The Ottoman Empire

1. The Ottoman Empire HIST 1004 1/14/13

2. “Wars of Religion” • Enforcement of religious preferences of kings • Spain and Portugal defend Catholicism • Inquistion against Protestants • French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) • Kings accept majority Catholicism but give religious freedom to the Protestants (until 1598) • Anglican Church (1533) • Puritans want to remove all traces of Catholicism • Oliver Cromwell (r. 1653- 1658) and the English Civil War (1642-1649) • “No bishops, no king” James I (of King James Bible fame)

3. Thirty Years’ War 1618 - 1648 • Frictions between Lutherans, Catholics, and Calvinists finally result in all out war by 1618. • 30 Years War begins as a complicated religious conflict and evolves into a much more complicated religious AND political conflict that does not end until 1648

4. Peace of Westphalia (1648) • Ushers in the concept of sovereign states. • Independent states are sovereign and do not answer to any other power • Choice of religion is up to that country. • Does not end all conflict but establishes the groundwork for the structure of ‘modern’ Europe.

5. Gunpowder/Muslim/Early Modern/Turko-Persian Empires • Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) • Safavid Empire (1502-1722) • Mughal Empire (1526-1761)

6. Why Gunpowder Empires? • Term used to categorize the three great Muslim empires of the early modern period. • Emphasizes their impressive military exploits. • Adoption of new technologies as keys to success. Early 16th century Ottoman volley gun

7. The Gun • 9th century: Gunpowder developed in China • 12th century: Chinese fire lance • 13th century: Gunpowder and early firearms travel with the Mongols • 1260: Battle of AinJalut, perhaps first use of a canon • 14th century: hand-held canons become predecessor to handguns and rifles

8. Turko-Persian Culture • 11th-13th centuries, series of Turko-Mongol nomads from Inner Asian steppe come to dominate Muslim world (militarily and politically). • Nomads enter through Central Asia and Iran, take on Persian language and cultural traditions. • Mongol Empire (1206- 1368) • Timurid Empire (1370- 1526) Mahmud of Ghazna, ruler of Afghanistan (997-1030)

9. Turko-Persian Empires • Not just a shared culture… • Shared story of transition from tribalism to empire. • Turkic-Mongol social organization combined with Persianate-Islamic institutions and culture.

10. The Ottoman Empire (1299-1923)

11. Ottoman Origins • Ghazi Emirates: born out of decline of Seljuqs of Rum • Frontier Society: Tribes, Nomads, and Mercenaries • Egalitarian Structure • Distribution of Plunder: Wealth, Slaves, Land • Warriors of the Faith?

12. Osman’s Dream • Osman I (r. 1299-1324) • Focus on the Byzantine Empire • Bursa: Western Anatolia (1323) • Shrewdness of Osman • Strategic location, the Dardanelles strait • Combination of Turkish cavalry with gunpowder infantry

13. Trade Routes

14. Bursa • Conquered by Ottomans – 1323 • Commercial Center – Merchants, Artisans, and Guilds • Capital City – Administration and Stability • Infrastructure – Mosque and Caravanserai

15. Bursa Bazaar (1340)

16. Bursa Ulu Mosque

17. Ottoman Expansion

18. Mehmed “The Conqueror” • Mehmed II (r. 1444-1446, 1451-1481) • May 29th, 1453: Conquest of Constantinople • Cannon, navy (carried across land), and infantry • End of the Byzantine Empire (330-1453), the Fall of the Second Rome • Kayser-i Rum • One foot in Asia, the other in Europe

19. Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) • Golden Age of Ottoman expansion and power • Known for military conquests in the West • 1516-1517: Syria and Egypt, end of Mamluk Sultanate • 1529: Siege of Vienna • Known for codification of legal system in the east (Kanuni) • Shift from Turkic tribal ruler to ruler of a state

20. Diversity and the millet System • Pattern of Ottoman expansion meant they ruled over large numbers of non-Muslims. • Reach of the Sultan not very deep into society (taxes and military) • Local courts and local leaders enforced most laws and dealt with most disputes. • Courts divided by millet based on religion. • Muslim, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian Orthodox, and Jewish

21. Diversity and the millet System • Exchange religious and cultural freedom for taxation. • Certain restrictions, but each millet could act independently within its boundaries.

22. Mamluks, Ghilman, and Janissaries • How can an empire run on slave soldiers? • How about slave administrators? • Are these really slaves? • 9th century: al-Mu`tasim and the Turks • Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517) • `Abid al-Bukhari: Morocco, 17th-19th centuries • Numerous other military units and body guards throughout the Islamic world.

23. What do slave soldiers do for you? • Effectiveness, expense, and loyalty… • Control over training regiments, may train whole life; compared to conscription and reliance on tribal levies. • How do you pay for a standing army? Salary? Land grants? Where’s the money when you really need it? • Social dislocation and dependency on the ruler (caliph, sultan, shah, etc.); compared to people with traditional loyalties within the empire.

24. Janissaries • Mid-14th century: expanding empire requires standing army, less reliance on ghazis and Turkic tribes. • devshirme:(1365-1648), every five years, Christian boys from the Balkans aged 10-12 were collected as a tax • Boys were taught Turkish, lived in Turkish households, and converted to Islam • They were then sent to Janissary academies

25. Palace Schools • 15th – 20th Centuries • Princes and Peasants • Education • Languages and Literature • Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Greek • Mathematics, Administration and Finance • Personal Conduct, Music and Sports • Law and Theology • History • Military Science • Merit as an Organizing Principle

26. Janissaries • Traditional Ottoman army based on Turkic cavalry • Janissary Corps focused on infantry and use of gunpowder weapons • Depending on talents, boys enlisted in the Janissaries became infantry, palace guards, or administrators • Improvements in gunpowder technologies increased the size and influence of the Janissaries (well over 50,000 strong at peak).