A Few Others Seljuk Turks – Nomads, moved to Persia and Iraq, became military elite and dominated end of Abbasid Dynasty Mongols – Conquered, ruled very briefly Mamluks – Military slaves became elite, took over Egypt and fought back the Mongols

8. Ottomans Form in Turkey, conquer Byzantines and the disorganized Middle East Very scary for Europe (land and sea) Major political problems – Succession conflicts – Janissaries: warrior elites – Conservative religious elements All prevent adaptation to Europeans, used to Europe as a backwater

9. Safavids Shi’a counterpart to Ottomans, based in Persia (Iran) – More Persian culture than Arabic Also “absolute” monarchy with strong warrior elite Killed by weak rulers, internal conflicts, and pressure from tribal neighbors and Europe

10. Delhi Sultanate Muslims in control of northern India Wins some converts to Islam – Former Buddhists (which was attacked) or low-caste Hindus – Sufism – Lots of syncretism, mostly for Islam Social separation between Muslims and Hindus, Hindus worked in government but not at the very top

11. Mughals Like two different empires – Akbar Tolerant, improved Hindu-Muslim relations and women’s rights Built administrative systems – Successors Focused on art, luxury, pleasure Ignored reforms and corruption Made themselves powerful while hurting the people and the empire