1. ISLAMIC GUNPOWDER EMPIRES
EARLY MODERN ISLAM
1450 TO 1750

2. DYNASTIC STATE The Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal rulers and Islam
All three Islamic empires were military creations
Gunpowder empires as guns were critical to rise of empire
Military prowess of rulers, elite units critical
Devotion to Islam led rulers to extend faith to new lands
Steppe traditions
Turkish in origin; two were Shia
Autocratic: leaders imposed their will and had absolute control
Ongoing problems with royal succession
Ottoman rulers legally killed brothers after taking throne
Royal women often had great influence on politics
Wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, mother of sultan lived in harem
Eunuchs protected women; both eunuchs, women had influence
Children raised in harem; often not allowed out until teenager
Harem politics: women often influenced policies, selections

3. RISE OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE Anatolian clan of the Seljuk Turks
Ottoman expansion into Byzantine Empire
Seized city of Bursa, then into the Balkans
Central role of the Janissaries (slave troops)
Effective use of gunpowder in battles and sieges
Mehmed the Conqueror (reigned )
Captured Constantinople in 1453
Renamed city Istanbul, the Ottoman capital
Expanded to Serbia, Greece, Albania
Attacked Italy

4. TURKISH SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Four social groupings in settled, urban environment
The men of the pen: intellectuals (bureaucrats)
Men of the sword: military
Men of negotiations: merchants, etc.
Men of husbandry: farmers, livestock raisers
Life on frontier was far less structured
Divided into two groups
Askeri (the military)
Raya (the subjects)
Over time
Separation between askeri and raya became more rigid
Military became almost hereditary
Women had no rights aside from tradition, class, and husbands’ wishes

5. TIMAR AND LAND CONTROL Timar system
Askeri given share of agricultural taxes from villages
In return for military service as cavalryman, assisted in provincial government
Exempt from taxation
At height Ottomans had more than 100,000 cavalrymen
Gradually became hereditary
Timar was like feudalism but not identical
Timar-holder did not dispense justice
Justice was sultan’s prerogative
In Ottoman Empire
Central government was active and crucial
Timar more like Japanese shogun fief system (discuss later)

6. Devshirme Ghulam was a non-Muslim slave
Educated and trained for state service
Ottomans modified ghulam system by devshirme
Young 8-15 year-old Christian males
Taken from Balkan villages and brought before sultan
Chose best physique, intelligence, other qualities
Converted to Islam
Received education in palace school
Islam and its culture
Turkish, Persian, and Arabic
Military and social arts
Those not selected
Converted to Islam, worked for rural Turkish farmers
Learned vernacular Turkish, folk Islamic culture
Became sultan’s elite infantry: Janissaries

7. TURKISH MILLET Communities ruled themselves based on their religion
Was headed by its own religious leader
Heads of millet responsible to Turkish sultan
Advised sultan on affairs in the community
Was punished by sultan for problems of community
Each community was responsible for
Collection of its taxes
Educational arrangements
Internal legal matters re: marriage, divorce, inheritance
In the pre-modern Middle East
Identity was largely based on religion
System functioned well until rise of European nationalism

8. SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
Empire at its height
Reigned
Son of Sultan Selim the Grim
Mother was Christian
Came to power through murder of brothers
Conquered lands in Europe, Asia, Africa
Siege of Vienna in 1529 failed
Built powerful navy to rule Mediterranean
Encouraged development of arts
Beautified Constantinople with mosques
Empire began slow decline after Suleyman

9. SAFAVID PERSIA Founder Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524)
Claimed ancient Persian title of shah.
Proclaimed Shiaism official religion, imposing it on Sunnis
Traced origins to 12 ancient Shiite imams
Ismail believed to be twelfth, or "hidden," imam
Shah Abbas the Great (reigned )
Revitalized Safavid empire
Modernized military
Sought European alliances
Permitted European merchants, missionaries

10. MUGHAL (“Mongol”) EMPIRE
Tamerlame was direct predecessor
Founder is Babur (reigned )
Central Asian Turk invaded India in 1523
Akbar (reigned )
Created centralized, absolutist government
Expanded to Gujurat, Bengal, S. India
Encouraged religious tolerance
Stopped tax on Hindus, banned sati
Aurangzeb (reigned )
Expanded empire to almost entire Indian subcontinent, empire is largest under his rule
Revoked policies of toleration and implemented Sharia
His rule troubled by religious tensions and hostility
Arrival of Europeans: permitted them to trade, establish bases

11. DEMOGRAPHY & COMMERCE Demographics Food crops Commerce
Population growth less dramatic than in China, Europe
India: significant growth due to intense agriculture
All empires were multi-national, some multi-religious
Food crops
Agriculture: the basis of all three empires
Major crops: wheat, rice
Imports of coffee, tobacco very popular
Peasants tended to be overtaxed, overworked by nobles
Commerce
Long-distance trade important to all three empires
Minorities controlled trade in all three states
Trade goods = traditional crafts; little manufacturing
Ottomans, Safavids shared parts of east-west trade
Mughals less attentive to foreign or maritime trading

12. RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
Religious diversity created challenges to rule of empires
Religious minorities
Generally tolerated in Islamic states
In Ottoman Empire millets allowed religious/civil autonomy
Much of population was Christian, Jewish
In Persia Shia were fanatical
In India majority of population was Hindu
Early Muslim rulers worked with Hindus
Religious diversity in India under the rule of Akbar
Catholic missionaries welcomed at his court
Tolerated Sikhism new faith with elements of Islam and Hinduism
Under Aurangzeb: Islam made state religion

13. CULTURAL PATRONAGE Sponsored arts and public works
Golden Age of Islamic art, architecture
Mosques, palaces, schools, hospitals, caravanserais
Istanbul, Ottoman capital
Cosmopolitan city of million people
Blended Islamic, Byzantine architecture
Isfahan, Safavid capital
The "queen of Persian cities“
Fatehpur Sikri, Mughal capital, created by Akbar
Combined Islamic style with Indian elements
Site abandoned because of bad water supply
Taj Mahal, exquisite example of Mughal architecture

14. DETERIORATION Dynastic decline
Caused by negligent rulers, factions
Government corruption
Harem politics
Rulers’ mothers, wives jockeyed for position, sons
Progress ceased and conservatism emerged
Ottoman conservatives
Resisted innovations like telescope, printing press
Resisted industrialization and western military innovations
Safavid Empire
Shiite leaders urged shahs to persecute Sunnis, Sufis
Non-Muslims lost many protections
Mughal India
Deep animosity of Hindus
Rise of Sikhs and Christians

15. REASONS FOR DECLINE Economy and Military Expansion
Each conquest had provided bounty to grow the state
End of territorial expansion meant no bounty
Difficult to support armies and bureaucrats
Series of long and costly wars with no financial support
Economy stagnated by 18th century
Officials had to raise taxes to deal with financial problems
Corruption lost millions in revenue to state

16. REASONS FOR DECLINE Military decline Rise of banditry, piracy
Imported European weapons but never made their own
Arsenals outdated; tactics outdated; systems outdated
Ottoman Empire
Even purchased military vessels from abroad
Europeans developed extremely modern militaries
India
Mughals refused to build navy, let Europeans rule seas
Local princes, rulers assumed control, defied Mughals
Rise of banditry, piracy
In countryside, many poor peasants took to banditry
On seas, many ports and merchants took to piracy
Trade disrupted, made Europeans mad, often retaliated

17. CULTURAL INSULARITY Cultural conservatism Social conservatism
Muslims seldom traveled to West, confident of their superiority
Science, technology ignored as it was western threat
Ignorant of European technological developments
Hostile to European, Christian inventions/institutions
Social conservatism
Middle classes failed to develop in Muslim states
Growing gap between ruling elite, peasants/slaves
Growing antagonism between religious elites, ruling elites

18. CULTURAL INSULARITY Resistance to printing press
At first, Ottomans banned printing in Turkish, Arabic
Ban lifted in 1729; conservatives closed Turkish press in 1742
In India, Mughals showed little interest in printing technology