1. Gunpowder Empires:

2. Land- Based Gunpowder Empires: Examples
Ottomans (Anatolia, N. Africa, Middle East, E. Europe)
Safavids (Persia)
Mughals (Afghanistan, Pakistan, N. India)
Qing China
Russian Empire
Tokugawa Japan

3. Characteristics Land-based (unlike sea-faring powers in Europe)
Cost of militaries = increased centralization
Land-grant military systems
Reliance on infantry, not cavalry

4. Islamic Flowering: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal
Vast, diverse Muslim world viewed themselves as self-sufficient & offering more to the world than others offered them
Flowering of culture as in the Abbasid era
Suleyman the Magnificent (Ottoman); Abbas I the Great (Safavid); Akbar (Mughal)
Coffeehouses popular place for cultural life

5. Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul

6. Tiled Mosque, Isfahan

7. Persian Rug, 1539
Modern Version, pictured below

8. Taj Mahal, mausoleum for Shah Jahan’s wife, 1648

9. Common Problems TOO BIG (transportation & communication issues)
Nomadic heritage led to unruly warrior elites
Rise of European rivals
Europe = small states, strong rivalries & competition, technologies & weapons developed more rapidly; trade routes moved to ocean routes controlled by Europe

10. Long-term consequences
Ottoman, Safavid, & Muhgal Empires came from Turkish, nomadic roots BUT
Central Asian nomadic threats ended w/ gunpowder – conquered and subjugated

11. Discussion!
1. “Of the previous Sultans, there were many who ruled the land, but few who ruled the sea. In the conduct of war at sea, the infidels are superior to us. We must overcome them.”
– Suleyman the Magnificent’s Grand Vizir
Why do you think Muslim empires didn’t adequately meet the challenges faced from Europe, and fell in power as Europe rose?

12. 2. Create a T-chart with the headings Land Powers and Sea Powers
2. Create a T-chart with the headings Land Powers and Sea Powers. List at least 6 qualities of each type of power underneath.

13. 3. Why do you think, long term, that sea power was more effective than land-based empires?